Time: 9:30AM – 3:00PM

Location: Above diversion dam in morning and upstream from parking lot at the end of the Spearfish bike trail in the afternoon.

Fish Landed: 3

Spearfish Creek 06/15/2015 Photo Album

On Saturday night at Deerfield Reservoir Jane and I experienced two intense thunderstorms while attempting to sleep in our tent at the Whitetail Campground. In addition we apparently set our shelter up on top of a mouse nest, and Jane’s sleep was continuously interrupted by the rustling sound of active rodents. Dave managed to get a reasonable amount of sleep before and after the bookend storms, but for some reason water leaked on his side of the tent causing his sleeping pad and clothing duffle to absorb moisture.

After making breakfast and spreading out wet items to dry on Sunday morning, we decided to drive north to Spearfish, check out campsites for Monday night, continue west to Devil’s Tower in Wyoming, and then book a room at a hotel in Spearfish for Sunday night. Jane insisted she needed a rodent-free night of sleep and a hot shower.

We followed this plan and drove north on 14A through Spearfish Canyon as we progressed to Devil’s Tower. The canyon was beautiful with numerous tall wide vertical rock walls bordering the stream on the east and west sides. The stream was also quite attractive, although it was running quite high but with excellent clarity. The streams that we crossed on our drive north through the central section of the Black Hills were rushing muddy torrents, so I was pleased that Spearfish was spared this condition.

When we reached the small town of Savoy, SD, we made a left turn and detoured along  Little Spearfish Creek past Roughlock Falls and checked out two small USFS campgrounds, Timon and Rod and Gun. Both were tucked against the tall vertical rock walls, and each appeared to be mostly vacant, so we felt confident we could snag a site on Monday. Little Spearfish Creek was a magnet to the fisherman in the passenger’s seat as it meandered through a meadow and exhibited crystal clear flows. The small tributary was roughly one-fourth of the volume of the main creek.

We reversed direction and continued north along the canyon until we reached the town of Spearfish, and here we stopped a the visitor center and gathered information about hikes and bike rides in the area. Next we continued north and west into Wyoming until we reached Devil’s Tower National Monument. We learned that this was the first national monument in the United States, and it was designated that status in the early 1900’s by Theodore Roosevelt. We could not resist stopping outside the entrance to snap photos of the impressive towering rock formation above us.

Judging from the number of cars parked along the road, the prairie dog village was a major attraction, but since we have several within a mile of our house, we passed by and turned into the picnic area. We found a vacant picnic table under some shade trees, and since we had our cooler and food from camping, we quickly made sandwiches and enjoyed lunch in the shadow of the tower. After lunch we crossed to the smoke ring sculpture and took the obligatory photo of the tower in the middle of the ring. The information at the sculpture informed us that Devil’s Tower is a sacred spot for numerous native American people.

We continued on to the main parking lot at the base of Devil’s Tower, and we were surprised by the number of visitors to this small park in the northeast corner of Wyoming quite removed from any large population center. A 1.3 mile paved path beckoned us, so we made the casual hike around the base of the tall rock formation. Of course we snapped photos of Devil’s Tower from many different directions.

We saw all there was to see at Devil’s Tower, so we returned to Spearfish and found a room at the Hampton Inn. Jane finally enjoyed the restful night she craved in the dry air conditioned room with hot water and laundered sheets. We took advantage of the continental breakfast on Monday morning and then packed our clothes and stopped at the nearby Wal-Mart for some necessary supplies. When we woke up on Monday we discovered that it was raining, and dark clouds to the south and west suggested that the worst had yet to arrive.

Despite the predicted adverse weather, I steadfastly clung to my plan to fish in Spearfish Creek on Monday. We drove south along the stream for roughly half the distance until we reached a wide parking lot that we observed during our northbound travels on Sunday.The canyon was wider at this point, and this enabled the swift flows to spread out. This was more appealing to me than the narrow chute sections that I observed farther to the south. Of course as soon as we pulled into the parking lot, the skies opened and a steady downpour pounded against the windshield. It was 9:00AM, so I waited for ten minutes until the rains subsided a bit, and then I quickly pulled on my Marmot raincoat and waders for protection against the elements.

I grabbed my Sage four weight rod, and Jane accompanied me as we walked north along the shoulder until we reached an area where the stream backed up behind a small dam. Jane offered to snap some photos, so I posed next to the small lake and pretended to fish along the edge. Upon completion of my modeling responsibilities, I approached the inlet and rigged my line with a Chernobyl ant, beadhead hares ear, and ultra zug bug. I made some drifts along the current seam where it entered the small lake, but nothing showed so I proceeded to work my way upstream.

The stream in this section was quite clear, but the velocity was quite high which offered infrequent spots where trout could hold without expending excessive energy. For this reason I covered quite a bit of stream real estate in between casts. In the first hour I did manage two momentary hookups, but the action was quite slow so I exchanged the ultra zug bug for a salvation nymph. Finally midway through the morning I hooked and landed a pretty rainbow trout on the salvation, and since I was not confident I would land more fish, I paused to snap a couple photos.

