[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”146″ gal_title=”Nov.7 2017 back to blogging”]
Hey Fishing Friends!
After working the last 6 months like a dog! I’m back to fishing and writing daily! Not only that, we’re under some really exciting changes here at www.livedeckerscolorado.com. With our “New look” and brand new template, you’re sure to get all the information you’ll need to have a great time here in Decker’s. On to the fishing, shall we? Starting out with the canyon, flows have been under 100 for the last two weeks, with a current flow of 105(cfs). Prior to my season ending as a private Chef, I had been fishing the canyon pretty much daily for the last 6 moths. If you’ve been following along with me since the beginning of my blog, the majority of my fishing and reporting have been around Trumbull and Decker’s. All in all, I would have to say that the two areas pretty much fish the same, with the canyon demanding a stealthier approach and typically lighter tippet, but most of the same bugs got the job done! Most of my fishing took place on the lower end of the canyon, by the club, as this offered me several chances throughout my workday to get out and cast a fly. Current set up of choice in the canyon has been the nymph rig, consisting of Pat’s Rubber Legs, followed with an egg, and trailing a variety of emergers, such as the barr’s emerger, size 20 and 22, grey RS-2, size 22 and 24. I’ve also had success with the black and brown styles of the RS-2. Mid morning, as the sun makes it’s way above the canyon wall, I’ve been seeing and catching quite a few fish that are just sipping the dead trico spinners that are just below the surface. I’ve been throwing a Cinnamon colored bug, trailing a number of other emergers just about 18 inches behind that spinner. Mid-afternoon, I’m back to nymphing the riffles and faster moving water, picking up several fish on a 3 bug pattern, consisting of a yellow egg, size 20,/barr’s emerger, size 22, and then trailing the grey RS-2, size 22 or even a 24. I picked up several nice size browns on this same set-up, yesterday, in Trumbull. For the last three days I’ve been fishing some familiar waters in Trumbull, at hole in the wall, and upriver toward the second bridge that’s just down river from the Decker’s Resort. Pressure has been pretty consistent, as the weather has been pretty solid and not too cold. I got out yesterday and had to work for every fish I caught! Fishing the drop-offs into the hole was pretty productive this morning, as we seemed to catch a little sunshine and warmth, between the two storm systems moving through. Early on I had pretty good success up top, with a dry rod I has set up with a small parachute adams, size 22, trailing a Rainbow Warrior, size 22. I caught several nice fish that were feeding just below the surface, along a bubble line and seem. Almost tossing these bugs like a dry rig, upstream and slightly across the riffle, I caught 3 or 4 fish back to back on that trailing bug, the warrior. Well, that’s it for now my friends! Next week I’ll be heading to Cotter, Arkansas, to fish for trophy Browns, on the famous White River! Hope to see you out on the river soon!
Chris
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November 23, 2017 Fishing Decker’s
fishing report[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”148″ gal_title=”November 23, 2017″]
Good Afternoon!
Well, it’s feeling a bit like mid June in Decker’s these days, with a beautiful, unseasonably warm Thanksgiving forecast. Currently, it’s in the mid 60’s, with a clear to partly cloudy outlook for the remainder of the holiday weekend. Flows have been increased twice over the last three days, with a current flow 0f 156 (cfs) in Decker’s/Trumbull, with a flow of 151 (cfs) below Cheesman Dam. Typically, we’ll see the flows remain below 100 (cfs) this time of year, but’s it’ no uncommon to see the occasion bump in flow. With this being said, good opportunities to sight fish can be taken during these low flow periods. Before heading out of town on Friday of last week, I was able to spend a couple of days fishing the canyon, down river to Trumbull. With the increased temperatures and plenty of sunshine, I’ve had some pretty great morning and evening sessions, both nymphing and dry-flying fishing. I’ve had the most success fishing the riffles, runs, and drop offs, as I tend to cover as much water as I can with the great sight fishing opportunities presented with the excellent clarity and low flows. Because of these low flows and clarity, be sure to stick with 5x and 6x tippet for most of your set-ups. On the bug end of things, I’ve continued to do well fishing a variety of midges, nymphs, and dry flies throughout the day. Zebra midges, size #20-#22, both red and black have done well. Purple Juju baetis, and RS-2’S have also been regularly taking fish, along with several egg patterns, both yellow and orange, size #20. Typically using a 3-fly nymph rig set-up and keeping my bugs about 12-14 inches apart, I’ve been catching quite a few fish on emergers such as the Cheesman and Barr’s emergers, and foam back bugs like the Chocolate Thunder, once again keeping them in the smaller #22-#24 range. On the dry-fly end of things, it’s been a bigger challenge for sure! With these low flows and fish that simply know what a fake presentation looks like, you’ve really got to key in on what these fish are really after! You got it! Small here too gets the job done! BWO patterns, olive and grey are pulling the most fish for me, with a small Adams, Trico, and even a small Griffiths gnat has tempted a few trout to consume my offering! All of these bugs and much more can be picked up right here in Decker’s! Be sure to visit the guys at Flies and Lies, or visit their website at http://www.flies-n-lies.com They also offer a great 1/2 or full day guided fishing trips, tackle and gear! The browns have been aggressive during the fall spawn, so be sure to stay away from fish that have paired up and stay clear of the reds, as these become vital “safe houses” for all the new fish. Well, that’s it for now folks! Putting together a little slide show from my visit to Cotter, Arkansas, this past weekend, as I stopped and threw a few flies in, “Trout Capitol USA.” Until next week, Happy Thanksgiving and I hope to see you out on the river soon!
