[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”79″ gal_title=”October 19, 2016 day with ben and eastern guests”]
Hello my fellow fishing friends!
Let’s talk about this glorious day we had on the South Platte River, Decker’s/Trumbull, shall we? First of all, we’ve got a current flow of 92 (cfs) here in Trumbull, with 62 (cfs) below Cheesman Dam. Not having the sustained wind or gusts all day has helped with the amount of debris floating down the river, especially the pine needles! It wasn’t nearly as bad as it had been the prior three days. However, be sure to adjust your depth on your strike indicator when nymphing, as you are sure to be picking up the bottom along the way! Myself, I’ve been sticking to mostly deeper runs above and below the areas downstream from the Decker’s Bridge. Today we fished behind our house from about noon until 4 pm. It was a non-stop, hatch after hatch of small BWO’S, real small, about size #24. Being unprepared and not properly equipped with, said little blue-wing, I was left with the choice of leaving the river, or taking my chances with the size #24 Parachute Adams. My other choice was a second rod I had rigged up from a previous outing, with a hare’s ear, trailing a tan RS-2, with one split shot and no strike indicator! As my buddy Ben was tying on his small BWO, I walked out, made two casts along a bubble seem that is usually the gateway to a pretty strong eddy, and wham! Fish on! Picked up a few fish with this rig until the small, size #24 bwo hatch covered the run. I switched over to that larger #24 Parachute, but this time I added a grey RS-2 behind it, to simply float below the surface. At this point, fish were rising left and right, and within a few more casts, picked up another four or five fish! This patter went on until 4pm, when my buddy had to leave and I had to get out of the sun. Otherwise, we could have continued to pick up fish on dries all night! It’s always nice to be out on the river and meet people that are new to the area. Today was no different, and with their permission, shot a few pics of a nice gal from Chicago, enjoying her annual trip to the South Platte River, to try her luck on a trophy trout! We were also treated to a nice fly-over by a large Red-Tailed Hawk, that’s also in today’s fantastic picture gallery! I also like to include a little about my fitness quest a couple of times a week, if anyone’s interested in how I’ve managed to shed almost 100 pounds in one year! The food pictures that I post are what I create for myself each day, as I have learned the value of a healthy, mostly plant-based diet. That’s all for today folks. Until tomorrow, stay safe and I hope to see you on the river!
Chris
Oct.23, 2016 The scoop on the fish’n!
Fishing Conditions, fishing report[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”83″ gal_title=”oct.23 rising fish 70 flows”]
Howdy Friends!
Wow, just absolutely WOW! If I didn’t blog daily and know the date, I would have thought it was just another summer day here in Decker’s! The sun was shining, the fish were rising, and the week ahead looks great! Let’s get to the fishing first, shall we? As you know, the flows are low. 64 (cfs) below Cheesman Dam, with about 70 (cfs) through Decker’s and Trumbull. I’m currently reaching out to the USGS to maybe find out why this station is reading 94 (cfs) when the rest of the river is in the 60’s! However, for the time being, I will keep the graph on the daily blog. Ok, enough of the flow issue, let’s talk about the fishing. As the morning sun makes it way over Rampart Range and fills the Decker’s/Trumbull section of the valley with all that warmth, the midge and blue-wing hatch really starts going strong at about 10:30. Fish are sipping throughout the day and feeding aggressively in the faster moving water. Something I’ve figured out in the last couple of days, with the drop in the flows, was that I seem to be catching more fish on the “bubble lines’ that are forming along the seems in the river. This is where the fish are just gorging on the small, size #24 midge and BWO’S that are just covering the surface of the water. After doing a little fishing this morning and making my way back to Trumbull and Decker’s, I took a walk up the YMCA road to the “wire” where I observed pretty much the same pattern of sipping fish and the assortment of dry-flies filling the air. After walking the river today for a couple of hours and speaking with several Angler’s, their were a few bugs of choice that seemed to be repeating. On the dries, it was the small, size #24 parachute, size #24 Duck-winged BWO, Trico-spinner, size #24 caddis. I personally had success over the last week by throwing a single dry-fly, such as a parachute or small caddis, then I simply trail an emerger such as an RS-2, tan and grey, olive flash back midge, or another small midge of choice! It’s looking like we’re going to have great weather for the entire week, so book your guided trip with the friendly folks at Flies and Lies http://www.flies-n-lies.com. These guys are friendly, knowledgeable, and will most likely get you on the fish before you know it! If you need last minute supplies, check out their full selection of UMPQUA flies https://umpqua.com/products/flies, clothing and everything else you may need for a day on the World Famous, South Platte River, Decker’s, Colorado. Need a cabin for the night? No problem, they’ve got those too! Other options for lodging include cabins for rent by http://www.southplatterivercabins.com. These cabins are available year-round for daily or weekly rentals. Be sure to stop into the Decker’s Country Store and speak with Bob or Phyllis to discuss rates and availability. What am I going to eat while I’m there, you ask? Don’t fret my friends! Let the Decker’s Corner Cafe be your spot for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Visit their website at http://www.deckerscornercafe.com for the full menu! Today’s picture gallery is from my adventures over the weekend and some of the areas that I visit! I hope you enjoy the underwater shots of the trout, I like those the best! That’s all for now my friends! Heading downriver tomorrow to fish the “Nighthawk” section of the South Platte! Hope to see you on the river soon!