The light rain continued and the ground was saturated, so I considered the effectiveness of worms in these wet conditions. Surely these trout were used to seeing fat juicy worms that washed into the creek. I clipped off the ultra zug bug and reconfigured my line so that the salvation was now my top fly with the light pink San Juan worm was at the point. This combination did not catch fire, but I did manage to land a six inch brown trout on the worm. As I moved upstream the long straight sections with rapids and fast water became longer, and the locations with slack water that might hold fish became more infrequent. This meant I spent more time circling away from the stream and then fighting back through thick brush to inspect new water. It was a lot of work for minimal return.

In one area I discovered there was some slack water between the far bank and the main current, so I attempted to make some drifts by reaching out my rod over the main current. I succeeded in executing some reasonable passes through the slow water, but then I made a cast that hooked a submerged branch. The high fast water created enough fear that I wisely decided not to wade in the water. Instead I exerted direct pressure on the flies and broke off all three. It was now close to twelve o’clock, and I spotted a wooden bridge above me, so I used the broken flies as an excuse to quit for lunch. I followed the dirt road from the bridge to highway 14A and then hiked along the shoulder for a mile until I found Jane staying dry in the car.

I planned to return to the creek to fish and I did not want to spend time removing my waders and then putting them on again, so I asked if Jane would mind driving. In addition heavy clouds predicted more rain so we were not in a position to unpack the cooler and food bin to make sandwiches, so we returned to a Subway in Spearfish to buy lunch. As we drove north I noticed that the stream was much lower and concluded that the small dam below where we parked was a diversion dam. In fact the stream level appeared to be much closer to ideal and the clarity was quite good. Several miles before town we passed a large parking lot that was situated at the end of a bike trail. We noted this as a possible destination for afternoon fishing.

Originally I planned on driving to one of the two campsites along Little Spearfish Creek to make lunch and set up camp, and then it would be convenient to visit the lower meandering section near Roughlock Falls to fish. I checked the weather app on my phone, and now it appeared that the adverse weather would hang around until 6PM. Neither of us relished putting the tent up in the rain, so we decided to fish until 3 or 4PM, and then drive south to Wyoming or even Denver to escape the storm.

I also read that Spearfish Creek was a quality brown trout fishery where it passed through town. Now that I noted that the flows were lower below the diversion dam, this became another option, although I was lacking information on access points. After we bought our sandwiches, I made the decision to try the water upstream from the parking lot at the end of the bike trail. If there was a break in the weather, Jane could enjoy a bike ride, and this spot was conveniently located along our South Dakota inclement weather escape route. Of course as we pulled into the parking lot and began eating our lunches, the rain once again intensified. I finished my lunch and then relaxed in the dry comfort of the car for another ten minutes until the rain slowed to a reasonably tolerable level.

I was already dressed in my waders and raincoat, so after the let up, I grabbed my rod and strode down the well worn path to the stream. Since I lost all my flies before quitting for lunch, I reconfigured with a tan pool toy followed by a bright green caddis pupa and a beadhead hares ear. I had 1.5 hours to fish so I fished efficiently by making 3-5 casts in likely areas and then moving on. Unfortunately I was seeing no fish or signs of fish such as refusals or scattering shadows that usually reveal themselves as I wade upstream. In addition the sky once again darkened and the rain once again fell from the sky in a steady sheet.

After 45 minutes I approached a very attractive pool where the stream spilled over some large boulders and carved out a deep hole with a large boulder forming the border along the left side. If this pool did not produce, then perhaps this section of Spearfish Creek was devoid of fish. My first casts probed the edge of the center current next to the rock and also on my side, but again I was chagrined to discover no sign of a fish. I took a couple steps forward and made a backhand cast to the spot where the water spilled over a rock. The pool toy held for a moment in the small eddy and then began to drift slowly to the slow shelf next to the right bank.

Much to my amazement the pool toy darted sideways, and I set the hook and felt the weight of a decent fish on my nine foot Sage. The fish initially dove toward the deepest part of the pool and then made a move toward the tail, but I applied side pressure and prevented further downstream progress. One more valiant power move toward the top of the pool depleted the energy stores, and I slid my net beneath a gorgeous wild brown trout with distinct black spots and a buttery gold background. This fish snatched the bright green caddis, and it was approximately thirteen inches in length. I gently released the brown to the depths of the pool and once again focused on fishing with renewed enthusiasm.

Unfortunately the rain remained steady and the stream straightened so that despite the reduced flow compared to the morning section, the number of holding spots diminished. I pressed on, but by 3PM I once again failed to see another sign of a fish, so I fought my way through some thick woods and bushes and found the highway. I crossed the road and hiked along the left shoulder until I arrived at the parking lot. Jane had taken a brief hike down the bicycle path, so I approached an informational sign next to the parking area where I learned that Spearfish Creek disappears underground during the summer at the north end of the canyon. Was I fishing in water the dries up in the summer, and did this explain the apparent lack of fish density?

After a few minutes Jane returned from her walk, and I removed all my fishing gear and changed into dry clothes for the return trip. We traveled south for three hours and found a nice campsite at Fish Canyon Campground in Guernsey State Park in Wyoming. The sky was nearly clear and the ground was dry, and we thoroughly enjoyed our evening away from the rain moving through South Dakota.

Spearfish Creek was a beautiful setting, and I would certainly consider another visit at a future date. I feel that I merely scraped the surface of this high gradient stream in the northern part of the Black Hills. Monday made me realize how lucky I am to have excellent fly shops in Colorado that provide accurate information on fishing conditions, river access and hatches and suggested flies. I would attempt to learn more about the diversion and fishing in town before another visit.