Black Hills Flyfishers
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Home > Newsletters > November 2006 > From the Presidents Desk - Spearfish Creek News
| From the President's Desk Spearfish Creek News |
I’d like to bring you up to date on Spearfish Creek news. Most of you know how well Spearfish Creek
has been fishing the past few years. Just as the City of Spearfish claims to be the Queen City of the
Black Hills .. . . Spearfish Creek is now in a position to claim to be the King Stream of the Black Hills.
Now this claim can be challenged by those who already know that fish numbers in Spearfish creek
have decreased significantly in the past few years, but never can the claim be challenged by anyone
who ranks the beauty of the Spearfish Creek environment as part of the fly fishing experience. And
that’s why I would like to review some exciting projects and plans for Spearfish Creek.
At the September BHFF Board meeting, long-time BHFF member and first-rate BHFF supporter Dan
Landguth and SDGFP Senior Biologist Ron Koth presented GFP plans for reconstruction of the
Homestake weir on Spearfish Creek – the one which is downstream from Elmore and about one mile
upstream from Savoy, in the vicinity of the new fire station. The present dam structure, which is
marked by the bobbers and lures hanging from the power lines which cross above the pond, has
impeded fish migration upstream from Savoy. Fish passage will be assured in the new, natural-looking
structure by the construction of fish ladders or fish passages to permit fish travel around the
structure. BHFF was invited to participate as one of the private sector financial cooperators in
the project, and your Board was pleased to jump right in with a pledge of $10,000 – a small part of the
total cost of the project, but an enthusiastic endorsement of the project. Construction of the project
will commence sometime this Fall.
In early October, we were pleased to be a part of a group convened by Spearfish Mayor Jerry
Krambeck to explore the possibility of stream restoration measures in Spearfish Creek within the City
of Spearfish. BHFF Board member and Spearfish resident Bill Coburn had suggested to the Mayor
that sections of the creek in town could use a little TLC to improve the stream and the fishery.
SDGFP was represented in the meeting by fisheries biologists Ron Koth and Jeff Shearer, who
confirmed that fish numbers in Spearfish Creek are presently at ten year lows. Jim Nelson, current
President of the Spearfish Canyon Owners Association and an avid fly fisherman, brought his first-
hand Spearfish Creek fishing experience to the meeting. One of Mayor Krambeck’s Spearfish high
school fishing buddies, Bill Wichers, presently an administrator with Wyoming Game and Fish in
Casper who did a ten year stint as a regional WGF coldwater fisheries biologist in Sheridan some
years ago, was also present to bring his fisheries experience to the discussion.
As many of you know, the streambed of Spearfish Creek within the City of Spearfish was seriously
“rearranged” by high flows during the flood in 1995, and no stream rehabilitation work has been
completed since that time. While the group agreed that there was no “silver bullet” to quickly remedy
the downturn in the Spearfish Creek fishery, the consensus of the group was to continue to meet to
develop a plan to restore stream habitat in certain sections of the creek within the City and to study
the resulting effects on the fishery. I was very impressed by the spirit of cooperation to restore the
fishery in Spearfish Creek within the City of Spearfish, and felt a genuine sense of “positive energy”
as possible “adaptive management practices” for the stream were discussed. I’m optimistic that we’ll
see significant improvement in the fishery in Spearfish Creek within the City of Spearfish in the near
future. We’ll keep you posted on progress in this project.
From Under the Noses of the Presidents,
Jim Hawke
has been fishing the past few years. Just as the City of Spearfish claims to be the Queen City of the
Black Hills .. . . Spearfish Creek is now in a position to claim to be the King Stream of the Black Hills.
Now this claim can be challenged by those who already know that fish numbers in Spearfish creek
have decreased significantly in the past few years, but never can the claim be challenged by anyone
who ranks the beauty of the Spearfish Creek environment as part of the fly fishing experience. And
that’s why I would like to review some exciting projects and plans for Spearfish Creek.
At the September BHFF Board meeting, long-time BHFF member and first-rate BHFF supporter Dan
Landguth and SDGFP Senior Biologist Ron Koth presented GFP plans for reconstruction of the
Homestake weir on Spearfish Creek – the one which is downstream from Elmore and about one mile
upstream from Savoy, in the vicinity of the new fire station. The present dam structure, which is
marked by the bobbers and lures hanging from the power lines which cross above the pond, has
impeded fish migration upstream from Savoy. Fish passage will be assured in the new, natural-looking
structure by the construction of fish ladders or fish passages to permit fish travel around the
structure. BHFF was invited to participate as one of the private sector financial cooperators in
the project, and your Board was pleased to jump right in with a pledge of $10,000 – a small part of the
total cost of the project, but an enthusiastic endorsement of the project. Construction of the project
will commence sometime this Fall.
In early October, we were pleased to be a part of a group convened by Spearfish Mayor Jerry
Krambeck to explore the possibility of stream restoration measures in Spearfish Creek within the City
of Spearfish. BHFF Board member and Spearfish resident Bill Coburn had suggested to the Mayor
that sections of the creek in town could use a little TLC to improve the stream and the fishery.
SDGFP was represented in the meeting by fisheries biologists Ron Koth and Jeff Shearer, who
confirmed that fish numbers in Spearfish Creek are presently at ten year lows. Jim Nelson, current
President of the Spearfish Canyon Owners Association and an avid fly fisherman, brought his first-
hand Spearfish Creek fishing experience to the meeting. One of Mayor Krambeck’s Spearfish high
school fishing buddies, Bill Wichers, presently an administrator with Wyoming Game and Fish in
Casper who did a ten year stint as a regional WGF coldwater fisheries biologist in Sheridan some
years ago, was also present to bring his fisheries experience to the discussion.
As many of you know, the streambed of Spearfish Creek within the City of Spearfish was seriously
“rearranged” by high flows during the flood in 1995, and no stream rehabilitation work has been
completed since that time. While the group agreed that there was no “silver bullet” to quickly remedy
the downturn in the Spearfish Creek fishery, the consensus of the group was to continue to meet to
develop a plan to restore stream habitat in certain sections of the creek within the City and to study
the resulting effects on the fishery. I was very impressed by the spirit of cooperation to restore the
fishery in Spearfish Creek within the City of Spearfish, and felt a genuine sense of “positive energy”
as possible “adaptive management practices” for the stream were discussed. I’m optimistic that we’ll
see significant improvement in the fishery in Spearfish Creek within the City of Spearfish in the near
future. We’ll keep you posted on progress in this project.
From Under the Noses of the Presidents,
Jim Hawke