I get tons of question about creek hiking, so I decided to write a little article. Hope you enjoy it.

I hike a lot. I only post a fraction of my creeking adventures online. I hike for three reasons. First and foremost, because I need exercise. Second because I like fishing. Third because I like to be alone. The only reason I have found so many awesome little pools of fish is because exercising was my first goal. If my first goal was to catch fish, I would’ve never went far enough or busted through enough brush. Every time I’m faced with thick foliage or uninviting terrain, I have to remind myself that I came out here for exercise and that pushes me through. Needless to say boots and pants are must. Most of the time I don’t find anything good. Creeks are puzzle that I can’t figure out. Most of the creeks I follow are barren of fish for miles even though they look sooo fishy, but there’s nothing in them. Then they’ll have relatively small sections filled with life, and then go back to being void of fish. Why is that tiny section so magical? I don’t know. You would think that if a creek has tons of fish on in one stretch that it would at least a couple fish downstream or upstream. For some reason it doesn’t work that way. At least not on the creeks I hike. I’m sure there are some streams that have fish throughout, I haven’t found one yet.

Finding creeks. I find more good creeks by looking around while driving through the city, than I do on Google Earth. I use Google Earth mainly to find parking. Most of my best pools can’t be seen by Google Earth. If you do use it, use it to look for greenery not water, although sometimes you will see pools and tiny ponds and then you know your heading in the right direction. Every lake in SD has one creek going into it and one coming out of it. Most of them are legal to access at some point. Start walking.

I carry two telescopic poles in my back pack, one 4lb and one 6lb. I don’t like to be seen carrying poles, it attracts too much attention. I also don’t want people to know there’s fish around. I carry a few small lmb lures(Senko, Ika, etc.) just in case. I also carry some form of bread incase I see big carp, but 99% of the time I use a 1/80th ounce lead head and a 1” BPS grub. I have to order the heads from Cabelas and the tails from BPS, which is a royal pain, but believe me it’s worth it. These tiny grubs will catch fifty times more fish than a typical crappy grub. I also carry Unibutter in my pocket so when the fish get tired of plain plastic, you have another trick up your sleeve. I also carry a few tiny trout flies, because sometimes even the 1” grub is too big. I paint the leadheads blaze orange, and many times when it’s tough to see what’s going on in the pool I just focus on the orange dot. If it disappears,…swing! Using white or chartreuse grubs accomplishes the same thing. Needless to say polarized glasses are a huge benefit in this venue.

I am Mr. Stealth when stream fishing. I wear camo-ish clothing and I tip toe up to the water. I move very slowly and I’m looking into the water all the time. I want to see them before they see me if possible. The first thing I do when I approach water is stand still and watch the spot for a few minutes. Many times the fish have fled and will come back out in a few minutes if you’re quiet. Bass, blugill, and carp are pretty easy to spot if your quiet. Green sunfish are another story. I am fascinated by green sunfish. Many times I will find a gsf pool and I will just sit there half-hidden taking a break or having a drink and just watch the little gsf world operate. They have a wolf tribe mentality. They have a leader or a homeguard if you will. It’s plain to see, if you watch enough. The biggest baddest gsf owns the pool, the others all react based on his(her?) reaction. I also have a gsf reef in my living room aquarium. They are very eel like. They are totally hidden much of the time. They are very similar to African cichlids if you’re familiar with them. I can’t tell you how many times I have found water that appears to be fishless, but I dangle my grub in front of a shadowy overhang long enough and jig it up and down or shake it, then a gsf pops out and eats it. Sometimes the water is only a few inches deep, or sometime it’s just a crack between rocks on a creek. I am often amazed at where I catch gsf. Thinking “there’s no way there’s one in here” and boom, there he is.

So I hope this answers some question and helps to motivate someone else to explore. I won’t tell you where mine are, but I’m always looking for more, so hit me up.

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