The Old Geezers Black Hills Tenkara Trip

Trip Report by Dave Noll

In mid-June a group of us met up in the Black Hills of South Dakota for a few days of fishing. Brian Smith, Vern Berry, Alan Luecke, Paul Lengeling, Zoan Kulinski, and myself. Zoan, the “baby” of the group, is 70 years old. Brian stayed at his favorite campground, Vern and Alan at a hotel in Spearfish, while Zoan, Paul, and I stayed at an Airbnb. We all got together at our place Sunday night over baked veggies, saffron rice, and pork chops to plan our attack on the fishies. Alan and Vern decided to head up above Spearfish Canyon and chase some brown trout. The rest of us decided to meet at Brian’s camp and mainly chase brook trout.

On a windy Monday morning Paul and Zoan headed downstream while Brian and I headed upstream. Paul and Zoan did very well but Brian and I hit the brookie jackpot! We went much farther upstream than either of us had ever ventured. After stopping, it took Brian and I almost 25 minutes to get back to camp. Vern and Alan had a good day but really had to fight the wind. The rest of us were in a side canyon so the wind was never much of a factor although Zoan and Paul had to deal with rain.

Tuesday morning Vern and Alan headed out to a new stream while the four of us headed back to the same area. Once again Zoan and Paul headed downstream while Brian and I headed even farther upstream. Once again both the scenery and fishing was incredible!

Wednesday came and Brian had to fly back to Chicago while the rest of us (save Zoan) decided to check out Sand Creek in Wyoming. It was actually closer than the streams we fished on Monday and Tuesday. Zoan decided to pan for gold, which he found, plus he caught some browns in the same stream. Because of the bending over he was pretty sore.

Sand Creek has crystal clear water and looks a lot like the spring creeks in the Driftless but with a much faster flow. Everyone caught fish but since we were all fishing separately I can only describe my experience. I started out with my Nissin Fujiyru 360 5:5 and a Red Ass Monkey. I hooked a rainbow almost immediately but quickly switched to a size 16 nymph (surprise) because the fish were all near the bottom. I quickly started catching fish.

After a bit Paul and I moved quite a bit farther downstream. I put on a size 12 after feeling I still wasn’t getting deep enough and started hooking up even more fish. Paul headed back to the car because of his ankle hurting and I went back with him because Alan and Vern also showed up.

Back at the car I took out my Riverworks ZX4-PRO which had on 13’6” of 2.0 level line and about 4’ of 6x tippet and a size 16 purple perdigon. Let me tell you, that was the ticket! Over the next hour or so I landed 22 fish, a combination of rainbows and browns. As I neared the end of my section I saw a really nice pool and figured I would save it for Vern who had been fishing from the bank.

On his first cast Vern hooked a nice rainbow which I landed for him, lost a nice one which we never saw, and got another one. At this time Alan caught up with us and landed a nice brown. After fishing we headed into Sundance, Wyoming and ate at the Longhorn Saloon & Grill. We highly recommend it. After lunch Vern and Alan headed to Devil’s Tower while Paul and I headed back to Spearfish.

On Thursday morning Vern and Alan headed back to Sand Creek. Zoan, Paul, and I headed up above Spearfish Canyon to try out another creek. We all had another good day but because of Paul’s ankle and Zoan’s back, we only fished for a couple of hours. Nymphs were still the ticket. Paul and I did head upstream quite a ways and found some water where we each able to use our Oni Type I and a kebari. Alan and Vern also had a good day on Sand.

We all agreed that both the fishing and scenery in the Hills are fantastic and are already talking about next year!

---

Dave Noll lives in the Minnesota Driftless Area and in 2010 decided to take up fly fishing. After reading an article in Backpacking Light, he purchased a Hane, and in early 2012 contacted Chris Stewart about rods to purchase for fishing in retirement. Dave has now fished in 10 states plus Spain and Patagonia and usually gets out over 100 times a year.

Do you have a story to tell? A photo to share? A fly recipe that’s too good to keep secret? If you would like to contribute content to Tenkara Angler, click HERE for more details.

When you buy something using the retail links within our articles or Gear Shop, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Tenkara Angler does not accept money for editorial gear reviews. Read more about our policy.