[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”24″ gal_title=”saturday review july 9″]
July 9, 2016
Good morning everyone!! Welcome to my daily river conditions report and weekend review!! The South Platte River was 249 (cfs) at Cheesman dam this morning and just a little higher at Trumbull, measuring 314 (cfs). Clarity continues to improve, but right now I don’t think it get’s any clearer than what we’ve got! I also like this time of year because you don’t have to deal with much moss or other debris as the spring run-off comes to a close. I spent most of this morning sitting by the river enjoying some time with the new lady in my life, Bailey, who happens to be a 18 month Golden Retriever that I share a home with here in Trumbull. We’ve become great friends and you will most likely be seeing her in most of the “fish” pictures I take around the river. Turning our attention back to the fishing action lately, the midges have been thick, but the fish have been selective, and in my opinion, way too picky! Along the banks there were several small individual hatches of BWO’s, however I didn’t see much rising to take the easy meal. It seems that with the high sun and heat, we’ve still had the most success by going deep with a few midges below a hopper. Be sure to stop in and see the friendly folks at Flies and Lies http://www.flies-n-lies.com to pick up everything you need for a day on the river. They also offer rental gear for a very reasonable price if you just want to try your hand at fly-fishing!
As I continue on this “blogging” journey that I’ve created for myself, I am continuously trying to find ways to improve the functionality of the blog as well as the quality and frequency of the content. So, after blogging for about sixteen to eighteen days in row, all while moving to my new residence, I believe I’ve found a good formula that will allow me to continue to write to you daily during the weekdays, with a weekend focus on photographing all of the visitors, tourist, and residents living life to the fullest in the South Platte River Valley. Another reason I started livedeckerscolorado.com was for health and lifestyle reasons. When I was ten years old, living in the small coastal resort community of Bethany Beach Delaware, I was unfortunately stricken with a neurological disorder, Epilepsy, that caused me to suffer Gran mal seizures from the ages of 10 to about 19. In the early 80’s, I was blessed to be under the care of some of the best Pediatric Neurologist teams in the United States, at Johns Hopkins Hospital and University. Ironically, this was the time period in which Dr. Ben Carson, former potential Presidential Candidate, was practicing at Hopkins and most likely would have been the lead surgeon had I undergone the procedure that was an option for me in 1987. After further testing and determining that I was not going to qualify for a surgical procedure to potentially “fix” my seizure disorder, I was left with option of either having additional seizures by not taking the medications, or taking anti-convulsion drugs for the remainder of my life, which at the time was for the most part, controlling my seizures. Well, I decided that the anti-convulsion drugs that I had been on since the age of ten had been potentially causing me liver damage and making me extremely lethargic, lazy and unmotivated, so I knew that is was going to be up to me to figure out what my “triggers” were, and stop the seizures on my own. What I’m ultimately getting at folks, is that through all these years, even though I was extremely active in sports and participated in all the usual outdoor activities, I continued to struggle with my weight as a young man and into adulthood. Therefore, one of the major reasons I have created this platform to “blog” each day, is so that I will have an obligation to get up each day and exercise, eat healthy, and share with you my journey back to optimal health and internal happiness!! I hope you enjoy the pictures I’ve selected from the last five or six days!! Have a great Saturday and remember to have fun today!!
Chris
Sunday Recap
camping, Fishing Conditions, fishing report, hiking[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”25″ gal_title=”first sunday wrap up pics”]
July 10, 2016
Good morning everyone and welcome back!!! Just returned from a big hike this morning! Climbed about 1500 feet and took some amazing pictures that I’ll be posting a little later. Keeping with tradition, I would like to give you the daily river report before going any further with today’s “thoughts” At 5:40 this morning it was already 57 degrees and it’s going to be in the upper 80’s today! Plenty of morning sunshine and great hiking weather! The South Platte river flow out of Cheesman Dam this morning at 8:45 was 234 (cfs) and the Trumbull station measured 311 (cfs) . The midges continue to be strong in the morning and the evenings and the hoppers are working well. Yesterday, I walked the river from Trumbull to Decker’s and saw large number of tubers and fisherman between the two bridges in Decker’s. This is a common occurrence this time of year, so be prepared to share the river no matter the reason you decided to visit our area. I will say that the tubing is much better from “Bridge Crossing” which is about 5 miles downstream from Decker’s. I’m working on putting together another picture gallery of hikes and adventures from the last week and I will post them later this evening. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy your Sunday and have a fabulous day!
