[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”31″ gal_title=”july 13″]
July 13, 2016
Greetings everyone!! Looking at another beautiful day here in the foothills. Going to reach the low 90’s and the fire danger is elevated!! Still waking up to chilly temps in the 40’s, but’s it’s warming up nicely right now. Let’s get to it first about the river conditions. 175 (cfs) out of Cheesman Dam this morning, with a little higher flow at Trumbull, measuring 275 (cfs). Decker’s looks to be right about 250 (cfs) with excellent clarity. There has been a little bit of moss to deal with, but normal for this time of year. Flows are great right now and the fish are feeding on pretty much anything and everything available. Yesterday, I spoke about my previous success by throwing a single hopper. Well, as I was walking the river yesterday afternoon, photographing and speaking with fellow anglers. Several of them shared with me their similar success with a “Rubber legs (multiple colors), Amy’s Ant, and the grasshoppers. Once again, as the sun sets over the hills, the small midge hatches begin to fill the river and the frenzy typically begins! Last night I watched several fish almost land themselves onto the river bank as they were aggressively chasing midges and the occasional, unfortunate grass-hopper in distress. Heading out to fish a little later this morning, but first I’m going to hike up to Flies and Lies http://www.flies-n-lies.com to talk to the nice guys up there about the impending Trico hatch and get the skinny on some particulars!
It’s been about 33 days now since I began walking in the Pike National Forest everyday. I believe that one of the reasons that I enjoy living in the South Platte River Valley, is that when you are walking a trail, or sitting on a ridge overlooking lands that were inhabited by Native American tribes such as the Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Ute, it’s hard not to visualize what it was like before the “white man” forced the native tribes off the land and on to reservations. Sitting on the tops of granite peaks, overlooking the river, if you close your eyes and take yourself back, you can almost see Chief Ouray communicating with his scouts via smoke signals from clear on the other side of the valley. I was thinking of this the other day when we were hiking the “Hayman” fire burn scar area, when across the valley we could see the smoke from the previous days wildfire that had settled overnight in a small ravine. It’s moments like this that I enjoy the most on the morning hikes. Allowing my imagination to explore a time past is one way I find solitude and peace when in the forest. For many Native American tribes that inhabited this area, this was their summer hunting grounds where the deer and the buffalo were plentiful. With that being said, the artifacts that can be found by walking the forest and exploring wash-out areas can be quite impressive. Another interesting find the other day was along a trail by the river. We came across a large granite boulder along the river trail, that had what looked like at first, a small cereal sized bowl in the side. With further inspection, it was a bowl that had been most likely carved out deeper to be used as a bowl to possibly grind corn. Today’s picture gallery will show you the smoke in the valley from the wildfire and the “Bowl” in the granite. That’s all for now folks!! I’m currently planning a few hikes/outings in the next couple of weeks to include the Wellington Lake area and an interview with President of the “BIG FOOT” club in Bailey, Colorado!! I would like to leave you today with this quote I enjoyed reading yesterday. Have a great day!!
” And while I stood there
I saw more than I can tell,
and I understood more than I saw;
for I was seeing in a sacred manner
the shapes of things in the spirit,
and the shape of all shapes as they must
live together like one being.”
Black Elk, Black Elk Speaks
Fun with Tricos!
fishing reportJuly 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
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Weekend Warriors
Fishing ConditionsJuly 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
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Spring Gulch Firefighters
wildfire[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”32″ gal_title=”july 14 firefighters”]
June 14, 2016
As I made my way to Decker’s this morning, I noticed about 20 or so people that seemed to be resting around the Decker’s Resort businesses, so I approached a few of the friendly folks and found out that they were a group of 20 firefighters that had just come off the Spring Gulch fire. The Spring Gulch Fire burned 11.9 acres in the Pike National Forest about three miles south of Decker’s on Monday. It was fully contained just a few hours later. The fire was on federal land in Douglas County. Wild-land firefighting crews and helicopter support battled the fire along with the Douglas County Wildfire Mitigation Crew and Douglas County Sheriff Wild land Fire Hand-crew. The crew I met and spoke with this morning was made up of 4 inter-agency groups consisting of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), National Forest Service, and the National Park Service (NPS). I spoke with their Team Leader, Mark Finnegan, Crew Boss Trainer. Mark is a full-time firefighter working out of the Green River Emergency Crew, Wyoming High Desert Emergency Crew. He and his crew also cover emergency situations that occur in other western National Parks such as Dinosour Ridge in Vernal, Utah. This inter-agency group is made up of firefighters from Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, Utah and Kansas. They are always on stand-by and typically out for 14 day deployments. He told me that he has been leading this courageous group of men and women for the last four days, while working in extreme temperatures and tough terrain, to contain the fire that was mostly timber, grass, and slash. Slash is a term used to describe logs that are remaining on the ground from previous fires or other natural occurrences. Speaking on behalf of the residents and visitors to the South Platte Valley, I would like to personally thank Mark and his crew for quickly coming to the aid of our community. I’ve been fortunate to have been living in this valley for the last couple of years when the fire danger has been relatively low, but as the summer progresses, it appears that we are getting drier and drier as the summer days go by. With the high winds and dry conditions, wildfires can ignite with the smallest of sparks, so please keep campfires in designated fire rings, extinguish all fires by pouring water on the fire until the coals or wood is cool to the touch and do not throw cigarette butts out of your automobile window. I hope you enjoy the update on the Spring Gulch fire and here’s a picture of the wonderful group of firefighters from this morning. Have a great day!
