[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”127″ gal_title=”feb 5 2017″]
Hey Everyone!
First of all, thanks to all of you for reaching out and checking on me! I had no idea, really, no clue that so many of you would have reached out on my behalf! Things are great with me, just had to get a few ” life things” in order for the upcoming months. I also had to get some health issues addressed and take care of a little dog along way! Thanks again for all the support! Ok, now let’s get to the river update, current conditions, and the latest on the the FISH! The flow below the dam is unchanged, currently at 59.5 (cfs) below Cheesman Dam, then flowing through Decker’s/Trumbull at about 65. Clarity is pretty good and the water temperature this morning was 40. The icebergs of January seem to mostly be gone and we’ve lost that slushy feeling, whoa that slushy feeling! However, getting in and out of the river can still be a little tricky, as the shaded areas are still holding some ice, so be careful out there! For the second day in a row, we’ve seen temperatures almost reach 60, with lots of sunshine and variable winds. The wind has picked up quite a bit this afternoon, but from about 10-3 today, it wasn’t too bad, as the granite wall behind my house blocked most the gusts! The next few days look pretty seasonal, but the winds will be increasing overnight and through Wednesday. Look for a big warm up by the weekend, with plenty of sunshine and high temperatures nearing 60!
Alright! Let’s get into the fish stories and see what’s up with the fish these days, shall we? Today’s picture gallery is going to be a great representation of the fish we’ve been catching the last couple of days! There’s a nice picture of a Tiger Trout, some really nice gold colored browns, and of course there’s going to be a few of that famous golden retriever, Bailey, and a new doggie, who’s name is Marley, joined the fishing party on Sunday! As I spoke earlier about the weather, the days are warming up nicely, but the fish really aren’t doing much until about 10/10:30 each morning. As far as what’s working! Well, just about anything and everything! From a Pat’s Rubber legs, San Juan Worm, or even leech for an indicator bug, we’ve seen fish taken on all of these, and for the second two bugs, it’s been more of the same! Most of the time, my second bug of choice has been either a copper john or a pheasant tail, size #22. My trailing fly has also been a variety of bugs, to include the grey and tan RS-2, olive WD-40, rojo midge, juju baeits (purple), red and black zebra, miracle, and the latest to take a few fish consecutively, has been the good ole “Chocoalate Thunder” The last two afternoons, with the increased temperatures, I have seen a few dry midge hatches around 2pm. Not a bad idea when this happens to toss on a single parachute adams, or even a little gnat! I did that this afternoon to a few fish that were sipping below the surface, on what appeared to be some spinners, and hooked into two nice browns on a pretty beat up Blue-winged Olive I had handy! That’s all I’ve got for today! Look for more frequent posts about the current fishing conditions and and upcoming version of the entire website! More on that a little later, but have a great evening and I hope to see you on the river soon! I hope you enjoy today’s picture gallery, as it includes some great shots of fish, but more importantly, it shows you how much fun we have living on such a beautiful river! Good night folks!
Chris
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February 17, 2017 Decker’s Fishing Report
Fishing Conditions, fishing report[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”128″ gal_title=”february 17,2017 back at ikes”]
Hi there Friends!
Well, after finding a new place to live, new job, new car, and finally got my internet moved in the forest, I’m back to reporting to you more frequently! Thanks for the emails and phone calls about my well-being, as it’s been a tumultuous couple of weeks making all of this happen! However, I must be honest and tell you that while I’m back to a full-time job, I’ve found much more time to fish, as if I wasn’t fishing enough! Ok, not going to give you a long and drawn out fishing report today, just going to let you know that the weather is great, the fishing has been on fire, and the river has been pretty crowded! Flows are still in the upper 60’s/low 70’s from the Cheeseman Dam, downriver through Trumbull. Clarity is ok, with some moss to deal with, but the water is gin glear. Fish are feeding actively in both the sunny shallows and the riffles. Most success has been deep, but with this warm up in the last few days, the above surface activity has shown some promise, as we’ve seen some dry midges later around mid afternoon. We’re starting to see some spawning fish, so please do your best to steer clear of them as you work your way upstream. This morning I actually saw two fish paired up, so some early pre-spawning is certainly taking place! On the bug end of things, the Grey RS-2’s, rainbow warrior, Pat’s rubber legs, black bead-headed beauty, San Juan Worm, chocolate thunder, and even the olive wooley bugger stream have all caught fish! There are probably another dozen or so patterns that we’ve been having great success with, so instead of me just listing what’s working for me, I invite you to use the blog comment section to share “what’s working for you” on your latest visit to the Decker’s/Trumbull area of the South Platte River. Today’s picture gallery is a collection of shots I took over the last week or so! Some of these fish are taken on private river just below the Trumbull bridge and fire station. Most of the others are taken from the area around “hole in wall” in Trumbull. There’s a little bit of everything in the gallery, so I hope you enjoy. Now that I’m getting settled with my new life and career in place, I’m planning on getting back to more frequent updates on the fishing and the surrounding area! Thanks again for your patience and I hope to see you on the river soon!
