[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”143″ gal_title=”May 17, 2017 cheesman reporting 99 cfs”]
Good evening Folks!
Well, I’m all settled in at my new job and new residence, so lets get right back to the reporting! If you have been a regular follower of my fishing blog, you would know that I have been doing much of my reporting for the last year from the Decker’s main bridge area, along with the last 6 month or so, mainly on the lower Decker’s/Trumbull sections of the river, at “Hole in the Wall” With a new Chef position in the area and my current residence allowing me easy access to the World Famous, Gold Medal waters of Cheesman Canyon, I’ll be spending the next 6 to 9 months focusing on this section of the South Platte River. For those of you who are not familiar with the Canyon, let’s spend a few moments discussing the wonderful tail-water fishery the Canyon represents. Cheesman Canyon is a tail-water fishery ,meaning the river is dammed, with the river flow being controlled by hydraulic gates, and regulated by the Denver Water Board. This is done to account for the use of millions of gallons of water each day, by the millions of Front Range residents throughout the Denver Metro and surrounding communities. Cheesman Reservoir is one of the most technical rivers in the state to fish, and can be quite difficult to put fish in the net. However, with a little bit of knowledge and a good presentation, it can also be one of the most rewarding. Home to some rather large trout, Rainbow and Brown trout reaching sizes of 20+ inches are common. In addition to the world class fishing, this stretch of river is known for its abundance of wildlife and true Rocky Mountain beauty. Don’t be surprised if you happen to see in one day, Mule Deer, Elk, Moose, Bear, Mountain Lion, Eagles, and much more! well. With that being said, I’ll still continue to provide the daily numbers, bug report, and results from Decker’s area, but will be mostly fishing the canyon on a daily basis. Cool, with that out of the way, let’s get to the reporting! I’ve spent the last two weeks fishing the canyon daily, with pretty good success, but let’s first get you up to speed with what’s going on with the river. Currently, flows from the dam are at 101 (cfs), with a similar flow through Decker’s and Trumbull, excellent clarity, and a water temperature of 41. Most of the time in the last two weeks I’ve been nymphing throughout the day, but we’re still seeing quite a bit of blue-winged olives, some caddis, and emergers all day long! so be prepared and have your dries and Rs-2’s ready! As I’ve transitioned from fishing the Trumbull area daily to fishing the canyon, I’ve been focusing on my depth and presentation above all else! If there is one thing I’ve picked up on the most, I’ve learned to adjust my strike indicator and amount of weight, before changing my flies. In addition to these two critical items, my approach to the fish has also improved, as I’ve learned the value of a stealthy approach to the fish. The fish in the canyon seem to be a little spookier and tend to like the pocket pools you’ll find throughout the flats. Working with the usual flies, I’ve had relatively good success with the rojo midge, disco midge, jujubee (blue,purple, and black), the chocolate thunder, and the ever reliable RS-2! On the emerging end of things, I’ve been catching several fish with a Barr’s emerger and the caddis nymph! With time not being on my side the last two weeks, I’ve been fishing mostly just up from the club, through the Family Pool, then up about a 1/2 mile. As we are starting to see fish paired up and spawning in the flats, I will spend most of my time in the next week or two, further upstream toward the dam. That’s all for today my friends! Hope you enjoy today’s picture gallery, as it represents the last two weeks in the canyon, Decker’s, and Trumbull! Since relocating to the Canyon, I’ve already met several really cool people along the river and I look forward to meeting as many of you as possible, as I head into the second season of recording life as I live it, here in the beautiful South Platte River Valley, Decker’s Colorado! Until next time, have a blessed day!
Chris
September 4, 2017
fishing reportWelcome Back Folks![Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”145″ gal_title=”july 23 blog”]
After three long months of relatively little fishing for me, I’m happy to say that I’m almost back to full fishing capacity and will be continuing with the Daily Fishing Report! After one year of blogging and further development of www.livedeckerscolorado.com, we are happy and excited to announce that we will be relaunching the website sometime around the first of September! This will be the first, and only, fully functional tourist information website and advertising platform for the South Platte River Valley. Until then, please check back weekly, as I will continue with the fishing reports throughout the fall and winter seasons! The fishing has been excellent and the holiday weekend crowds are leaving the hills! I look forward to seeing all of you out on the river soon!
