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July 21, 2016

Happy Thursday everyone! Been a busy morning my friends, with working, checking out the river, and shooting some pictures of the morning conditions here on the Trophy Trout fishing waters of the South Platte River, Colorado!  Before I get into what I observed this morning, let’s get you the current facts, shall we?  We’ve got a flow of 184 (cfs) at the Cheesman Dam, about 232(cfs) through Decker’s, and 246 (cfs) at Trumbull.  Clarity has improved greatly over the last 24 hours and I sighted many fish along the river this morning.  I  saw a considerable rise going on this morning around 10am, just above the Decker’s bridge and on the YMCA road side of the river. Working my way up through “Ray’s Run and up to the “turn hole” I saw additional pockets of fish, feeding rather aggressively just below the surface, perhaps on a midge hatch.  I’m still having luck with a “yellow Sally” trailing an RS-2 (brown), or even a chocolate thunder, both early morning and evening. If you’re considering coming up to Decker’s to fish for the day, but don’t have all the gear? No problem, Flies and Lies http://www.flies-n-lies.com will hook you up, sorry for the pun, with everything you need for a day on the river for just about $30! Of course this doesn’t include your daily fishing license, but what other sport can you get completely outfitted for thirty bucks? Need a place to stay while you’re trying your luck on the river? Don’t worry, spend a night or two at one of the cozy cabins available for rent at the Decker’s Country Store, or visit http://www.southplatterivercabins.com and book your stay with us today! Fishing pressure is stronger on the weekends, so keep in mind their is much more great water to fish downstream from the Decker’s bridge. For those of you that are not aware, there is NO LIVE BAIT allowed from the Canyon, downriver  to Scraggy View. Please familiarize yourself and your fishing party of all posted regulations. The South Platte River Valley is a gift for all of us to share. Please help keep it clean by picking up your trash before you leave the river and surrounding area.

As I have made all of you aware yesterday, I’m in the process of working myself back into optimal shape by changing my entire lifestyle. Well, today is day one of recording the basic information and sharing it with you. As I have previously explained, I am making this part of my daily blog to keep me motivated and to maybe encourage someone else to take control of their physical health.  By being the example, I hope that I can show other people just like me, that have struggled with poor dietary choices, inconsistent exercise, and improper stress management, that you can turn all of that around with simple consistency and awareness.  My personal scale has just arrived and I will be posting my starting weight on Sunday, with a weekly weigh-in that will occur every Sunday morning.  I’m not going to present this to you each day in any typical diet or exercise “regiment form” I’m simply going to share with you what I do physically each day by hiking, landscaping, general physical work, cycling, walking, and any sort of resistance training that may occur while performing work duties or while on a particular hike or adventure. The goal here is to live a lifestyle that compliments the weigh loss so much that I am ultimately distracted  from the work that is leading to the Optimal Chris, and the new you, if you choose to join me! This morning, I woke up at approximately 4:30 and had a banana, roughly 10 green grapes, 4 oz of non-fat Greek yogurt, and 4 oz. deli turkey for breakfast. I then walked about two miles and took photographs on the way to Decker’s for today’s blog. Next I bagged 200 pounds of ice for the Decker’s Country Store, followed with stacking a 1/2 cord of firewood that was delivered this morning. After the wood, it was time to walk the mile back to my house and post my daily blog. So that’s it folks, that’s what the morning has looked like up to this point! It’s now 12:17 and it’s time to make a little lunch and then try my luck on the river! Today’s picture gallery has a few shots from this morning and from last night.  Have a great day folks!  See you again right here tomorrow!!

Chris

July 20, 2016

Good afternoon everyone!! Just returned home after an early morning hike that began 6am sharp, directly followed with a couple of hours of mountain landscaping.  Once again, let’s get you updated on the current river conditions here in Decker’s/Trumbull.  The South Platte is running much clearer this afternoon, considering yesterday the river looked like a big flowing river of Chocolate Milk! At 12:45, the flow at Cheeseman Dam was 172(cfs) and 232 (cfs) at Trumbull. Still haven’t seen the “big rise” on the dries in a few days, but I did get the attention of a nice rainbow with a yellow, “stimulator” bug, trailing a brown RS-2. Currently, it’s 87 degrees, with partly cloudy skies and looking like a few thunderstorms may be forming to the south-west. I’m going to fish a little later this evening and will report on conditions tomorrow. As far as taking a kid fishing yesterday, things didn’t work out as planned. My friend informed me that he had gotten car sick on the way up the mountain and we would have to fish another day. Not sure who was disappointed more, the young gentleman that couldn’t make the trip, or me? As it turned out, the river was very muddy and cloudy yesterday making sight fishing impossible.  Not to worry though, I’m  pretty sure my little buddy will get a second chance at the trophy trout real soon!!

