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Hi there my Friends!

Well, for the first day of October, by 10:30, you would have thought it was just another summer day. After a spectacular morning fog that had settled in the valley, we quickly warmed up as the sun made it’s way over Rampart Range.  Welcome to those joining me for the first time, and welcome back to my loyal followers! Right now in Decker’s, we’ve got 53 degrees and a few passing showers. Just a drizzle here and there and we’ll be clearing out overnight.  Sunday and Monday look sunny with a high tomorrow of 77 degrees and light winds of 8-10mph, before the rain moves back in for Monday and Tuesday. 42o cfs for the flow in Trumbull/Decker’s, with a similar flow below the dam at Cheesman at 420 cfs. With the third day of uninterrupted flows or any real significant rainfall, we’ve got good clarity all the way down to the Confluence, as I made my way down there today to see for myself.  I did more reconnaissance and picture taking today for some art projects I’m working on, but did spend a few moments makings some observations and spoke to one of the guides at Flies and Lies http://www.flies-n-lies.com about our current conditions. October looks to be a good time for the blue-wing hatch, along with the increase in the egg patter results as we inch closer to the fall spawn of the brown trout. Right now, with a good drift, you can pretty much pick your bug and get a few in the net. Getting down deep with the nymph rig seems to be the trick on these bigger fish that tend to stay deep. On the dry side, the fish are really going nuts on the Hopper-dropper rig during the afternoon and evening hours. Blue-wings, caddis, pmd’s, and even some bigger moths have been thick around 6 or 6:30 on these warm evenings. I’ll be heading out early tomorrow to fish “hole in the wall” and downstream to the Trumbull bridge. More when I return. Until then my friends, enjoy some of the shots from today’s hike along the river and I hope to see you out there soon!

Chris

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Hello fellow lovers of the South Platte River!!

Here we go my friends, with an update on the conditions today, from Decker’s, Colorado.   Just taking a look at the flow below Cheesman and  the conditions here in Trumbull/Decker’s, we’ve got pretty much a consistent/similar flow in all three locations at 422. What’s that mean you ask? Not much really, but what I’ve have noticed with the consistent flow, has been the clarity. It’s been getting better and better since Thursday. The weather has been great for the last couple of days, with cooler temperatures the forecast for the weekend, with the chance of passing showers both Saturday and Sunday.  The early morning trico hatch is still creating that mid-morning sipping, but last night and today really proved to announce that the spawn is soon upon us! Yesterday evening, and followed by early this morning, my buddy and I both immediately started with a double egg pattern, trailing a purple-jujubaetis with plenty of weight! On his first cast, and on my third or fourth pass of this double-egg pattern, we were both dialed in on the meal of choice! This went on for about an hour, and then later in the afternoon, I quickly ran out to the hole to see if I could duplicate the morning success. Sure enough, third pass through, hooked up on another aggressive brown! It’s looking like we may have a few showers on both Saturday and Sunday, but this may really turn on the fish!  It’s a great time to book a guided fly-fishing trip in Decker’s. Book you’re today by calling the fine folks at Flies and Lies, or visit them at http://www.flies-n-lies.com.  Because Decker’s is a such a popular day destination for many Angler’s of the front range communities, expect the crowds on the weekends to continue as  long as the weather holds out! Remember! there is plenty of open water to fish downstream from Decker’s, with just a few private sections of the river that are clearly marked. Just find a brown “P” sign and you’re ready to try your luck on the Blue Ribbon, Trophy-Trout waters of the South Platte River, Decker’s ,Colorado! Need a cabin for the night or the weekend? Please visit Bob and Phyllis at the Decker’s Country Store, or visit them at http://www.southplatterivercabins.com, where you’ll find more information about the multiple cabins that are available on the river and the surrounding area. Where are you going to eat and drink you ask? No problem, Make sure you get a breakfast burrito with green chili at the Decker’s Corner Cafe @ http://www.deckerscornercafe.comThe cafe is also a full service coffee and espresso shop, along with great soft serve ice cream and milk shakes! Looking to get your Spirits and head out on the river? Got that covered too, simply stop into South Platte Liquors where they carry a nice variety of beer, wine and liquor for a quite diversified mountain palate!   That’s all for now folks, until next time, have a great evening and I hope to see you on the river!

Chris

 

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Good Evening Everyone!