Chris
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June 7, 2017 Fishing Report
fishing report[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”144″ gal_title=”june 7 2017″]
Hello my Friends!
Well, I’m all settled into my new job and have been cooking and fishing non-stop, from May 17th-today! No kidding folks, been in Cheesman Canyon, sometimes three times a day! I’ve done this so I could get a pretty good understanding of the flows and how the fish tend to behave on the lower section of the South Platte River, here in the canyon. Since I’ll be working quite a bit this summer as a private Chef, I’ll most likely be keeping my fishing reports to 3 to 4 a week. Don’t fret my friends, that’s why I call it “live” deckerscolorado.com! You’ll always have the current weather and USGS river flows availble 24/7, via RSS feeds! Ok, let’s get to the current canyon situation, along with the Decker’s area too! Big news is that the flows are no where near where they were this time last year. Currently, below Cheesman Dam, we’ve got a flow of 136 (cfs), with a similar flow through Decker’s/Trumbull. Not much moisture fell in the Valley today, some passing thunder, but no real rain to speak of. In the last week, we’ve gone from a flow of almost 300, back down to this meandering trickle of 136! As a typical reaction, the fish during this adjustment period tend to get a little spooky and don’t seem be be feeding as consistent as they do when the flows are not interrupted or altered. This, however, does not keep me from trying, so I was out on the river during this entire period, throwing multiple combinations of flies, in hopes of changing the minds of a few opportunistic trout. During this period, depth was key, as the fish were holding close to the bottom and not straying far in any direction in an attempt to get my fly. I did seem to get into a few fish during this period with the red midge larva and the buckskin midge. After the flow balanced back out, around late evening yesterday, the fish were back to aggressively feeding on emergers and dry midges. The one bug I would have to say was the “hands down” go to bug, was the size #22 blue jujubee midge. I caught at least 8 fish this evening, along with the buckskin taking about 4 of those 8 fish. When I wasn’t using the nymphing pole, I was set up with a double dry-dropper rig, consisting of a “hare’s ear” simply followed with alternating, grey and black RS-2’s, and even through the olive “Wooley Bugger” at a few big pigs that were cruising some deeper water further up the canyon. No luck thought, they just turned their noses up and went about their business. I have also spent few afternoons and evening sessions down in the Decker’s/Trumbull area as well, over the last three weeks, and I’ve had similar results with the same bugs! Not too much different fishing the Canyon vs. the Decker’s area, in my opinion. However, I have shortened up the amount of line I generally nymph with, along with paying much more attention to my weight and strike indicator, as the depth and flow can change dramatically from hole to hole throughout the canyon. Well, that should get you up to speed on things here in the canyon and around Decker’s/Trumbull. Today’s gallery is made up of some shots from the last two or three weeks. Hope to see you out there on the river soon!
Chris
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May 17, 2017 Fishing Update!
fishing report[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”143″ gal_title=”May 17, 2017 cheesman reporting 99 cfs”]
Good evening Folks!
