Black Hills August 1999

On August 2, I headed out west after I got done with my registration. I am taking up network training. After a long nights drive with three hours taken out for a nap, I arrived in Rapid City. Unfortunately I was minus any underwear or socks. So much for planning. I did a little shopping for these items then visited with Al Campbell. Checked on the local conditions with him and bought some flies, only $.99 each. I then headed for Dakota Anglers and Outfitters downtown. More discussions and a note to call JC at his daughter's. The note was for a guy with a beard. Bought a license, now $59 for an annual, and headed for JC's daughter's place, where I help build a block retaining wall for a few hours. JC had thought ahead and had paid for a site for my stay, so I did not have to hurry out there.

Day two found us at French Creek on the upper end in the park. Flow was reasonable but a bit turbid. I got a few browns and 2 brookies. Nothing bigger than 12". Used a EHC and SHWB. Few people go up very far here. The
creek goes up past some park employee cabins and splits creating a bit of marsh. It then turns into a regular mountain stream. One could go in on the road to the cabins and fish up further. In the afternoon we fished Grace Coolidge below the ranger station. I fished mainly my SHWB and got a bunch of 12-16" bows.

Thursday we went to Spring Creek even though everyone was saying it was warm. I started right off losing a 19-20" bow with an aerial display. Then I got a 19" bow in a very large deep hole. SHWB again. After that I had a lot
of misses. went up to the area where they have a tunnel from the lake where they pass water. They must have had it wide open as the water shot all the way across the creek and created quite a bit of refreshing mist. I went back to figure out why I was not catching any of the willey browns who were feeding top water. I switched to an ant pattern that had done well for me at Waterloo. I took the brown John had been using as a barometer on how good his patterns were, if he looked at it other fish would take it, and one that had been working the far shore all day. Both were about 15". I got one more fish on a SHWB before poohing out, too much heat.

Friday we went to Castle creek, below Deerfield Res. Actually we went down from the parking area. I got many browns 12" - 16" and a couple pretty brookies. Mostly on EHC but a few on a small yellow mayfly pattern to  atch
a hatch that occurred. Generally I was scatter casting to deep swift water, casting to places I just knew there had to be a fish (prime lies), and letting the fly drift back along the near bank. After a bit of lunch we tried above the res. Here we got a bunch of fish in very short order, all small (4"-10") bows with a few brookies. This is a place to bring a beginner for fast action.

Saturday, while JC went to town, I fished lower GC, below the lodge. Don't go too far here. The stream runs into the ground not too far down. I took a nice hike trying to find it and had to come almost all the way back to the car. Besides I didn't; catch anything. I did chase out three deer and get a was of buffalo hair. I then went up by the lodge to the gamekeepers cabin. There is much bait fishing here but I did get some nice bows from hidden spots. I worked up stream getting a fish here and there, including two brookies. Rain was threatening. I headed back tot eh car, but was forced to detour from a direct route by the resident buff. Got back tot he car just before sprinkles got going. Went up tot eh general store to see the resident artist. Just after I got there the heavens opened up. We got 3" in about half an hour. Custer got 5-7" in about an hour and they clocked a wind gust out at Ellsworth air base at 173 MPH. Rain was spotty though. We had agreed to meet at Deerfield Res. for some evening tube fishing at 6. They had little rain there. I started out with a SHWB and got two fish right away and then broke my tippet. I switched to a Deerfield Lake Special. While I did have some dead time the fishing was good, nothing big but ok. I did get four
chubs.

Sunday we wait until late afternoon and fished Lakota Lake. Again tubing. Bugger type flies worked deep with a steady retrieve or near top with a slow retrieve even stopping and letting the fly hang. I got two bows 19-20 ". JC
got 4 fish 16"-20". I also got a pike. I missed two fish right away. The first broke my leader, the second just slipped off.

Monday was my day to leave. Again we waited until late afternoon and went to Rapid Creek below Pectolla. I went there with the idea of dredging fish from deep fast water. It did not take long to see that the fish were on the surface. I got four browns 11-16" on a small (18) yellow mayfly dun pattern. JC got a few more. The expected midge hatch did not really appear, but the mayfly worked until dark. I packed up my gear and headed on the long trip home.

8/20/99

I was out on the very upper part of Big Green Monday afternoon and didn't do much. Water was down and clearer than last time I fished there. The beaver pond hole was filled in for all practical purposes. It had also been fished by a bait person (worm tub trash). I got one 8" brown an a shwb.

