Few anglers know that South Dakota's Black Hills have great trout fishing in streams that flow through towering granite gorges, in scenic lakes, and in small creeks that a toddler could throw a rock across. To most visitors, the Black Hills region is best known for that presidential monument Mount Rushmore, Badlands National Park, Custer State Park, and herds of buffalo. For many anglers, it's just a sightseeing stop on the way to more popular fishing destinations like Utah's Green River or Montana's Yellowstone.

That's too bad, because the Black Hills have fish--monstrous, five- and six-pound rainbows that can make a reel sing, frisky brook trout that jump on a fly like a bobcat on a whitetail, and browns that go deep and make you work to bring them home. Whether they come from a small gorge stream or a larger catch-and-release water, the fish are worth seeing.

Experienced Black Hills fly fishers have a saying they pass on to newcomers: "If there's water in it, it's got fish." Luckily, it's true.

GOLD RUSH TROUT
Rainbow and brown trout first appeared in the Black Hills area in the 1880s when Colorado gold miners came looking for their fortunes after hearing of Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer's tales of the area's wealth. There are no records detailing where the first fish were stocked, but many locals believe the miners randomly distributed fish in several area streams. The trout reproduced and slowly migrated to other waters.

In 1918, the first Black Hills trout hatchery was built in Rapid City, but it burned down just a year later. In 1927, the Cleghorn Springs hatchery was built just outside the city on the banks of Rapid Creek, and the hatchery still produces most of the area's stocked trout (mostly browns and rainbows). Another hatchery near Spearfish supplies trout for the northern Black Hills.

Though the hatcheries today stock 450,000 brown, rainbow, and brook trout in Black Hills streams and lakes each year, most of Black Hills streams also hold healthy populations of wild browns, brookies, and rainbows.

South Dakota's trout fishing is open year-round and, because of the "Banana Belt" weather that warms the Hills with 50- and 60-degree F. temperatures in December and January, it's rarely too cold to fish. Some streams freeze over--especially in the higher elevations--and all the lakes freeze, but streams like Rapid and Spring creeks have sections of open, fishablewater all winter. Fish become sluggish and eat less in the winter, but by going deep with small nymphs and midge pupae (#18-#20), you can catch fish in winter conditions.

Water levels play a big role in the quality of Black Hills fishing. Fortunately, most Black Hills streams have enough water throughout the year to hold fish, but during summers of extremely dry years, some nearly dry up, forcing the trout to find refuge in deeper pools. The area hasn't had a drought for a long time, though, and the fishing in the Black Hills is the best it has been in 40 years.