The Black Hills of South Dakota provide legendary flyfishing opportunities. “The trout here are big and fat and fight hard ... they’re not too picky because they hardly see any pressure. No one knows about this place.” (Colin Kearns, Flyfishing's Best-Kept Secret, Field & Stream, July 21, 2015).
My first experience flyfishing in South Dakota was on French Creek within Custer State Park. We had just moved to South Dakota from Michigan where fishing for trout and salmon was my way of life. This was supposed to be a site-seeing vacation but I stole my backpack rod into the trunk of our VW Cabrio among the necessities of a wife and teenage daoughter.
Our temporary domicile was a cabin along French Creek. No television. No radio. We listened to the symphony of the stream.
I am an early riser and so I stole outside to raise a glorious sunrise and fetch my rod. The stream called to me and before long I had a rainbox trout on the end of my line. Then another. And another. I might have felt guilty about stealing these moments from my family vacation but the early hours of the morning are mine.
I was ultimately caught. My wife smiled as soon as she saw my jeans were wet upto my knees. It was the smile of understanding and forgiveness. In fact, I was allowed to spend more time fishing that week.
On one of those occasions my daughter Mandy caught her first trout. She held a flyrod for the first time and whipped it back and forth with perfect precision. When she shot the line it was straight and tight. The Parachute Adams gracedfully landed upon the stream but it didn't stay there for long. Within a minute she landed her first rainbow.
As we released her beauty I fealt both pride and jealousy. Pride in her flyfishing ability. I've never confessed how long it took me to catch my first rainbow.
So, whether you are a master angler or giving the flyrod a try for the first time, the Black Hills welcome you.