In Town – Fishing in town has continued to improve with the cooler weather. Browns are starting to stage into their pre-spawn locations, and are aggressively eating streamers. Try smaller Sculpzillas, Hot Bead Wooly Buggers, and Home Invaders. Nymphing has also been very productive with bigger Czech nymphs, Hot Spot Pheasant Tails, Tungsten Psychos, Tung Teasers, and Red Fox Squirrel Nymphs. A few midge hatches during the day, and Tricos on the warmer mornings.
Below Pactola – Good BWO hatches with the cooler weather, along with pre-spawn browns staging below spawning locations. Streamers also very productive here, bigger Sex Dungeons, Circus Peanuts, and Home Invaders work well. Baetis hatches are good on overcast days, bringing a good number of fish to the surface. Try small Sparkle Duns, Barr’s Vis-A-Duns, F-Flies, and Brook’s Sprout emergers, in size 18 or 20. Nymphing has been productive with Tungsten San Juans, UV Czechs, Tungsten Psychos, Killer Mayfly Nymphs, Bubble Backs, Two Bit Hookers, WD-40s and RS2s.
Silver City – Water flows have improved. Fish are in the faster runs and riffles rather than the pools. Nymph fishing has been good- try north fork specials and tung teasers with a zebra midge dropper.
Castle Creek
Below Deerfield has been fishing well, with good BWO and midge hatches bringing lots of fish to the surface, Especially in the upper stretches of the walk-in area. Use Vis-A-Duns, Brook’s Sprout Emergers, or Morgan’s Midges to target these fish. Any variety of smaller nymphs have been working well, Including Red Fox Squirrel Nymphs, North Fork Specials, Tungsten Psychos, a number of midge larvae patterns, as well as Hot Spot Pheasant Tails.
Spearfish Creek
Fishing well with primarily the same nymphs as other places. The key here is to let the water warm up, the mid day fishing is considerably better than in the early morning, when water temperatures are colder. Concentrate on getting a few pools away from the road and you will do considerably better than fishing right next to the road. Lots of fish are in the shallow pocket water now, as opposed to the deeper pools.
Black Hills Lakes
Lake fishing has also improved with the lower temperatures, Center and Sylvan especially. The fish on Sylvan lake are eating minnows, so streamers are a sound bet. Use a sinking leader and fish smaller leeches and Wooly Buggers and you can hook into some of the bigger, deeper-dwelling lake fish.
