South Dakota · river

Castle Creek

Castle Creek is a tributary of Rapid Creek, approximately 14 mi (23 km) long, in western South Dakota in the United States. It rises out of Deerfield Reservoir, in the Black Hills in Pennington County approximately 15 mi (24 km) NNW of Custer. From Wikipedia

Elevation
4,754 ft
Flows into
Rapid Creek

Flow now

Castle Cr Above Deerfield Res Near Hill City, SD, 4 mi from the river.

8cfsat build, Nov 12, 12 PM MT

0918Oct 12Nov 11

The typical week here, from 10 years of record: 13 cfs to 18 cfs, around 15 cfs.

Also gauged at Rhoads Fork Near Rochford, SD: 4 cfs, Nov 12.

Snowpack

0.1 in of water in the snow at North Rapid Creek and 1 more station, against a median 0.8 in for the date (6 % of normal).

The snowpack here usually builds from Nov 3, peaks Apr 2 and is gone by Apr 28; runoff follows the melt.

The season, November

Usually workable this week. Pick your window and fish it well.

  • Midgessizes 18 to 22
  • Small eggs and worms
  • Pheasant tail and zebra midge nymphsunder an indicator

Typical for the week over 10 years: 13 to 18 cfs. Running 8.1 cfs today, below that range. Flows are not forecast; check the gauge the day before.

Brown Trout are spawning (October to December). Stay off clean, light-coloured gravel in riffle tails and pool tailouts, and leave paired fish alone.

Brook Trout are spawning (September to November). Stay off clean, light-coloured gravel in riffle tails and pool tailouts, and leave paired fish alone.

Mountain Whitefish are spawning (October to December). The egg bite behind spawning whitefish is the best winter nymphing of the year: an egg pattern below the riffles.

  • Egg patterns in the runs below the spawning gravel, never on it.

Written by the app's rules engine from the calendar, the gauge record and the snowpack, not by hand, so it says only what the data says. The weather for the week comes with the app.

Fly shops on this water

Nearby waters

Every South Dakota water

Open Castle Creek in FlyMaster for today's plan, the flies, and your own log here.

Download FlyMaster on the App StoreGet FlyMaster on Google Play

Flows from the U.S. Geological Survey, snowpack from the NRCS SNOTEL network, text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Built Nov 12.