South Platte River
Cheesman Canyon & Deckers

Difficulty: Intermediate/Advanced

Cold overnight and morning temperatures continue to lead to slow mornings and ice buildup. Despite what the flow chart shows, flows continue to hold steady around 70 cfs. The spike in the flow chart is caused by ice and slush building up under the gauging station. While we did experience relatively mild weather this week, the mornings should be avoided unless you enjoy fishing in slush and breaking ice off your fly line. After 12 pm, the water typically clears up and trout become more active. With cold water temps, focusing on the soft water has been key. Slow pools, runs and slack water are where trout are hanging out and feeding, so spend most of you time in these sections. As far as setups go, weve seen the most success with a double midge nymph rig and a triple nymph rig led with a heavy searcher/attractor pattern and trailed by midge larva and pupa. Mercury Flashback Pheasant Tails, Perdigons, Rainbow Warriors, scuds and leeches are great lead attractor patterns at the moment. Bling Midges, Miracle Midges, Manhattan Midges and Blood Midges are some of our go-to midge larva patterns. For your midge pupa, you cant go wrong with a Top Secret, Mercury Midge, Jujubee Midge or Mercury Black Beauty. Focus on getting your flies deep and achieving a slow drift.

Ideal Days to Fish: 1/18, 1/22 & 1/24

Suggested Flies:

Sub-surface: Mercury Midge (#22-24), Black Beauty (#22-24), Miracle Midge (#22-24), Bling Midge (#22-24), Zebra Midge (#20-24), Blood Midge (#20-22), Disco Midge (#20-22), Top Secret Midge (#22-24), Manhattan Midge (#22-24), Jujubee Midge (#22-24), RS2 (#20-22), Barr's Emerger (#20-22), Chocolate Foam Wing Emerger (#20-22), JuJu Baetis (#20-22), Mercury Pheasant Tail (#20-22), WD 40 (#20-22), Buckskin Caddis (#18), Guides Choice Hares Ear (#16-18), red Copper John (#18-20), Rainbow Warrior (#16-28), Pat's Rubber Legs, pink/green scud, leech pattern and San Juan Worm.

Surface: Parachute Adams (#24), Griffiths Gnat (#22 - 24)

Difficulty: Advanced

Prior to last weekend, flows dropped from 70 cfs to 60 cfs. Holding at 60 cfs, the river can feel a bit limited as trout are stacked up in the pronounced pools and runs. Soft runs, pools and pockets that are at least 2-3 feet deep will hold trout right now. Heavy nymph rigs with 6x tippet have been the most consistent but dont be surprised if you see a few rising trout in soft runs during the early afternoon. If you see trout rising, tie on a #24-26 Parachute Adams or Griffiths Gnat (7x tippet may be necessary to fool trout on the surface). When nymphing, lead with either a heavy attractor pattern or midge larva. Last weekend, we had success trailing a Mercury Midge and a Top Secret behind a Perdigon. While that worked, this is the time of year when experimentation is important. If we dont see success right away, the first thing we do is adjust our depth. We start deep and slowly work our way closer to the surface. If that doesnt work, decrease the size of your flies. If trout dont respond to small and imitative midge patterns, lead with a larger meal such as a leech, scud or Pheasant Tail. While there is considerably less ice in Cheesman Canyon compared to Deckers, we still recommend letting the river sit during the morning and fishing hard from 11 am 4 pm.

Ideal Days to Fish: 1/13, 1/14 & 1/15

Suggested Flies:

Sub-surface: RS2 (#20-22), Barr's Emerger (#20-22), Chocolate Foam Wing Emerger (#22-24), JuJu Baetis (#20-22), Mercury Pheasant Tail (#20-22), WD 40 (#20-22), Top Secret Midge (#22-24), Mercury Midge (#22-24), Black Beauty (#22-24), Zebra Midge (#20-24), Blood Midge (#20-22), Miracle Midge (#22-24), Bling Midge (#22-24), Disco Midge (#20-22), Buckskin Caddis (#18), red Copper John (#18-20), Rainbow Warrior (#18-20), Pat's Rubber Legs, pink/green scud, leech pattern and San Juan Worm.

Surface: Parachute Adams (#24), Griffiths Gnat (#22-24)