Chris
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Oct.22 2016 Fishing News!
Fishing Conditions, fishing report[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”82″ gal_title=”oct.22 swayback day”]
Hi there Folks!
Sorry about the delay, ended up out of range of the internet! Happens from time to time when you live in the forest! Just to keep you up to date, we’ll keep it simple. Flow are really low, but offers great opportunities to sight fish! 70cfs in Decker’s/Trumbull, with 62 at the dam. The warm temps are keeping the bugs hatching all day long, with BWO’s, caddis, and midges dominating the day between about 10:30 and 6pm. With the low flows, the crowds are small, so come on up and try your luck! Here’s a few pics from yesterday, as we got to fish some private water in our area. What a treat! More later on this evenings blog! That’s all for now my friends, take it easy and I hope to see you out there soon!
Chris
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Oct.21 2016 Fly-fishing report
Fishing Conditions, fishing report[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”81″ gal_title=”oct.21 nice dry and nyping with ike flows at 70″]
Hello there my friends!
It’s a beautiful evening here on Platte, temps in the upper 40’s now, but it stayed warm all evening. Tomorrow is looking like a spectacular day for being on the river, so come on up and get in on some of the good dry-fly action we’ve been seeing all week! Flows are low, as you are probably already aware. The Trumbull station is currently reading 92, but let’s face it folks, with the flow below the dam at 62.5 (cfs), this Trumbull gauge is slightly off. This can happen when the flow does drop below 100, probably just needs some adjusting. As a rule of thumb, you can usually add about 15 cfs to the reading just below the dam and get a pretty accurate flow going through Decker’s. However, during run-off season and during flash rain storms, Wigwam Creek and Horse Creek can greatly influence the flow through Decker’s. The dry-fly fishing was hot again today, but the bigger, smarter fish seem to be hanging out down below! I guess that’s how they got that big. With the low flow and shallow water, guess it makes sense to protect yourself by staying deep. I fished today with a variety of dries, but had the most success with a size#24 Blue-Winged Olive and a size #24, Grey RS-2. I did manage to catch one fish while pseudo-nymphing(no weight/no strike indicaor) with a Hare’s Ear, trailing a tan RS-2. After catching a nice sized Rainbow, my tan RS-2 lost it’s black emerging wings, becoming it simply an RS! Only took a few pictures of today’s fishing, as my Go-Pro waterproof camera is on the fritz, so I’m grabbing the cannon when the situation permits. That’s all for today my friends, more to come tomorrow! Until then, take care of each other and I hope to see you on the river soon.
Chris
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Oct.20, 2016 The daily fishing news!
Fishing Conditions, fishing report[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”80″ gal_title=”oct 20, jens birthday!”]
Good evening my friends!