Well, I’m all settled in at my new job and new residence, so lets get right back to the reporting! If you have been a regular follower of my fishing blog, you would know that I have been doing much of my reporting for the last year from the Decker’s main bridge area, along with the last 6 month or so, mainly on the lower Decker’s/Trumbull sections of the river, at “Hole in the Wall” With a new Chef position in the area and my current residence allowing me easy access to the World Famous, Gold Medal waters of Cheesman Canyon, I’ll be spending the next 6 to 9 months focusing on this section of the South Platte River. For those of you who are not familiar with the Canyon, let’s spend a few moments discussing the wonderful tail-water fishery the Canyon represents. Cheesman Canyon is a tail-water fishery ,meaning the river is dammed, with the river flow being controlled by hydraulic gates, and regulated by the Denver Water Board. This is done to account for the use of millions of gallons of water each day, by the millions of Front Range residents throughout the Denver Metro and surrounding communities. Cheesman Reservoir is one of the most technical rivers in the state to fish, and can be quite difficult to put fish in the net. However, with a little bit of knowledge and a good presentation, it can also be one of the most rewarding. Home to some rather large trout, Rainbow and Brown trout reaching sizes of 20+ inches are common. In addition to the world class fishing, this stretch of river is known for its abundance of wildlife and true Rocky Mountain beauty. Don’t be surprised if you happen to see in one day, Mule Deer, Elk, Moose, Bear, Mountain Lion, Eagles, and much more! well. With that being said, I’ll still continue to provide the daily numbers, bug report, and results from Decker’s area, but will be mostly fishing the canyon on a daily basis. Cool, with that out of the way, let’s get to the reporting! I’ve spent the last two weeks fishing the canyon daily, with pretty good success, but let’s first get you up to speed with what’s going on with the river. Currently, flows from the dam are at 101 (cfs), with a similar flow through Decker’s and Trumbull, excellent clarity, and a water temperature of 41. Most of the time in the last two weeks I’ve been nymphing throughout the day, but we’re still seeing quite a bit of blue-winged olives, some caddis, and emergers all day long! so be prepared and have your dries and Rs-2’s ready! As I’ve transitioned from fishing the Trumbull area daily to fishing the canyon, I’ve been focusing on my depth and presentation above all else! If there is one thing I’ve picked up on the most, I’ve learned to adjust my strike indicator and amount of weight, before changing my flies. In addition to these two critical items, my approach to the fish has also improved, as I’ve learned the value of a stealthy approach to the fish. The fish in the canyon seem to be a little spookier and tend to like the pocket pools you’ll find throughout the flats. Working with the usual flies, I’ve had relatively good success with the rojo midge, disco midge, jujubee (blue,purple, and black), the chocolate thunder, and the ever reliable RS-2! On the emerging end of things, I’ve been catching several fish with a Barr’s emerger and the caddis nymph! With time not being on my side the last two weeks, I’ve been fishing mostly just up from the club, through the Family Pool, then up about a 1/2 mile. As we are starting to see fish paired up and spawning in the flats, I will spend most of my time in the next week or two, further upstream toward the dam. That’s all for today my friends! Hope you enjoy today’s picture gallery, as it represents the last two weeks in the canyon, Decker’s, and Trumbull! Since relocating to the Canyon, I’ve already met several really cool people along the river and I look forward to meeting as many of you as possible, as I head into the second season of recording life as I live it, here in the beautiful South Platte River Valley, Decker’s Colorado! Until next time, have a blessed day!
Chris
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May 3, 2017 Decker’s/Cheesman Canyon Fishing Report
fishing report[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”142″ gal_title=”May 3, 2017 Cheesman canyon living there now”]
Good Evening Everyone!
