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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

 

July 16, 20

Good morning folks!! Up and out early this morning to check out what’s happening on the South Platte River! Much warmer this morning, with a current temperature of 59 degrees at 6:20. It’s going to be a nice, warm weekend up here in the valley, but please keep in mind that both Jefferson and Douglas Counties have fire bans in effect. Please visit the following 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/. Getting back to the river report, the flow out of Cheesman this morning is 169(cfs) and 229 (cfs) at Trumbull. Clarity is excellent!! Tricos are hatching and mornings are great for some good old dry-fly action!! I spoke with John at Flies and Lies http://www.flies-n-lies.com and he was great with explaining how the male tricos are coming off in the morning and the females later in the evening.  Nymphing after 11 seems to be the trick most days, but don’t be surprised when the big one comes up and takes that grasshopper! Going out now for a hike, but I’ll be back again to report later on what the bugs are doing today!! Have a great day!

Chris

 

July 15, 2016

Happy Friday Everyone! Just returned from a nice walk along the river from the Trumbull fire house, up to the wire in Decker’s.  It was a much warmer early morning today with temps already in the 50’s when I left at 5:30. It’s going to be another hot weekend here in the valley, but more on the impact of the heat a little later. The current flow out of Cheesman is 169 (cfs) and 229 (cfs) in Trumbull, putting Decker’s, from what I saw this morning, at about 180 or 190 (cfs).  The big difference I noticed  this morning from yesterday, was the return of the BWO’S. I saw a few sporadically along the walk to Decker’s, but upon my return home,at about 9:30,  I saw a large hatches about six feet above the water, along the banks of the second bridge and downriver through Trumbull.  On my walk this morning I also saw several fish rising on the early morning dries that haven’t been so present the last two mornings . I spoke with two Anglers this morning that were both having similar success with a Black Beauty trailing a grey RS-2.  Last night I had good success throwing a two-bug rig with a size #20 Hares-ear and trailing a size #18 brown RS-2. I took both the fish I caught in faster water on the smaller of the two bugs. Looking into the weekend, I think the heat is going to bring on the hatch, however, we are now only getting the cooler water off the bottom of the reservoir instead of the spill-over water, which carries a higher temperature.   Aquatic insect that haven’t reached the adult stage require a specific cumulative thermal regimen to attain maturity. This is customarily measured in degree-days. Without getting too crazy technical, each day the water temperature averages above the minimum threshold for growth, an aquatic insect living in it is considered to accumulate the number of degree-days by which the average temperature exceeds that threshold. For example, if the threshold were 34 degrees, and the average water temperature for the day were 39 degrees, any immature insect  in that water would have accumulated 5 degree-days. So, if a particular species were to require 500 degree-days of cumulative thermal regimen in order to attain maturity, it would require 100 days at that average temperature to do so. Of course it would be nice if there were a cumulative degree-days requirement published for every insect, but most of the data provided pertains to the life-cycle of terrestrial insects. If you would like to read more about the temperature effects on trout, please check out this link http://www.troutnut.com/topic/1297/Water-temperature-effect. It’s going to be another busy weekend on the South Platte River, so make sure to stop in the Decker’s Country Store and South Platte River Cabins to pick up all the necessities for your weekend with us!! Visit http://www.southplatterivercabins.com to reserve your cabin today! Well, that’s it for now folks! Heading out to fish a little later this evening and will be reporting again soon! Have a great day and be safe out there!!

Chris