Chris
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Saturday Review!
fishing report[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”24″ gal_title=”saturday review july 9″]
July 9, 2016
Good morning everyone!! Welcome to my daily river conditions report and weekend review!! The South Platte River was 249 (cfs) at Cheesman dam this morning and just a little higher at Trumbull, measuring 314 (cfs). Clarity continues to improve, but right now I don’t think it get’s any clearer than what we’ve got! I also like this time of year because you don’t have to deal with much moss or other debris as the spring run-off comes to a close. I spent most of this morning sitting by the river enjoying some time with the new lady in my life, Bailey, who happens to be a 18 month Golden Retriever that I share a home with here in Trumbull. We’ve become great friends and you will most likely be seeing her in most of the “fish” pictures I take around the river. Turning our attention back to the fishing action lately, the midges have been thick, but the fish have been selective, and in my opinion, way too picky! Along the banks there were several small individual hatches of BWO’s, however I didn’t see much rising to take the easy meal. It seems that with the high sun and heat, we’ve still had the most success by going deep with a few midges below a hopper. Be sure to stop in and see the friendly folks at Flies and Lies http://www.flies-n-lies.com to pick up everything you need for a day on the river. They also offer rental gear for a very reasonable price if you just want to try your hand at fly-fishing!
As I continue on this “blogging” journey that I’ve created for myself, I am continuously trying to find ways to improve the functionality of the blog as well as the quality and frequency of the content. So, after blogging for about sixteen to eighteen days in row, all while moving to my new residence, I believe I’ve found a good formula that will allow me to continue to write to you daily during the weekdays, with a weekend focus on photographing all of the visitors, tourist, and residents living life to the fullest in the South Platte River Valley. Another reason I started livedeckerscolorado.com was for health and lifestyle reasons. When I was ten years old, living in the small coastal resort community of Bethany Beach Delaware, I was unfortunately stricken with a neurological disorder, Epilepsy, that caused me to suffer Gran mal seizures from the ages of 10 to about 19. In the early 80’s, I was blessed to be under the care of some of the best Pediatric Neurologist teams in the United States, at Johns Hopkins Hospital and University. Ironically, this was the time period in which Dr. Ben Carson, former potential Presidential Candidate, was practicing at Hopkins and most likely would have been the lead surgeon had I undergone the procedure that was an option for me in 1987. After further testing and determining that I was not going to qualify for a surgical procedure to potentially “fix” my seizure disorder, I was left with option of either having additional seizures by not taking the medications, or taking anti-convulsion drugs for the remainder of my life, which at the time was for the most part, controlling my seizures. Well, I decided that the anti-convulsion drugs that I had been on since the age of ten had been potentially causing me liver damage and making me extremely lethargic, lazy and unmotivated, so I knew that is was going to be up to me to figure out what my “triggers” were, and stop the seizures on my own. What I’m ultimately getting at folks, is that through all these years, even though I was extremely active in sports and participated in all the usual outdoor activities, I continued to struggle with my weight as a young man and into adulthood. Therefore, one of the major reasons I have created this platform to “blog” each day, is so that I will have an obligation to get up each day and exercise, eat healthy, and share with you my journey back to optimal health and internal happiness!! I hope you enjoy the pictures I’ve selected from the last five or six days!! Have a great Saturday and remember to have fun today!!
Chris
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Evening Dry Flies
camping, Fishing Conditions, fishing report, hikingJuly 8, 2016
Good morning folks! Absolutely fantastic doesn’t even come close to describing the current conditions here in the S. Platte River valley! Currently, we are at a very comfortable 70 degrees, but it’s warming up quickly and we could see temperatures in the upper 90’s. At 8:45 this morning, the S. Platte at Cheesman was flowing at 227 (cfs) and Trumbull measured 332 (cfs). The river is running almost “Gin” clear, which has been great for watching trout annihilate hoppers and ant’s over the last two evenings. Last night and the night before, the evening dry-fly hatches have been spectacular! Midges, caddis, PMD’s, all thick from the “Wire” down through Trumbull. I spoke with Rob at Flies-n-Lies http://www.flies-n-lies.com and he told me that the tricos were beginning to show up in numbers and that the “terrestrial” bugs become too irresistible to a hungry fish when they are already rising up for fish. The fishing pressure and number of anglers picks up around the Decker’s Bridge area and up toward the YMCA camp on the weekends, but there is plenty of good fishing all the way downstream to the confluence and beyond. Keep in mind that the fish in the immediate Decker’s area see lots of presentations, so test your skills on some of the unsuspecting fish downstream! Just look for the “P” parking sign anywhere along the river and find yourself a place to spend some quality time with us here in the Decker’s/Trumbull communities.