If you’ve been following me since I’ve launched my blog, you’re probably aware that I am in the process of completely changing my lifestyle through my employment, diet and daily exercise program. In 6 weeks of walking approximately 6 to 10 miles a day, making healthier food and beverage choices, and focusing on my “core” through breathing and awareness exercises,  I’ve been able to loose 30 pounds in 6 weeks.  After seeing the results of my work, I thought it would be a good thing to share with you each day my food selections, both good and bad, my exercise regiment and numbers associated with my daily hiking and cycling. I realize that by putting myself “out there” like this, I’m either going to turn myself into the healthiest and strongest I’ve ever been in my life, or I’m going to look like an idiot! As soon as my new scale gets here, I will start posting a weekly weigh-in, along with the daily exercise report and the day’s intake of food and beverage. Join me each day as I work hard to reach my target weight of 200 pounds. I will be giving a start weight in the next day or two, so join me each day as I strive to reach my goal and continue on this path the great health!! Have a great day!

Chris

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July 19, 2017

Good morning everyone!!! It’s quite a different river today than yesterday morning!! Let’s get right to it, shall we? The South Platte River at Cheesman this morning is running at 166 (cfs) and 271 (cfs) at Trumbull.  I took a quick bike-ride up to Decker’s a few moments ago and Horse Creek is feeding the Platte with rain run-off from last night and looks to be around 240/250 (cfs). As a result of last night’s thunderstorms, the river is pretty muddy and has come up just a bit. I’ve put up a few shots from the back yard this morning to show you the clarity change and the cloud cover. I’ve seen a few fish rising already this morning, as I’m hoping the cloud cover is going to bring off a nice hatch or two this morning! Looking like we are going to have thunderstorms develop later this morning and then reform later in the evening. Temperatures are going to only be in the low 80’s today with some much needed moisture. This will be good for our drying conditions and help with the fire danger. It should be a good day of fishing as the cloud cover tends to bring the fish to the surface! I’m very excited to have a few guests fish with me this morning and will hopefully be putting up a few pictures of our success a little later this evening or tomorrow!! Have a great day, and if you’re as lucky as I am, you’re taking a kid fishing!!

Chris

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July 18, 2016

Good morning everyone! Here we go with today’s report!! At 10:45, the flow at Cheesman was 172 (cfs) and 226 (cfs) at Trumbull. I took some pictures this morning near the “wire” to give you an idea what the levels look like at these current flow rates.  Once again, I didn’t see much in the way of early dry flies on the river this morning, but it’s a little cloudier than it’s been in the mornings, perhaps we’ll see a few more hatches today. Today’s walk covers the river from Trumbull to the “wire” on the YMCA road.  Things were pretty quiet as a sighted most fish near the bottom and not being to aggressive.  As it was almost dark last night, I walked off the porch and over to the river as a few big splashes caught my attention! Walking over to the rivers edge, I  saw several fish go air-born after the tricos and bwo’s that were both coming off. This only lasted for about ten minutes and went silent as quickly as it began.  Resisting the temptation to grab the fly-rod and take my chances, I held tight to try to get a few shots of some flying fish!! No luck with that, but I did get at  pretty good shot of the “almost” full moon! We’ve had some cloud cover pretty much all morning and I’m seeing a few more dry flies out there right now, mostly above the willows, guessing a hopper-dropper rig would work best right about now. That’s all for now my friends! Tomorrow, I’m having a young gentleman and his mom come fish with me here at “hole in the wall.” Looking forward to a great day and will be sharing all the photos right here! I hope you enjoy today’s picture gallery. I’m particularly fond of the wild Violet Poppy!  Take care of each other and have a great day!

Chris

 

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July 17, 2016

Greetings everyone! 6:25 on this Sunday morning and it’s already 58 degrees in Trumbull.  It’s certainly going to be another warm one in the valley today my friends.  Highs today are going to be in the low 90’s with increased drying conditions.  Currently, both Jefferson and Douglas Counties are in Stage one of the fire ban. The following links will give you more information on the current fire restrictions.  Please visit these links for more information. http://jeffco.us/sheriff/wildfire/fire-restrictions-and-bans/ and http://www.dcsheriff.net/sheriffs-office/divisions/emergency-management/fire-restrictions/. You can also find my story on the Spring Gulch firefighting team at http://yourtake.9news.com/media/21311717.  Flows are down even a little bit more today with 172(cfs) at Cheeseman and 223 (cfs) at Trumbull. It’s tubing time on the South Platte folks, so be prepared to dodge the occasional drifter as you try your luck on our trophy trout fishing waters.   Fishing last night was pretty flat for me, didn’t see much in the way of a rise down here at “hole in the wall” , but I’m now getting ready to go out in a few minutes to see if I can catch some of the morning Trico hatch!  Going to spend today putting together a picture gallery for the week and will be posting that a little later this afternoon! The upcoming week looks full of adventure, with planned trips to the Lost Valley Wilderness area and a return trip to the Colorado Trail!! Be safe out there and have a wonderful day folks!!

Chris