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black hills fishing report September 10 2022

Hans Stephenson |

Black Hills Fishing Report September 10, 2022

Greetings Fellow Fishing Fans! Sorry for the delay since the last report. Not too many changes on the fishing front. Cooler weather returned this weekend. The Black Hills received some much-needed rain. Flows ticked up in a few places. The cooler temps will help water temperatures and improve fishing conditions.

The best fishing continues to be on Rapid, Castle, and Spearfish Creeks. These streams have the most consistent flows and water temperatures. Lake fishing should start to pick back up. Especially on Pactola Reservoir. Boat traffic is a bit quieter post Labor Day.

Rapid Creek continues to fish well above and below Pactola Reservoir. Rapid Creek in town is fishing more consistently with the cooler weather. While daytime highs will get back into the high 80’s this week, cooler nighttime temps will keep water temperatures in check. The Trico hatch has picked back up in town. Best action between 7-9 am. PMDs continue to hatch throughout the watershed, mostly later in the day and into the evening. Hoppers and terrestrials are working well. Fish a dry and dropper rig in most places, until a steadier hatch picks up.

Castle has great water above and below Deerfield Lake. Flows have remained steady on Castle Creek. Great opportunities to fish smaller water and find some brook trout. Some PMDs and small Baetis are hatching. Hopper bite is picking up. Terrestrials are a good bet overall. Great water for fishing a dry dropper rig.

Spearfish continues to fish well in the Canyon and in town. Flows on Spearfish got a slight bump from rain on Friday. That will freshen things up and get fish feeding a bit better this week. Smaller flies and lighter tippet continue to be important for pressured areas in the Canyon. Fish the fast pocket water to find eager fish. Good dry fly fishing in the evening. Hoppers and Chubby Chernobyls are working on top. Will see more Blue Winged Olives with the cooler weather this week. Especially in the afternoons.

Hatches have remained much the same since the last reports. However we will start seeing more Blue Winged Olives throughout the Black Hills. Look for afternoon hatches of Pale Morning Duns, along with a few caddis hatching into the evening. There are some very small yellow olive summer baetis (Accentrella?) hatching in the late afternoon and evening as well. Regular Baetis hatching below Pactola Reservoir on Rapid Creek. Terrestrials continue to pick up steam. Hoppers, ants, beetles, and cicadas are all worth fishing. Especially as part of hopper/dropper or dry dropper rigs.

Lake fishing will pick up this week. Start checking the coves and beaches at Pactola Reservoir. Also seek out the solitude of Deerfield Lake. This large reservoir offers great fishing from kayaks, float tubes, personal pontoons, etc. It’s a no wake lake so almost no motorized boat traffic is around to disturb anglers.

Hot Flies

Dries- PMD Sparkle Duns, PMD Parachutes, Yellow Stimulators, Chubby Chernobyls, Hippie Stompers, Hoppers, Ants, Beetles, Fathead Cicadas, Elk Hair Caddis, Bloom’s Parachute Caddis, Trico spinners, BWO Sparkle Duns

Nymphs- Perdigons, Zebra Midges, Torin’s Soft Hackle, Czech Princess Olive, Tungsten Split Case PMD, TNT Jig PMD, Frenchies, Cheeseman Canyon Emergers, Split Case Nymphs

Streamers- Small Thin Mints

Tippet Sizes- 5x-7x