Welcome back to www.livedeckerscolorado.com and my daily blog! Well, I’ve made the move to the Canyon, and I’m starting to fish it daily! Before I get further into the report for the Canyon, let’s talk a bit about the general conditions we’ve currently got here on the South Platte. As of just a few moments ago, we’ve got 118 (cfs) below the dam, at Cheesman, with a slightly higher flow at 130 (cfs) through Decker’s/Trumbull. The weather the last two evenings has been mixed, but the sun finally came back out this evening, as I walked into the canyon at about 5:30 this evening. I started out this evening on the Wigwam end of the Canyon, working my way only about 4oo yards upstream from the Wigwam club, as I was having pretty good success on a stone fly, trailing a grey Rs-2. The fish were holding mostly in the riffle, feeding aggressively on pretty much anything passing by! Sticking to the faster moving riffles and working my upstream, I manged to hook into about 4 fish, both on the Stone and the Rs-2. The fish were sporadically rising, on what appeared to be small midges and a few BWO’S. As darkness fell upon me around 8:oo this evening, the lazy sipping continued, but nothing really materialized, as far a as a full on rise! Early in the day, we did see a bigger rise on dry’s, as the front moved in and the wind started to blow a bit. It’s looking like sunny skies and increasing warmer temperatures as we head into the Mother’s Day Weekend. Expect big crowds of Anglers at both Cheesman and the Decker’s area over the weekend. So, if it’s solitude and open water you’re looking for, you may want to consider fishing other parts of the state this weekend! However, if you are coming to the South Platte River Valley this weekend, be sure to check out the rest of www.livedeckerscolorado.com, where you’ll find everything you need while here. Links to local lodging, dining, camping, and and all the other important information you’ll need for a great time in Decker’s! Today’s picture gallery is from the last two days in the canyon, where I’ll be spending most of my time that I fish for the next 7 months or so! That’s all for today my friends and I hope to see you in the Canyon soon!
Chris
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April 27, 2017 Update on www.livedeckerscolorado.com
Cabin Rentals, camping, Fishing Conditions, fishing report, hiking, lifestyle and fitness[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”140″ gal_title=”April 27, 2017 just moved to wigwam club”]
Howdy my friends!
Well, I’m back and ready to start the next year of www.livedeckerscolorado.com! My apologies for the absence of the fishing report for a week, as I have relocated and am now living a few miles upstream from Decker’s, working in the World Famous Cheesman Canyon, where I’ll be reporting from daily for the next six months. I will still be providing all the same river flow, weather, bug, and fish updates for Decker’s and Trumbull, but I will be adding the daily factual information for the Canyon, along with what’s working for me to catch the trout. Cheesman Canyon is one of the best and most beautiful places to experience a day of fishing in Colorado, with large Rainbow and Brown trout that are rather keen to a good presentation. In addition to providing you very useful information on a daily basis, my goal is to become a better fly-fisherman myself, focusing on identifying the hatch and improving my technical skills. I hope you join me each day, as I will at least try to get out on the river to observe the fish and conditions each morning. I’m thrilled to begin fishing the canyon daily and reporting my results and findings to you each day. Exciting times ahead for us folks, as the website will be relaunched around the 4th of July. The new website will still have the daily fishing blog, but there will be a new look, with lots of exciting features to help you, the reader, navigate your way around one of the most popular recreation destinations in the front range foothills! Our “Things to do” page will be packed full of new and updated links to the most visited areas of our region, along with a live MLS listing of local real estate for sale in the valley! We will also be adding a much broader range of information pertaining to current fire, flood, and other safety warnings and updates. In addition to all of these incredible new features, we will be offering several advertising opportunities and platforms for local and regional businesses! When we created www.livedeckerscolorado.com almost a year ago, we had no idea the reception the site would receive. To date, we have a daily blog following of over 2,000 subscribers and have had several blog stories and photographs picked up by the local news affiliates in Denver and Colorado Springs. We are thrilled to be able to be the first and only informational and tourist website for Decker’s and the entire South Platte River Valley. It is our hope that you, the reader, can continue to help spread the word about www.livedeckerscolorado.com, by sharing our blogs on social media, “liking us” on Facebook, and following me on Instagram (Platteriverguy). We here at www.livedeckerscolorado.com also want to take a moment to thank everyone who supported the idea of creating a website for our area, joined us as an advertising business, and continue to promote and celebrate life in the South Platte River Valley. Our goal, each and every day, is to make the South Platte River Valley more accessible with accurate maps and links of our area, provide up to date and accurate safety and outdoor recreational information, and offer the local and regional businesses of the South Platte River Valley, a way to advertise and promote their offerings and services! All in one convenient hub! We look forward to a bright and sunny future, in what I believe, is one of most beautiful and historic areas of the great state of Colorado!
Thank you All!
Chef Chris
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