For those of you that have been following my blog daily and those that are joining me for the first time, I would like thank you for your interest in my daily river reports, photographs, and hiking blogs as I make the personal transition away from a 25 year career in the food and beverage industry. Recognizing I didn’t mention what I was transitioning to or towards, it would be only fair to mention that after two heart attacks, a broken neck, four cardiac procedures and a couple of rounds of congestive heart failure, I’ve decided that I’ve spent way too much of my life trying to figure out why I’m still here and start focusing on what I’ve learned from these experiences and what I can take forward and share with others. As I continue to blog daily about the Gold Medal fishing conditions and my adventures in the valley, I also hope to continue to share with you some of the personal growth lessons I’ve learned as I’ve made my way through this complicated, beautiful, awe inspiring planet we call home! If you’re in the Decker’s area and would like to say hello, please stop in to the Decker’s Country Store and do so! Keep in mind, you can make all your vacation plans to Decker’s right here. Visit http://www.southplatterivercabins.com or http://www.flies-n-lies.com to make your cabin reservations. Have a tremendous day folks!!!
Chris
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Lazy Days
fishing reportJuly 7, 2016
Good morning and welcome back!!! It’s a great day to be outdoors today, so I’m going to give you a quick river conditions report and I’m off to hike the foothills! Just a few moments the river flow out of Cheesman dam was 253 (cfs) and 358 (cfs) at the Trumbull station. We remained rain and storm free yesterday, allowing the river to remain running clear as we head into the weekend. After yesterday’s hike, I was pretty wore out, so I decided that simply sitting by the river and watching the fish was my best option for the evening. From about 6:30 to about 8, I sat by the river and watched as day turned to evening and the buffet on the surface was open for business. It was quick and ferocious, but for about fifteen minutes it was as if a school of piranha had arrived to feed!! Right now it’s a cool 55 degrees in the valley with a forecast high of 88! I’ll be reporting back this evening with some great pictures from today’s hike! Have a great day and remember to do something kind for someone else today
Chris
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Top of the World
camping, Fishing Conditions, fishing report, hiking[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”23″ gal_title=”july 6 top of the world”]
July 6, 2016
Good afternoon!! Just returned from a great hike in the Pike National Forest in Buffalo Creek, Colorado!! Before I delve into the highlights of today’s morning workout and adventure, I want to update you on the river conditions from Decker’s through the Confluence. At 12:45 this afternoon, the flow out of Cheesman was 260 (cfs) and 393 (cfs) in Trumbull. Right now it’s a toasty 84 degrees with plenty of sunshine and a nice breeze!! On the fishing side of things, the dry-flies, trico’s in particular are starting to show up in numbers, but the caddis will continue to be going off strong through July. Check with the guys at Flies and Lies http://www.flies-n-lies.com daily, as they really have the “scoop” on what consistently works best!
I’ve just done some photo-editing of the pictures from today’s hike! We started out this morning on a forest road off of Jefferson County road 126, in Buffalo Creek, Colorado. In beginning of the hike this morning, we were originally intending to hike along the service road to the once very popular campground area know as “Top of the World.” However, once we reached our destination we decided that we would continue down the valley and intersect with the Colorado Trail. Roughly, about an hour or so later, we connected with trail and continue to climb south through the valley. While resting at the “Top of the World” former camping area, we were able to take in 360 degree views of the mountains to our west, which included Green, Little Scraggy, the slightly larger “Scraggy” and in the distance to the north-west is Mount Evans. The area that we hiked today is also in recovery from wildfire. On the afternoon of May 18, 1996 an unattended campfire near Wellington Lake in the Pike National Forest started the Buffalo Creek fire. As the fire grew, driven east by high winds, residents of Buffalo Creek and nearby Spring Creek were evacuated. The fire spread rapidly toward Jefferson County Highway 126, which runs north from Decker’s through Buffalo Creek and Pine to U.S. Highway 285. In spite of the determined efforts of fire fighters, the fire jumped the road, burning structures at the edge of Buffalo Creek and threatening homes in Spring Creek. By Tuesday, the fire had burned a path ten miles long and two miles wide, destroying 18 homes or other structures. The blaze continued east, until it stopped at the South Platte River. Tomorrow, we will be hiking the burn scar area of the Hayman fire that took place in the S.Platte valley in 2002. I hope you enjoy some of the pictures from today’s hike. Have a great day and do something outdoors today!
Chef Chris
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