"Spearfish Creek has been good," said Stephenson.

A late-spring snowstorm last April dropped more than 7 feet of snow in one downfall in the creek's watershed. The resulting run-off changed some of the holes.

"The late snowstorm (in) early spring of 2006 changed things around somewhat," said Stephenson, "and the fish are in different locations. There are a lot of downed trees in certain sections, and it moved some sediment around. The holes that I go to are quite a bit different, but the fishing is still quite good. There are good numbers of fish throughout the stream."

Stephenson likes to fish the entire area to get different kinds of fishing. Several small ponds backed up by little dams lie along the stream in Spearfish Canyon. "Yates Pond and Hanna Canyon give you a nice amount of fishing throughout the day," he said. "I fish the stream, and then take breaks and fish the pond."

Another pond is on Roughlock Falls Road, just above Spearfish Canyon Lodge. This is on Little Spearfish Creek, which is exceptionally clear. Soaring above are the huge limestone walls that make this one of the most photographed spots in the Black Hills. Both brown trout and brook trout swim Spearfish and Little Spearfish creeks.

As in other parts of the Black Hills, the browns tend to be in the bigger, deeper sections. The brookies are mostly in the tiny headwater sections, which the brown trout don't do as well in.

"(Spearfish Creek) is swampy, and clear," said Stephenson. "There are a ton of fish in there. If you find the right beaver dam on it you can do pretty well."

Stephenson recommends moving quite a bit to find feeding fish. "Some of the fish are moving around," he said. "I don't know if it is the higher flows moving them throughout the canyon, but some areas aren't holding as many fish. Others do hold then. I like bouncing around finding the pocket water. There are still good numbers of fish. It is mostly nymph fishing. You should be willing to cover some water until you find the holes and pockets. Then you can get into quite a few fish. It is mostly brown trout."

Spearfish Creek disappears partway down he canyon, as the water is diverted into a decades-old pipe --part of an old electrical power production setup that was run by Homestake Mining Co. -- that takes it to the city park area of town.

Inside the city of Spearfish, the stream has lots of artificial habitat where it flows through the city park.