It’s been just a beautiful fall day here it the South Platte River Valley, Decker’s Colorado! Started off pretty darn chilly this morning, with temps in the low 20’s, but warmed up nicely by about noon. The weather for the next few days looks great, with plenty of sunshine and highs in the low 70’s. 92 (cfs) is the flow here in Decker’s/Trumbull, with 62 (cfs) below Cheesman Dam. If you would like to read more about the Cheesman Reservoir and Dam, pleas visit http://www.denverwater.org/Recreation/Cheesman/. The fish today were quite active again on the dry flies. I got out on the river around noon, and immediate saw fish sipping just below the surface, on what looked to be small midges and about a size #24 BWO. Not making back to Flies and Lies http://www.fies-n-lies.com to pick up a few more dries, I was torn between running up there or taking my chances with the single dry Caddis I had already on my pole! Of course I couldn’t consider leaving a river of rising fish, so I tied on a grey RS-2 about 14 inches below the Caddis. No problem! By my third or fourth toss of this combo, I was hooked up on a nice rainbow. This went on for four hours straight! The only time I was not catching fish was when I was tying on a new fly, due to the abuse that each bug was taking after about three fish and multiple hits! I kept the Caddis, even catching a couple on it, then replace my bottom fly as needed with everything from a BWO, Chocolate Thunder, juju baetis, tan RS-2, barr’s emerger, and olive-split case midge. I went back out at about 5pm and picked up another 5 fish on the Caddis/Parachute Adams combo that I was fishing yesterday. The crowds have been about average with the good weather that we are having, but expect this weekend to be much busier with such a good forecast. It’s also a great time to camp in the Decker’s area, so if you are looking to make a reservation for the Lone Rock Campground, just follow this link http://www.reserveamerica.com and you’ll be connected directly to the reservations page for the campground. Today’s picture gallery is pretty weak on the fish pics, as I didn’t have my waterproof camera with me today, only the good camera was out this morning. I took a few this morning to show you the low flow around the “hole in the wall” section of the river. Also, our dog Bailey had to show her Frisbee skills, as she snatches one that got away from me! That’s all I’ve got for today my friends! Until next time, have a great Friday and I hope to see you on the river soon!
Chris
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Oct.19, 2016 Update on the Trout Fish’n!
fishing report[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”79″ gal_title=”October 19, 2016 day with ben and eastern guests”]
Hello my fellow fishing friends!
Let’s talk about this glorious day we had on the South Platte River, Decker’s/Trumbull, shall we? First of all, we’ve got a current flow of 92 (cfs) here in Trumbull, with 62 (cfs) below Cheesman Dam. Not having the sustained wind or gusts all day has helped with the amount of debris floating down the river, especially the pine needles! It wasn’t nearly as bad as it had been the prior three days. However, be sure to adjust your depth on your strike indicator when nymphing, as you are sure to be picking up the bottom along the way! Myself, I’ve been sticking to mostly deeper runs above and below the areas downstream from the Decker’s Bridge. Today we fished behind our house from about noon until 4 pm. It was a non-stop, hatch after hatch of small BWO’S, real small, about size #24. Being unprepared and not properly equipped with, said little blue-wing, I was left with the choice of leaving the river, or taking my chances with the size #24 Parachute Adams. My other choice was a second rod I had rigged up from a previous outing, with a hare’s ear, trailing a tan RS-2, with one split shot and no strike indicator! As my buddy Ben was tying on his small BWO, I walked out, made two casts along a bubble seem that is usually the gateway to a pretty strong eddy, and wham! Fish on! Picked up a few fish with this rig until the small, size #24 bwo hatch covered the run. I switched over to that larger #24 Parachute, but this time I added a grey RS-2 behind it, to simply float below the surface. At this point, fish were rising left and right, and within a few more casts, picked up another four or five fish! This patter went on until 4pm, when my buddy had to leave and I had to get out of the sun. Otherwise, we could have continued to pick up fish on dries all night! It’s always nice to be out on the river and meet people that are new to the area. Today was no different, and with their permission, shot a few pics of a nice gal from Chicago, enjoying her annual trip to the South Platte River, to try her luck on a trophy trout! We were also treated to a nice fly-over by a large Red-Tailed Hawk, that’s also in today’s fantastic picture gallery! I also like to include a little about my fitness quest a couple of times a week, if anyone’s interested in how I’ve managed to shed almost 100 pounds in one year! The food pictures that I post are what I create for myself each day, as I have learned the value of a healthy, mostly plant-based diet. That’s all for today folks. Until tomorrow, stay safe and I hope to see you on the river!
Chris
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