Chris
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February 6, 2017 Fishing Report, Decker’s Colorado
fishing report[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”127″ gal_title=”feb 5 2017″]
Hey Everyone!
First of all, thanks to all of you for reaching out and checking on me! I had no idea, really, no clue that so many of you would have reached out on my behalf! Things are great with me, just had to get a few ” life things” in order for the upcoming months. I also had to get some health issues addressed and take care of a little dog along way! Thanks again for all the support! Ok, now let’s get to the river update, current conditions, and the latest on the the FISH! The flow below the dam is unchanged, currently at 59.5 (cfs) below Cheesman Dam, then flowing through Decker’s/Trumbull at about 65. Clarity is pretty good and the water temperature this morning was 40. The icebergs of January seem to mostly be gone and we’ve lost that slushy feeling, whoa that slushy feeling! However, getting in and out of the river can still be a little tricky, as the shaded areas are still holding some ice, so be careful out there! For the second day in a row, we’ve seen temperatures almost reach 60, with lots of sunshine and variable winds. The wind has picked up quite a bit this afternoon, but from about 10-3 today, it wasn’t too bad, as the granite wall behind my house blocked most the gusts! The next few days look pretty seasonal, but the winds will be increasing overnight and through Wednesday. Look for a big warm up by the weekend, with plenty of sunshine and high temperatures nearing 60!
Alright! Let’s get into the fish stories and see what’s up with the fish these days, shall we? Today’s picture gallery is going to be a great representation of the fish we’ve been catching the last couple of days! There’s a nice picture of a Tiger Trout, some really nice gold colored browns, and of course there’s going to be a few of that famous golden retriever, Bailey, and a new doggie, who’s name is Marley, joined the fishing party on Sunday! As I spoke earlier about the weather, the days are warming up nicely, but the fish really aren’t doing much until about 10/10:30 each morning. As far as what’s working! Well, just about anything and everything! From a Pat’s Rubber legs, San Juan Worm, or even leech for an indicator bug, we’ve seen fish taken on all of these, and for the second two bugs, it’s been more of the same! Most of the time, my second bug of choice has been either a copper john or a pheasant tail, size #22. My trailing fly has also been a variety of bugs, to include the grey and tan RS-2, olive WD-40, rojo midge, juju baeits (purple), red and black zebra, miracle, and the latest to take a few fish consecutively, has been the good ole “Chocoalate Thunder” The last two afternoons, with the increased temperatures, I have seen a few dry midge hatches around 2pm. Not a bad idea when this happens to toss on a single parachute adams, or even a little gnat! I did that this afternoon to a few fish that were sipping below the surface, on what appeared to be some spinners, and hooked into two nice browns on a pretty beat up Blue-winged Olive I had handy! That’s all I’ve got for today! Look for more frequent posts about the current fishing conditions and and upcoming version of the entire website! More on that a little later, but have a great evening and I hope to see you on the river soon! I hope you enjoy today’s picture gallery, as it includes some great shots of fish, but more importantly, it shows you how much fun we have living on such a beautiful river! Good night folks!
Chris
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January 31, 2017 Decker’s Colorado Fishing Report
Fishing Conditions, fishing report, hiking[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”126″ gal_title=”jan.31 2017″]
Hi Folks!
Wow, sorry for the absence, I’ve been under the weather unable to both fish or write that much, up until yesterday! Feeling much better now and moving back into the fishing grove and getting you, sorry, CAUGHT UP TO DATE! Oh yeah my friends, getting back to my old self. Alright, disclaimer in the books, let’s get to it. First, I spent mos of the afternoon today trying my luck on the newly, re-found South Platte River, as this pesty, titanic-sinking size ice bergs we’ve been dodging most of the month of January have finally succumbed to the gentle warm up of the last few days. Continued flows of about 65-70 (cfs) through Decker’s/Trumbull, with a bit lower up at the Dam. Clarity is pretty good, but because of the increase in temps and the melt off, I did see quite a bit of branch debris start to flow by later in the day. That usually passes quickly, so don’t let that keep you from fishing the South Platte. Alright, got out at ten this morning, armed with my 3-weight and nymph rig of an olive leech pattern up top and down below I was wearing a tan, sort of beat up looking RS-2, size 24, trailing at first the black-bead headed rojo midge. This rig caught two aggressive browns in the first 15 tosses of this tasty combination. After that little skirmish of activity, I headed upstream just a bit to see if I could sight a few fish that we’re holding deep in a hole, so I crept about the shelf and dropped my “pat’s rubber legs, followed with the Juju baetis and miracle midge trailing behind. Once again, because I moved up to some deeper water, I reminded myself to add weight and adjust my strike indicator. In a few short throws of my junk, I was back on the browns! Both taking early on the Pat’s! Today’s picture gallery will show you some of the condition that we’ve seen in just the last two or three days. This month has been full of cold enough days to turn the river into a slushy! But now, as you know, if you’ve lived here for any period of time, days in the 60’s like today are quite common this time of year. Alright, gotta run for now! Thanks for sticking with me and look for a complete new look for livedeckerscolorado.com come spring! Have a great evening and I hope to see you on the river soon!
