Fly Fishing Road Trips
Good People      Good Water       Good Fish

The South Dakota Trout is part of the 2016 Banff Trip.  After having success in Nebraska, my hopes were high for South Dakota.  I pick a primitive campsite, French Creek, as my first problem.

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I chose French Creek as my stream, but I would have to hike three miles to set up my tent.  I got to Custer State Park in the late afternoon and the campground via GPS.  I didn't know there was a West & East French Creek Campground.  By the time I got to the West Campground, the sun was setting; oops, it was the wrong campground.  All the campground sites were full!  

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I had no choice, so I drove to the east campground.  I arrived around 9:00 pm, and it was black outside.  It was too dark to see if I was even at the campground.  I was tired, cranky, and hungry.  I decided to put up my tent where I was anyways; no one else was around.  I ate my dehydrated dinner and fell asleep until about 11:00 pm.  At 11:00 pm, I hear breathing and snorting coming louder and louder.  Shit!  It is a buffalo, and it can be unpredictable.  I have dealt with them before.  He/she finally left at midnight.  At 1:00 am, it started up again, huff, huff, huff....closer and closer.  Brooke would start to growl, and I would get up and couldn't see it.  It went away and then came back at 3:00 am. Same thing, huff, huff, and huff!  

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The sun rose at 5:00 am, and it was over.  I was not going to hike three miles with the lack of sleep, plus I was behind schedule.  So, I decided to circle the park and find a risky stream to fish as I had done no research.
I found a small stream that fed a small pond,  Grace Coolidge Creek,  I looked in the water and saw what could be small trout, but it turned out to be shad.  I walked up the small creek, made a few casts, and landed a trout!  What a pleasant surprise!

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South Dakota Done!