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July 29, 2016
Good morning everyone and welcome to your morning river report from the South Platte River Valley! With the lack of moisture we’ve been receiving lately, we’ve seen little change in the river flow and the clarity has been fantastic. Unlike the the “Wonka like” Platte we had running a week ago, due to the afternoon thunderstorms, this week we’ve got gin clear water and the fishing has most certainly picked up. As of five minutes ago, the flow out of Cheesman was 172 (cfs), Decker’s at 220 or so, and 232 (cfs) at the Trumbull measuring station. Personally, I only fished for an hour or so yesterday, but went out last evening to photograph a few of my friends that were fishing behind my house at “hole in the wall.” For those of you that do no know this spot, it’s roughly a mile downstream from Decker’s. Many of the pictures that I take daily are from this section of the South Platte River. The tricos were coming off big time last night around 7pm, with caddis and BWO’S filling in the mix. Down below, most the success I’ve seen in the last two days has been with nymphing rigs, with bugs such as the chocolate thunder, the grey rs-2, olive split case midge, black beauty, juju beatis, hare’s ear, and even a single, black zebra midge. The evening dry action has been later, but definitely worth waiting for. Last night, as I was sitting on my porch doing a little writing, I heard the bellowing voice of someone who obviously had just missed a very fish! As my camera always seems to be around my neck in anticipation of my National Geographic moment to arrive, I continued to work on some photo-editing while I waited for the dry-fly action to pick up. About two minutes later, I heard the unrecognizable voice of my buddy, Jerimiah yell, “Oh my lord, look at this beast.” About that time, I see Jerimiah’s strike indicator traveling downstream as if it’s being powered by nuclear submarine. Next, appearing from behind the willows is Jerimiah in a full on sprint downstream after his newly commissioned Warrior trout submarine! Drag screaming, fish running, and Jerimiah trailing, I managed to get into position to shoot a few shots of the battle. The fish went airborne several times and made three significant runs, both up and back downstream, before laying over in exhaustion and surrendering to the net. I’ve posted a few pictures of the fish in today’s gallery. After purchasing my first DSLR camera and taking over 10,000 photographs, I must say that I have gotten as much joy shooting pictures of anglers battling trout as I do fishing! Well, that’s it for now my friends. Have a fantastic day and I hope to see you up here on the South Platte River soon!
Take care,
Chris
8/2/16 Morning river report
fishing reportGood Morning!
Up early and getting ready to head out for an early morning hike my friends, but let’s talk a bit about what’s happening on the South Platte river today! Not much change in the flow since yesterday. We’ve still got 187 (cfs) at Cheesman Dam, about 215 (cfs) in Decker’s, and 243 (cfs) in Trumbull. Clarity is great, as we have not seem much rain in the last couple of days, but the moss is another story. Looking like we’re going to have another warm day with temps in the upper 80’s, with a chance of early thundershowers. Mid-mornings continue to produce significant hatches, resulting in some pretty good dry-fly action from about 9am until noon. After the Trico’s are finished off around noon, I’ve been throwing a terrestrial, followed with a variety of nymphs, midges and emerging bugs, such as the Grey RS-2, buckskin, Black Beauty, and of course, the Chocolate Thunder. All of these bugs can be purchased at Flies and Lies. http://www.flies-n-lies.com Around 7:30/8, the top water activity really seems to pick up. Stay out there as long as you can and bring plenty of bug repellent! Don’t forget to get up here early on the weekends, as the areas upstream from the Decker’s bridge tend to fill up quickly. Remember! there is plenty of great water to fish downstream of Decker’s, through Trumbull and down to the Confluence. Campground space is limited folks, so make your reservations for Lone Rock Campground right here. http://www.reserveamerica.com/camping/lone-rock-campground-co/r/campgroundDetails.do?contractCode=NRSO&parkId=70054 That’s all for now folks! Have a great day and I’ll be back to post on the evening river conditions, along with DAY 1 of my new fitness and wellness program!
Chris
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August 1, 2016 Daily river review
fishing reportGood Morning!
