Dec. 30, 2016 Decker’s fishing Report
[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”116″ gal_title=”Dec.30 Christmas week 2016″]
Hey folks!
Welcome back from the Christmas break! Been real busy on the river and catching lots of BIG FISH!! Let’s get you updated on the current river conditions and then we’ll dive into the good stuff! The flow has been fluctuating since Christmas, when we saw a drop in the flow, with a second drop on the 28th. Currently, below the Cheesman Dam, we’ve got 58 (cfs) and about 65 through Decker’s/Trumbull. Water temperature is right at 41, with good clarity and not much moss to deal with over the last four or five days. As far as the weather goes, it’s been a little windy, cold in the mornings, but with plenty of sunshine and moderate high temperatures for the day ranging from 30-50 degrees by mid-afternoon. Looking ahead to the weekend, we’ve got warmer temperatures for today, upwards to 50, then dropping to the low 40’s for the rest of the weekend. Now! What do we do with all of this information? Read on!
Ok, after living on the South Platte River, here in Decker’s/Trumbull for almost three years now, I’ve started to pick up on a few things that have actually been present the entire time, I just wasn’t paying attention! Let’s start with the most simple of topics, “what are the fish eating” There are several hatch charts available for both the state of Colorado, and more specifically, the South Platte River Basin, but most Anglers simply pass up the obvious resource available to them, their own small net and some basic “bug knowledge.” After taking an Etymology course via http://thecatchandthehatch.com , the ability to recognize and identify what’s in the river has become instrumental in my newfound success! I highly recommend taking this course, as you will greatly improve your knowledge of the basic fly groups and be able to easily identify what the trout are eating wherever you may be fishing. Next on my epiphany list has been the ability to locate “where the fish are feeding.” This has been mostly trial and error with the approach being, how far off the bottom are the fish feeding, and where are my flies? Making adjustments to the strike indicator, adding additional weight, or simply paying a little more attention to the weight of the upper two bugs on my rig has contributed greatly to my success, especially with bigger fish! Every angler knows that tide, water temperature, light level and moon phase can affect our fishing success, but there’s another factor that often goes overlooked. Although barometric pressure can’t be predicted as accurately as the other elements just mentioned, it has a major influence on fish behavior. I found a pretty neat article about this, you can read it here by following the link https://weather.com/sports-recreation/fishing/news/fishing-barometer-20120328. Now, with all that being said, I’ll let you know what’s been working for us lately! Hands down, the RS-2, WD-40, Mercury Flash Back Midge, and jujubee Midges have been just killing it! Yesterday, we also had good success with the Lightning Bug Midge, and my buddy Ike’s favorite, and what he likes to call, “the Red-Headed Step Child” We’ve had 20-30 fish days for the last four or five outings, with some fish exceeding 22 inches! Yesterday, the brown trout seemed to be the aggressors, but we did pick up several large Rainbow and Cut-Bow Trout as well! Fishing the shelves, deeper pools and run-offs with heavier nymph rigs have proven to be highly successful all day long! The fish haven’t really been getting active until about 10:30/11 each morning, but when they’ve turned on, the action has been hot! The areas around the Decker’s resort area have seen a little more pressure these last two days, and today will probably be more of the same with all the new gear received for Christmas! Remember! there’s plenty of good fishing downstream from Decker’s! That’s all for now folks! Lot’s of great pictures in today’s picture gallery, so be sure to check them out! Just a reminder, be sure to check out The Fly Fishing Show, being held at the Denver Merchandise Mart on January 6-8! Here’s the link,http://flyfishingshow.com/denver-co/.
Have a great day!
Chris