Chris
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January 24, 2017 Fishing update for Decker’s
Fishing Conditions, fishing report[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”125″ gal_title=”JANUARY 24, midges and chilly/snowy 65 cfs”]
Hi Folks,
Sorry for the absence, not quite the full-time blogger billionaire yet! So, gotta get out there and work to keep the dream alive! Alright, with the disclaimer out of the way, let’s get to the update! Flows are unchanged for about a month now, 61 (cfs) below Cheesman Dam, with slightly higher flows through Decker’s and Trumbull at about 65-70 (cfs). Looking ahead to weather for the next two days, much cooler temps for the high’s, only reaching the mid twenties, tomorrow and Thursday. Look for more sunshine and slightly warmer temperatures as we go into the weekend, with light and variable winds around 6-10 mph. I’ve only gotten out on the river a couple of times the last few days, but managed to put a few in the net. I had my friend Tony, who is one of the local guides join me out there in the sporadic snow showers we saw today! There’s a good shot of him holding a nice Rainbow he picked up this afternoon behind my house. The fishing continues to be pretty good, however, the colder temperatures have kept the fish pretty low key until about 11 or 11:30 each day. I’m finding fish holding in pretty much all the usual spots, both in the deeper pools and even saw a bunch of fish stacked up today in the shallow, rocky shelves. As I tend to go back and forth between the shelves and the deeper holes, I’m constantly having to adjust my weight and strike indicator to account for drop-off and the proper drift. This is something that my neighbor and friend have really helped me with, as my normal instinct was to immediately assume that it was my flies that weren’t working! This is growth my friends! One thing I’ve learned by living up here and fishing mostly everyday, is that I’m constantly learning! Whether my bug knowledge improves, or my technique, I’m constantly watching and listening to other anglers that are willing to share what they’ve picked up along the way. This is another reason that I like to recommend a guided fly-fishing trip from FLIES AND LIES http://www.flies-n-lies.com. Whether you book a full day or half-day trip, the fine folks here will get you on the fish! Also, if you’re like me and have developed some “bad habits” around your game, they will get you back on track and greatly improve your chances of consistently catching fish! That’s all I’ve got for today my friends. More to come in the next few, as my schedule looks good to get me out on the river a bit more in the next few days. Until next time, have a great Wednesday and I’ll hopefully see you out there soon, on the WORLD FAMOUS South Platte River, Decker’s, Colorado.
Chris
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January 19, 2017 South Platte River Fishing Report
Fishing Conditions, fishing report[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”124″ gal_title=”January 2017 mixed bag of pics”]
Welcome to South Platte River Fishing Report!
Good evening my fellow fishing enthusiasts! Ice is mostly a thing of the past, not like 2,000 years past, but with a second day of temperatures almost reaching 60*, mother nature has surely worked her magic by melting off the remaining glaciers that have been clinging to the river banks for weeks! What does this mean for the fishing, we’ll get to that in just a few, but first, let’s get you up up speed on the current conditions here in the South Platte River Valley. Flows below the dam remain mostly unchanged for the third week, 62-70 (cfs) as the river winds it’s way down through Decker’s and Trumbull. Clarity is pretty good, however, with the second day of solid melt-off, you’ll most likely see a little more of debris set free from remaining ice from the riverbank, with an average water temperature of 41*. Looking ahead at the weather for the next few days, we’re expecting a light dusting of snow this evening, with cloudy skies tomorrow and forecast high of 41*. The weekend looks like a mixed bag of sun and clouds, with highs in the mid 30’s. The fishing continues to be pretty solid, with the fish feeding more aggressively in the riffles, but don’t pass up the chance to sight fish to trout that are feeding in the shallower pools and run-outs. Referring back to the ice melting off the banks, be stealthy when approaching the river, as fish are tending to hold closer to this abundance of food that’s being released with the melt-off. Nymphing continues to prove to be the most effective way of getting the fish in the net, with the usual suspects getting it done. Midges and Baetis patterns continue to dominate, but the “Pat’s Rubber Leg’s” has been my lead bug of choice the last couple of days, taking several fish over 16″ with this bug. Underneath this Rubber legs, the RS-2’s, zebra’s, WD-40’s, and mercury flashback midges have been getting strikes consistently throughout the day. If you don’t have these bugs in your box, don’t fret! Stop in to see the guys and Flies and Lies http://www.flies-n-lies.com and they’ll get you set up with all these bugs and I’m sure they’ll even give you a few of their favorites as well. Interested in a cabin for the night or the weekend, they’ve got that covered too. In addition to the cabins available through Flies and Lies, there are also additional cabins for rent through the Decker’s Country Store. Visit http://www.southplatterivercabins.com for more information on price and current availability. That’s all for now my friends! Until next time, have a great evening and I look forward to seeing you on the river soon.
Chris
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