Welcome back my friends! Waking up to cooler temperatures in the valley this morning. Getting to the point where the windows are getting closed before bed! Right now we’ve got 47 degrees with plenty of sunshine on the way and and a forecast high of 89. The crowds were big this past weekend and the fish got pounded pretty hard through the Decker’s area. It’s days like this that I like to go a little further downstream to work on some fish that may have not seen so much pressure over the weekend. Alright, the flow out of Cheesman this morning is 187 (cfs), 200/210 (cfs) through Decker’s, and 249 (cfs) in Trumbull. Water temperature is 48 degrees and we are going to start to see a gradual temperature drop as the summer season winds down. With no water coming over the spill-way, all the water that is released from the Cheesman Dam is cooler and coming from the bottom. This will affect the hatch as we get further into August and September. Right now, the fish are actively feeding on the smorgasbord of both dry and sub-surface bugs! When it comes to the dry flies, I’ve been having good success throwing a single Parachute BWO or a single Trico (Rusty-spinner), as I personally don’t always like to throw a two or three fly rig! On the nymphing side of things, I’ve seen the Chocolate Thunder pull fish left and right, to the point where my buddy was throwing a double dropper rig with two of these bugs below a Pat’s Rubber Legs. Along with the “thunder” I would have to say that I heard the grey RS-2 was also a hot bug over the weekend. Numerous Anglers spoke to me about the effectiveness of this bug over the last five or six days. The hatches in the evening have been late, but worth waiting for. Fishing the banks with a single dry or dry-dropper rig will usually get results as the fish are sipping on the floating buffet of Trico’s! Don’t hesitate to throw that hopper or streamer if you don’t see the rise on the banks. I’ve pulled several fish by tossing the “Wooley Bugger” to the banks and shallows later in the evening. Alrighty folks! That’s it for now. Heading out later this evening to try my luck on the Platte! Have a great day and I’ll see you back here again this evening!
Chris
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7/31 river report
Fishing Conditions, fishing report[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”49″ gal_title=”july 31 river report”]
July 31, 2016
Good morning everyone and thanks for showing up for my morning river report! Well, the heat is back and so are the crowds! Yesterday was one of the busiest days I’ve seen on the South Platte in quite some time! The campgrounds are full and the river is full of tubers and fisherman. Today’s picture gallery will highlight some of the fun I’ve captured up to this point in the weekend. Alrighty then, the flow this morning out of Cheesman is 192(cfs), about 210/215 (cfs) in Decker’s, with a nice 232 (cfs) in Trumbull. The temperature this morning was 49.9 degrees and the moss content is a little higher. Perhaps we maybe see an increase in the moss due to the amount of people moving about the river and loosening it from the river beds and rocks? Just a guess! Mid-mornings have been filled with dry flies the last three or four days. About 9 o’clock or so, roughly when the sun makes its way over the range, I’ve seen huge trico, caddis, and midge hatches all along the river. The dry fly action has been slowing down around noon and it’s back to nymphing with the usual suspects. The chocolate thunder, along with the juju beatis, hare’s ear, and olive split-case have been producing fish regularly by getting down deep during these hot mid-day hours. Much later in the evening, and for the last week or so, I’ve been doing well with a hopper-dropper pattern, or even just throwing the single hopper such as an Ant or grasshopper. Running one of these bugs down the bank as it’s getting dark has proved to be very successful, as the suspecting trout can’t resist the easy meal drifting by. This morning I’m heading out for a 4/5 mile hike, followed by some mid-morning fishing and river reconnaissance. Keep in mind that the fishing pressure in Decker’s is greatest on the weekends, so come on up during the week and see for yourself why we are Denver’s first choice for a quick get away weekday fishing trip. Stop in to Flies-n-lies for all you need for a day on the river, and be sure to stop into the Decker’s Corner Cafe for a soft-serve ice-cream or one of their famous, green chili smothered burritos! That’s all for now folks! Have a great day and get out there and fish!
