Nov.18/19, 2016 Decker’s Update!

 

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Hi there my friends, welcome back!

How quickly the snow goes away! Got about 6 fresh inches of snow here in Decker’s with the last storm, but it’s cleared up nicely and the fishing has been pretty solid for the last two days!  Currently, below the Cheeseman Dam, we’ve got 49.6 cfs, with the Trumbull station reading 84 cfs.  Caution! This reading is not correct, so I have estimated Decker’s/Trumbull to be roughly about 60 cfs.  It’s finally time to put on the winter gear, grab the streamers, and head out for some great fishing in Decker’s. With the memory of the gigantic trout  I witnessed being counted the other day during the shocking event still fresh in my head, I’ve been on a quest.  I’ve been fishing a few different spots around Trumbull for the last two days, in hope of hooking into one of those 30″ beasts! With the lower flows and the river bed exposed in places that are usually covered a large portion of the year, I like to take this opportunity to explore different areas along the South Platte, so when the water rises in the spring, I’ll have a nice reference to some deeper pools that may be holding nice fish, not to mention learning good and bad places to cross the river.  Yesterday morning I headed out downriver to the last parking pull-out before you reach the wire, just before the Swayback Ranch.  This area is know as  “Last Chance”, referring to your last chance to fish before trespassing on private property.  While only spending an hour or so on this stretch of river, I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of activity I had nymphing, which ultimately resulted in putting 6 nice fish into the net! Made up mostly of shallow gravel bars, some deeper pocket pools, and faster water in the narrowed sections, I was able to sight plenty of feeding fish.  With nothing appearing to be feeding on the surface, nymphing was the way to go.  Red was the hot color yesterday morning, as  I was trailing a black beadhead-red Zebra Midge, behind a grey-Hare’s Ear nymph, with a maroon-San Juan worm as my indicator. My next fishing adventure led me to an area behind the Ouzel Camground. This time it was later in the afternoon and I happened to show up just about the time the fish were breaking the surface, with what appeared to be a casual sipping on some blue-winged olives. Already armed with a size#22 parachute adams and trailing a bwo-emerger from the last dry fly outing, I threw to some fish that were feeding along a bubble/foam line and caught three fish, all on the BWO. The number one thing I’ve learned from fishing these BWO dries, is that your presentation must be dead-on for success while fishing the BWO hatch.  Be sure to have ample leader length, approximately 9ft, with three feet of 6x tippet.  Also make sure that there are not currents that may be causing the fly to drag as you fish.  Do not be afraid to move or reach mend cast for a less intrusive cast. By keeping the amount of line I’ve been throwing to a shorter length, along with a diagonal upstream cast, I’ve seen a definite increase in the amount of fish I’m catching, not to mention the good hook sets I’ve been able to apply. Today’s picture gallery is a collection of shots from the last snow storm that passed through the valley on Thursday/Friday. Below are some of the patterns of Blue-winged olives that have been working for me. That’s all for now folks. Until next time, have a great evening and I hope to see you on the river soon.

Chris