Chris
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Slow the flow
fishing reportJuly 14, 2016
Good morning everyone!! Just returned from a small loop around the National Forest and here’s your morning river conditions report. It’s looking like the run-off is done! Noticeably lower levels from the wire down through Trumbull last night and this morning. I noticed several islands that are now exposed in areas that are normally still covered with water. The South Platte river flow is 169 (cfs) at Cheesman and 223 (cfs) in Trumbull. Clarity is still excellent with a little bit of moss to deal with, but nothing to serious. I fished for several hours last night between the 2nd Decker’s bridge downstream to Trumbull. The dry fly action was pretty slow all day yesterday. I don’t think I picked up one fish on a single dry. I did, however, do rather well with a gray/black stone fly, trailing a brown rs-2. I was able to pick up several nice browns with this rig, using no weight or strike indicator. I was almost throwing it like a streamer, allowing the bugs to be pulled of the bank with the swing. I even had a bigger fish break me off as it got downstream on me rather quickly and into deeper, faster water. I had one chance to net the fish, but when it turned on me and bolted downstream on my 6X tippet, it was all but over! It was another chilly morning on the river, only 43 when I walked out the door. With the chillier morning temperatures, we’re not seeing the early morning midge hatches we were seeing last week. The Trico’s are making there way further upstream and have started to appear closer to Decker’s in just the last few days. It’s a great time of year in the South Platte Valley! Check out great cabin rentals in our area by visiting http://www.southplatterivercabins.com or http://www.flies-n-lies.com. The Decker’s Country Store and Flies and Lies will be sure to make your stay an enjoyable one. It’s going to be a another busy weekend in the valley, so make sure to make your campground reservations right here by visiting the “things to do” page, click on “CAMPING” hub, and secure your spot on the river for the weekend. Heading out to shoot some pictures and visit the forest!! Have a wonderful day!
Chris
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A Time Past
fishing report[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”31″ gal_title=”july 13″]
July 13, 2016
Greetings everyone!! Looking at another beautiful day here in the foothills. Going to reach the low 90’s and the fire danger is elevated!! Still waking up to chilly temps in the 40’s, but’s it’s warming up nicely right now. Let’s get to it first about the river conditions. 175 (cfs) out of Cheesman Dam this morning, with a little higher flow at Trumbull, measuring 275 (cfs). Decker’s looks to be right about 250 (cfs) with excellent clarity. There has been a little bit of moss to deal with, but normal for this time of year. Flows are great right now and the fish are feeding on pretty much anything and everything available. Yesterday, I spoke about my previous success by throwing a single hopper. Well, as I was walking the river yesterday afternoon, photographing and speaking with fellow anglers. Several of them shared with me their similar success with a “Rubber legs (multiple colors), Amy’s Ant, and the grasshoppers. Once again, as the sun sets over the hills, the small midge hatches begin to fill the river and the frenzy typically begins! Last night I watched several fish almost land themselves onto the river bank as they were aggressively chasing midges and the occasional, unfortunate grass-hopper in distress. Heading out to fish a little later this morning, but first I’m going to hike up to Flies and Lies http://www.flies-n-lies.com to talk to the nice guys up there about the impending Trico hatch and get the skinny on some particulars!
It’s been about 33 days now since I began walking in the Pike National Forest everyday. I believe that one of the reasons that I enjoy living in the South Platte River Valley, is that when you are walking a trail, or sitting on a ridge overlooking lands that were inhabited by Native American tribes such as the Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Ute, it’s hard not to visualize what it was like before the “white man” forced the native tribes off the land and on to reservations. Sitting on the tops of granite peaks, overlooking the river, if you close your eyes and take yourself back, you can almost see Chief Ouray communicating with his scouts via smoke signals from clear on the other side of the valley. I was thinking of this the other day when we were hiking the “Hayman” fire burn scar area, when across the valley we could see the smoke from the previous days wildfire that had settled overnight in a small ravine. It’s moments like this that I enjoy the most on the morning hikes. Allowing my imagination to explore a time past is one way I find solitude and peace when in the forest. For many Native American tribes that inhabited this area, this was their summer hunting grounds where the deer and the buffalo were plentiful. With that being said, the artifacts that can be found by walking the forest and exploring wash-out areas can be quite impressive. Another interesting find the other day was along a trail by the river. We came across a large granite boulder along the river trail, that had what looked like at first, a small cereal sized bowl in the side. With further inspection, it was a bowl that had been most likely carved out deeper to be used as a bowl to possibly grind corn. Today’s picture gallery will show you the smoke in the valley from the wildfire and the “Bowl” in the granite. That’s all for now folks!! I’m currently planning a few hikes/outings in the next couple of weeks to include the Wellington Lake area and an interview with President of the “BIG FOOT” club in Bailey, Colorado!! I would like to leave you today with this quote I enjoyed reading yesterday. Have a great day!!
” And while I stood there
I saw more than I can tell,
and I understood more than I saw;
for I was seeing in a sacred manner
the shapes of things in the spirit,
and the shape of all shapes as they must
live together like one being.”
Black Elk, Black Elk Speaks
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