Chris
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7/30 Full House!
camping, Fishing Conditions, fishing reportJuly 30, 2016
Good morning folks! and welcome to the morning river report for the South Platte River, from Trumbull/Decker’s, Colorado. Let’s get right to the good stuff, shall we? The last two morning caddis and midge hatches have been prolific! Both Thursday and Friday mornings I covered the river between Trumbull and Decker’s and up to the “WIRE” heading towards Camp Shadybrook. Roughly, at about 8:30/9:00, and once the sun rise clears Rampart Range, the hatching begins! Along with the caddis and midge hatches, we’ve seen a huge increase in Trico hatches with non-stop rising fish from about nine to noon. The flow out of Cheesman this morning is just a bit higher than yesterday. At 5:45 this morning, we’re showing 192 (cfs), 215 (cfs) in Decker’s, and 229 (cfs) in Trumbull. The river temperature is hovering right around 47/48 degrees with some moss to deal with, but nothing out of the ordinary, as the clarity is fantastic! With school going back into session soon, the river, campgrounds, and surrounding areas are busy, mostly in the Decker’s area, so keep in mind that their is plenty of great water to fish and lots of river to tube to the east of Decker’s, downstream. From the Platte River campground to the confluence, you can typically find plenty of water to fish and float without someone on top of you! As I walked the river last night taking some photos, I noticed that the campgrounds in our area are full and are sure to be that way for the next two weekends. Of the five campgrounds in our immediate area, three are first come first serve, but two of them offer reservations. Lone Rock Campground, which is also located on a prime spot to fish the Platte, does take reservations. Make your reservation right here at http://www.reserveamerica.com. The other campground that takes reservations is the Kelsey Campground and can also be found on the above link. That’s it for now folks! Have a great day and get out there and fish!
Chris
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Wow, now that sounds like a big fish!
camping, Fishing Conditions, fishing report[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”47″ gal_title=”july 29 blog”]
July 29, 2016
Good morning everyone and welcome to your morning river report from the South Platte River Valley! With the lack of moisture we’ve been receiving lately, we’ve seen little change in the river flow and the clarity has been fantastic. Unlike the the “Wonka like” Platte we had running a week ago, due to the afternoon thunderstorms, this week we’ve got gin clear water and the fishing has most certainly picked up. As of five minutes ago, the flow out of Cheesman was 172 (cfs), Decker’s at 220 or so, and 232 (cfs) at the Trumbull measuring station. Personally, I only fished for an hour or so yesterday, but went out last evening to photograph a few of my friends that were fishing behind my house at “hole in the wall.” For those of you that do no know this spot, it’s roughly a mile downstream from Decker’s. Many of the pictures that I take daily are from this section of the South Platte River. The tricos were coming off big time last night around 7pm, with caddis and BWO’S filling in the mix. Down below, most the success I’ve seen in the last two days has been with nymphing rigs, with bugs such as the chocolate thunder, the grey rs-2, olive split case midge, black beauty, juju beatis, hare’s ear, and even a single, black zebra midge. The evening dry action has been later, but definitely worth waiting for. Last night, as I was sitting on my porch doing a little writing, I heard the bellowing voice of someone who obviously had just missed a very fish! As my camera always seems to be around my neck in anticipation of my National Geographic moment to arrive, I continued to work on some photo-editing while I waited for the dry-fly action to pick up. About two minutes later, I heard the unrecognizable voice of my buddy, Jerimiah yell, “Oh my lord, look at this beast.” About that time, I see Jerimiah’s strike indicator traveling downstream as if it’s being powered by nuclear submarine. Next, appearing from behind the willows is Jerimiah in a full on sprint downstream after his newly commissioned Warrior trout submarine! Drag screaming, fish running, and Jerimiah trailing, I managed to get into position to shoot a few shots of the battle. The fish went airborne several times and made three significant runs, both up and back downstream, before laying over in exhaustion and surrendering to the net. I’ve posted a few pictures of the fish in today’s gallery. After purchasing my first DSLR camera and taking over 10,000 photographs, I must say that I have gotten as much joy shooting pictures of anglers battling trout as I do fishing! Well, that’s it for now my friends. Have a fantastic day and I hope to see you up here on the South Platte River soon!
Take care,
Chris
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