Chris
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November 14, 2017 Decker’s Fishing Report
Cabin Rentals, camping, Fishing Conditions, fishing report, hiking[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”147″ gal_title=”November 14, 2017 last time to fish hole for year”]
Good Evening!
Wow! It’s like spring out there! With temperatures reaching almost 70 for the second day in a row, we saw an abundance of bug activity throughout the day and into the evening. First, let’s talk a little about the current river conditions here in Trumbull/Decker’s. Right now, flows through Trumbull and Decker’s are about 75-80 (cfs) keeping in mind that the Brush Creek measuring station in Trumbull, tends to read just a little bit high, usually off about 10 (cfs). With flow running low and sunny skies, we’re seeing an increase in water temperature that has really done some confusing things to both the fish and the bugs! Not being an entomologist nor a botanist, I cannot fully attest to the reasons why it’s causing such havoc with the bugs and the grass growth, but I’ve sure picked up on a few things as it pertains to catching fish! With the decreased flows and gin clear waters, tippet and bug size has been key to both my nymphing and dry fly success over the last week. Tippet of choice has been mostly 5x and 6x, with size 22 and 24 bugs. More on the bugs of choice a little later. The fishing has been really good, especially the dry-fly action in the evenings. Small Adams, size 22 and 24, along with the small BWO’s, were finally getting a few fish in the net last evening, after many attempts with a multitude of bugs! I even took a nice brown on a small, size 24 black Trico spinner, as we saw some hatches of these over the last few days. When I wasn’t throwing a double dry rig, I trailed a size 22, Cheesman emerger, behind the BWO, catching quite a few fish with this method. Underneath, I’ve been having success with a variety of bug combinations. Starting off today with a yellow egg up top, followed with a grey, size 22 RS-2, and trailing a purple juju baetis, I focused on the faster moving water and drop-offs into pools, where I could find them. This seemed to work out pretty well, as I picked up three fish in a relatively short time, on all three of the bugs I was presenting! Other flies I had success were the Chocolate Thunder, size 24, Disco Midge, size 22, and the purple and black Pat’s Rubber Legs, size 10 or 12. Well, that’s it for now on the fishing folks! Until next time, have a great week and I hope to see you out there on the river soon!
Chris
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November 7, 2017 Cheesman Canyon/Decker’s/Trumbull Fishing!
fishing report[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”146″ gal_title=”Nov.7 2017 back to blogging”]
Hey Fishing Friends!
After working the last 6 months like a dog! I’m back to fishing and writing daily! Not only that, we’re under some really exciting changes here at www.livedeckerscolorado.com. With our “New look” and brand new template, you’re sure to get all the information you’ll need to have a great time here in Decker’s. On to the fishing, shall we? Starting out with the canyon, flows have been under 100 for the last two weeks, with a current flow of 105(cfs). Prior to my season ending as a private Chef, I had been fishing the canyon pretty much daily for the last 6 moths. If you’ve been following along with me since the beginning of my blog, the majority of my fishing and reporting have been around Trumbull and Decker’s. All in all, I would have to say that the two areas pretty much fish the same, with the canyon demanding a stealthier approach and typically lighter tippet, but most of the same bugs got the job done! Most of my fishing took place on the lower end of the canyon, by the club, as this offered me several chances throughout my workday to get out and cast a fly. Current set up of choice in the canyon has been the nymph rig, consisting of Pat’s Rubber Legs, followed with an egg, and trailing a variety of emergers, such as the barr’s emerger, size 20 and 22, grey RS-2, size 22 and 24. I’ve also had success with the black and brown styles of the RS-2. Mid morning, as the sun makes it’s way above the canyon wall, I’ve been seeing and catching quite a few fish that are just sipping the dead trico spinners that are just below the surface. I’ve been throwing a Cinnamon colored bug, trailing a number of other emergers just about 18 inches behind that spinner. Mid-afternoon, I’m back to nymphing the riffles and faster moving water, picking up several fish on a 3 bug pattern, consisting of a yellow egg, size 20,/barr’s emerger, size 22, and then trailing the grey RS-2, size 22 or even a 24. I picked up several nice size browns on this same set-up, yesterday, in Trumbull. For the last three days I’ve been fishing some familiar waters in Trumbull, at hole in the wall, and upriver toward the second bridge that’s just down river from the Decker’s Resort. Pressure has been pretty consistent, as the weather has been pretty solid and not too cold. I got out yesterday and had to work for every fish I caught! Fishing the drop-offs into the hole was pretty productive this morning, as we seemed to catch a little sunshine and warmth, between the two storm systems moving through. Early on I had pretty good success up top, with a dry rod I has set up with a small parachute adams, size 22, trailing a Rainbow Warrior, size 22. I caught several nice fish that were feeding just below the surface, along a bubble line and seem. Almost tossing these bugs like a dry rig, upstream and slightly across the riffle, I caught 3 or 4 fish back to back on that trailing bug, the warrior. Well, that’s it for now my friends! Next week I’ll be heading to Cotter, Arkansas, to fish for trophy Browns, on the famous White River! Hope to see you out on the river soon!
Chris
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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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