Today after classes I went to Castle Rock. A bit of color but not bad. I wanted to fish hoppers and I did well. Not in numbers. In 2.5 hours I got four fish. Actually that is almost twice the average catch rate of 1 per hour. The first was on a foam hopper. Hardly saw a ripple with the take. Got a 21" bow. Switched to a black Mohawk. Got another 21" bow. Again almost no sign of a take. These were from the bigger pools. There did not seem to be
any action in the runs, etc. The next fish was a 23-24" brown and the next it's twin. Not bad for a school-day afternoon. Not only that, but I got pictures of all of them. They did take quite a bit of reviving. I may have to start taking a bigger net.

8/28/99

Well, Friday arrived and I had the afternoon off again. I tried further down Castle Rock, down across from the town or where the parish hall is. This is a wider stream, more of a free stone type. Very shallow. I fished this three
times before. Two were very high and muddy, resulting in no fish. The other was this spring in water a foot higher, but a not bad turbidity wise. I managed a few nice fish. This trip got nothing. I went up to the section below the main spring. Got no action at the first big hole. The next I lost/missed/ never-even-came-close to a brown about 15 inches. The fish really splashed, but just as I struck I could see the fly still lying on the water. The next hole up I missed one of those 23" browns. With the wind I was having a real hard time getting the right position to get a good drift. There were two fish lying close together in the same slot I got one last week. I moved on up by the spring and tried, with no results. I came back to try for the ones I had seen. I missed the big one twice. Tried several flies and finally got a 16" brown. Time to go home.

9/3/99

Well it is ff Friday again. I went to Big Green. Tried hoppers again today. Very hot. Not the action, the sun. Actually I got 2 browns at about 15-16" and another two at 9-10". Very aerial display type fish. Spent about 3 hours
before heat exhaustion set in. Fished the pasture above Whirley.

I think I forgot to mention a few things. I was fishing the foam hoppers that I made at one of the meetings. I like the small ones; 3/4" to 1". A week ago I missed a nice brown with one. Later I drifted a Joe's Hopper over the same fish, only got a look. Tried another foam hopper and missed it a second time.

The fish I took were NOT in the classic hopper water; the smooth run outs from a riffle or in a pool. They were from the fast tails outs of the riffles into a pool or run. Even the foam hopper has trouble staying up on top in water like this. A real hopper stays right on top, high and sort of dry, so I grease up the foam and it rides higher.

9/17/99

Well I did get out Thursday. Stopped at two places that John Carl and I had visited last fall. Last fall we had too many leaves to do well. This time I didn't do much better, but did get two about 12". They put up a good fight. Used a chartreuse and white Clauser minnow.

Today I was back to Castle Rock. I did the hopper time thing. Got a bow about 21" and two browns about 20" and two more about 10". All the big ones from one hole. The two small ones were from above the spring creek. The only way to get a fly to the 10 inchers, was to drop the fly back into the stream and let it drift back.

I met another fellow there who is a writer. I did not ask names. He had a number of nice fish on very small beadheads.

I found the 36" brown I mentioned this spring. It was in the pool at or just above the spring entrance. There were a number of other very nice fish in that hole.

9/30/99

Well the last day of trout fishing for the 1900s has come and gone. I got out of classes at 2:30. I went over to Castle Rock. Tried a bead head pheasant tail for awhile with no results. I was very windy. On the second hole I switched to a 16 SHWB. First cast that landed in the water got a 20" bow. I worked up stream. Saw some nice browns in the riffles. There may be no natural reproduction in Castle, but that doesn't seem to slow down the trying. I got up to the hole I got all my fish from two weeks ago and continued with the SHWB. I saw a take on the surface next to the bank so I switched to a lime humpy, don't ask me why, it just looked good. The second drift I got next to that shore got a long look and a take. After much shuffling about and ditching my net I landed a 24" brown. That's when I realized that I had left my hemos on the ground where I landed the other fish. I held the mouth open and poked in a finger. Boy do they have teeth. he took right off after his picture. I went back and got my hemos. I tried some more at that pool. say a mouse swim down a smooth riffle and slip ashore. It never got down to the killing zone. I tried up by the spring and spooked a fish with a slap cast. it's hard to cast under that fence, especially in a heavy wind. Looked to be a nice one based on the wake.

Now I know that some out there have a hard time believing the fish I catch on Castle. I know because I have been told so. I was also told that they checked it out and caught a few themselves.  I don't think I will write anything on the HFFA trip to Waterloo Creek in Iowa. I'll just say that the fishing was great and there are lots of eager browns ready to take a dry fly or a well placed SHWB. The fireside chats lasted until about 11:30 and some got up and out a 6 a.m. I don't know how they do it.