Well, it’s a little late in the day to finally get to the computer, but I had to spend the entire day working the river to give you an updated conditions and fishing report! Let’s catch you up on the basics, the flow has been dropped just a bit 413 in Trumbull and 423 below the Cheesman Dam. Clarity is pretty good considering we’ve had a few changes in flow in the last few days.  I got out early this morning to take a few pictures and made sure to bundle up, as we’ve certainly arrived at Fall! This morning  it was somewhere around 29-32 degrees and without a doubt, a nip in the air!  After a few shots of the fall colors and arrival of some friends, we geared up for a day in the back yard to try our luck at, what we hoped would be, starving trout!  They say hindsight is 20/20, got it, but let me tell you about the morning bugs and how we did. Not seeing much in the way of a rise, and pretty much content with staying around the back yard, which happens to be the section known as “hole in the wall” we decided that we were going to stick with nymphing for our best chance of landing a fish. I should let you know that I had a guest with me today that doesn’t have much experience fly-fishing, but was simply happy to be on the river. So, being the guy that has the place to fish, I invited her to come fish with me and be part of today’s blog! Not being the best instructor, considering I have my own bastardization of the “correct” technique, mostly due to a shoulder injury that most likely needs surgery to repair, I did my best to teach her what a proper drift should look like. To our dismay, we didn’t have much luck through the late morning and into the afternoon. Back to the hindsight comment a few sentences back, fast forward to around 4:30 and the arrival of my neighbor, who let’s face it, can flat out nail em’ with the nymphing rig! Immediately, I notice that the weight he has applied to his set-up is about double the amount of mine.  About six casts into the seem between the riffle and slower moving water, he’s hooked up! Once again, I’ve not paid attention to the basics. You must get down to where the fish are feeding. It wasn’t that my bug selection was off, or not in line with what should be working, I simply wasn’t going deep! The fish that were caught this evening were all taken on an egg pattern, yellow and orange/yellow mix. Later in the evening, as the sun was setting, the blue-winged olives and midges were starting to bring a few fish up to the surface for quick meal. More tomorrow about the upcoming weekend, along with the introduction of the newest business to join the other establishments of the Decker’s Resort, The Painted Door! You’ll meet the proprietors and get to see what an exciting new business has joined the Resort!  Until next time folks, have a great evening and I hope to see you on the river soon!

Chris

Good Evening!

Welcome back to the only daily fishing report on internet!  Now that I’m back to the valley, it’s time to catch you up on the current conditions and what’s happening with the Trout!  The river flow was bumped up the other day and we’ve currently got flows of 482 below the dam at Cheesman, and just slightly lower at 475 in Trumbull. Didn’t get a chance to personally fish today, but going out early in the morning to try my luck for the first time in 2 weeks! Word is that the fishing has been up and down with flow bumps, but we’re on the end of that and things should start to improve as the fish are moving more about the feeding columns. Mornings are still producing with Trico’s, moving on to a dry-dropper or nymphing rig util about 4 or 5 in the evening.  I just spent a few minutes walking the river, checking clarity and moss levels. Doesn’t look like the moss is much of a problem, as most of dead stuff was cleared out with the flush we received a few weeks ago. Great weather is still bringing larger crowds on the weekends, so if that’s when you’re planning on a visit, get here early and cover lots of water. Don’t forget there’s excellent fishing downstream from Decker’s, all the way down to the confluence of the North and South forks of the river. It’s a great time to camp in the South Platte River Valley, with 4 campgrounds to chose from in our immediate area. Only the Lone Rock Campground takes reservations and you can make them right here by clicking on the link http://www.reserveamerica.com. Whether you’re in need of flies, gear or want to book a fly-fishing trip, stop in to Flies and Lies, or visit http://www.flies-n-lies.com today! I’ll be posting a mid-day fishing report tomorrow, as I’m heading out early to fish the Lone Rock Campground area, then downstream to Trumbull. That’s all for now folks! Hope to see you on the river soon!

Chris

Good evening and welcome back!  I’m finally back from my two-week trip to the East Coast to visit family, and looking forward to getting on the river! I will be continuing with the fishing report tomorrow, as I will be able to spend a few minutes chatting with some of the local guides and some friends that have been on the South Platte River over the last few days! Bug updates and a a little look into the future hatches occurring along the Platte.  I’m also working on a web-cam to provide a live feed RSS Feed, to give you “live” view of the river!  Also working on the FAQ’S page that will be up and running soon! Thanks for all of your patience and your continued support of my blog and website as I continue to improve on the site and it’s contents!   That’s all for now folks!  Hope to see you on the river soon!

Chris