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Spring Creek begins as a tiny trickle in the heart
of the Black Hills. As its name would suggest, it
gets its water from the many springs that feed it
during its eastward journey toward the prairie.
By the time it reaches a well-traveled road, it's
supporting sizeable numbers of small but hungry brown
and brook trout that are looking for an easy meal.
The upstream portions of the creek run parallel to
Forest Service road 305. This is a gravel road that's
maintained for passenger cars, with plenty of pullouts
and parking areas for easy access. Since this is Black
Hills National Forest land, it's completely accessible
to the public. You'll find a few healthy brookies
mixed in with the six to twelve inch browns that dominate
this section of the stream. Don't be fooled. What these
fish lack in size, they make up for in enthusiasm.
From the intersection of Forest Service road 305 and
U.S. Highway 385, Spring Creek glides through mountain
meadows and fields northeastward to Hill City, a distance
of about seven miles. U.S. Highway 385 parallels the
creek here, but the best access is available via the
George Mickelson Memorial Trail, a hiking trail that
borders the stream allowing easy fishing access. Here
you'll find brown trout a couple of inches longer than
their upstream neighbors, but still as eager to inhale
a fly. Don't be surprised if a marmot or whitetail deer
visit you at the water's edge, they are plentiful in
this part of the Black Hills.
If the fishing wears you out, or family obligations have
a priority, and you decide to do a little sight seeing,
this portion of the stream is less than ten miles from
Mount Rushmore, and five miles from the Crazy Horse Memorial.
In fact, you can hear the roar of dynamite as sculptors
continue to carve the Crazy Horse Memorial out of a
granite mountain just north of the town of Custer. Of
course, it is possible that you might be too occupied
with the fishing to notice the sounds of blasting.
Who could fault you for that?
From Hill City, Spring Creek tumbles northeastward
through Mitchell Lake to Sheridan Lake, a distance of
five miles. U.S. Highway 385 provides ready access
along most of this section of the stream. The water
is faster here, and the fish are bigger. A few lucky
anglers manage to catch browns and rainbows over five
pounds out of these waters every year. Some of them
even top ten pounds, but they are rare. Since fishermen
are allowed to keep some trout on this portion of the
stream, and one fish can be over 14 inches, many of the
big ones never make it back into the water. Fortunately,
there are a growing number of anglers who are releasing
all trout, especially the big ones, so your chances of
hooking a monster are better than they were a few years ago.
If you need a break from the trout fishing, or if other
fish are your fancy, Sheridan Lake offers Northern Pike,
Largemouth Bass, Crappie and Perch for your angling
pleasure. It also offers swimming beaches, camping,
boating and water skiing to distract you from the
fishing. Ahh, decisions, decisions. Life's rough,
isn't it?
From Sheridan Lake, Spring Creek wanders northward,
then eastward about ten miles through a beautiful
canyon before it exits the Black Hills south of Rapid
City. This is the section of stream that the locals
love best. Browns and rainbows over fifteen inches
can be found with a few topping ten pounds. Fly
fishermen enjoy hatches of golden stoneflies, mayflies
and caddisflies during the summer. The winter nymph
fishing is brisk and productive. Bighorn sheep, deer,
elk and wild turkeys frequently visit the creek for
an afternoon drink. And, the scenery is beautiful
enough to distract the most callous fisherman,
especially when the stream is decked out in its
autumn colors.
Access to three miles of this water is provided via
county road 228. Parking areas, pullouts and an ample
shoulder on the roadway provide easy access to the
water. The rest of the stream is accessible by foot
on hiking trails and old roadways that are closed to
vehicle traffic. People looking for the biggest trout
will be pleased by the results of a short hike away
from the road. The upper Spring Creek trailhead has
parking space for more than a dozen vehicles so
crowding isn't a big problem. Parking at the lower
Spring Creek access point is a little more difficult
since no trailhead or parking lot are available at
this time. Most people park along the road or in
the nearby pullouts when fishing this stretch of water.
Unfortunately, the drought conditions in 2002 caused
this portion of the stream to dry up in most areas,
killing most of the trout and many of the insects.
Fish were planted last fall and again this spring,
so they can be found in good numbers, but the once
supreme hatches have been reduced somewhat. This
year we have plenty of water (so far), and the fishing
is rebounding nicely, but it may take a few years before
the insect activity is back to the robust level it was
at two years ago. Either way, the fish are there in
good numbers and some are truly large.
Best flies include Yellow Stimulators, Elk Hair Caddis
and Adams, all in small sizes. Size 16 Bead Head Pheasant
Tails and Hare's Ears are a good bet any time of the year,
especially during the spring. Golden Stonefly hatches
are a daily occurrence from late May to mid July when
the hopper fishing really heats up. Spring and fall
hatches of Blue Wing Olive mayflies are dependable
enough to keep an angler occupied. Forty fish days
are not uncommon to the serious fly fisher on the
section of stream below Sheridan Lake.
Since Black Hills streams are open to fishing all year,
it's common to see fishermen probing the depths of the
slower pools during the winter. Midge hatches occur
throughout the year, and nymph fishing is great during
the winter. If you're looking for a nice winter
flyfishing retreat, Spring Creek should be on your
list of potential spots. In fact, if the water
keeps running, it's a great place to fish any
time of the year.
If I sound enthusiastic about this stream, I am.
Last summer I nearly shed tears when the stream
dried up and so many large trout died. Most of
the stonefly photos I have in my collection were
taken on this stream, and the hatches were as strong
as I have seen anywhere east of the Madison, so I was
really upset that the insect population took a hard
hit. However, the water is back, the fish have been
replanted, and somehow many of the insects survived
to start the populations back on the road to full
recovery. One of my favorite streams is recovering,
and I am enthusiastic about its future. If you ever
get to fish it, you'll see why I love this stream.
~ AC
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