July 6, 2023
South Platte River – Bridge Crossing & Fishermen’s Run at Deckers.
Flows: Dropping from 347 to 332 cfs.
Moon Phase: Waning Gibbous (87%).
Water Temp: DNM.
Water clarity: Off color.
Air Temp: 64F @ 9a – 70F @ 4p.
Hatches: Midge: Sparse. Trico: 9a to 10a. Caddis: From 9a till end of day. PMD: 10:30a to end of day.
Flies: #10 Chubby Chernobyl, #20 Tabau Caddis Emerger, #20 Buckskin Caddis, #18 PMD Flashback Pheasant Tail, #18 Pheasant Tail, #20 Black Two Bit Hooker, #20 Chocolate Thunder, #22 Olive Juju Baetis, #18 Parachute Adams, #22 Cripple, #18 Split Case PMD, #20 Mercury PMD Pheasant Tail, #20 PMD Barr Emerger, #22 Black Midge, #16 Red Pig Sticker, #18 Flashback Pheasant Tail.
Top producers: Two Bit Hooker, PMD Barr Emerger, Buckskin Caddis, Chubby Chernobyl, Pig Sticker, Black Midge, Flashback Pheasant Tail.
Roman and me - releasing a rainbow.
Brian Kenney.
It was Family Day on the South Platte River last week.
My grandson Roman and I headed out about 8:20a – a little later than planned. Bridge Crossing was our destination and we arrived about 9:15a. I was hoping it would be open but there were no guarantees at that time of the day. Someone else surely could get there earlier and claim it. And if they did – there would be no room for us.
As we rounded the bend before the bridge we could see not one – but three cars parked in the lot. Well – I thought we’d have to find another place. My back-up plan was Fishermen’s Run, Mark’s Run, the Campground, or Between the Islands Run. But as we crossed the bridge we couldn’t see anyone in the run.
Roman thought that maybe they were hikers who parked in the lot. Maybe so, and if one or two of them were fishermen they could have been on a different part of the river. I was able to park in the only open spot in the lot. Then Roman and I walked onto the bridge to peer into the river to see if we could spot some fish.
The Bridge Crossing Run. (We fished the bottom right side of the photo.)
We didn’t see any but we did see another fisherman upstream near the island. There was still room for us between the island and the bridge so we decided to gear up – quickly. As we were walking back to the car we noticed a few clouds of Tricos. That was encouraging – another bug on the fish’s menu.
Run-off has hit its peak, but the water was still a bit high and was off-color. Even though we didn’t see any fish from the bridge – we’d cover the likely spots. If we didn’t get into any fish then we’d head up river to one of the other spots in Deckers.
Meanwhile, Brian had his son-in-law, Sean and his cousin, Shannon with him. They planned to start the day in Ray’s Run and we planned to meet up sometime during the day. Ray’s is kind of tricky to both catch fish and to wade in – so I wasn’t too keen on fishing that particular spot.
Roman with a 14" rainbow we netted in Bridge Crossing.
As we hiked down to the river we saw several caddisflies flitting around in the willows and on the water surface. Our approach was stealthy as we didn’t want to spook any fish – with the higher flows I expected them to be close to the shore.
Before actually fishing – I went over the techniques of casting, line mending, the importance of a dead drift, and fighting a fish with Roman. I wanted him to use a roll cast. It’s an effective cast and minimizes snagging and other assorted tangles. This would be about his third time actually fly fishing and he quickly caught on.
Besides the Tricos and Caddisflies, we noticed midges in the air. This area of the run is on the shallow side with lots of moss to get hung up on so went with a Hopper/Dropper setup. It isn’t the easiest rig to cast – another reason for the roll cast. For the hooper I used a #10 Chubby Chernobyl and dropped off a Black Two-bit Hooker and followed that with a Tabou Caddis Emerger and a #20 Flashback Black Beauty. This would cover all the flies that were hatching.
We had deer come close to us along the riverbank at Fisherman's Run.
My other rod was setup with dries – but I didn’t expect to use any dries - even with the cloud cover and a chance of rain. I thought the river was flowing a bit too fast for dry fly fishing. And wouldn’t you know it – as I was rigging up the other line we noticed a few fish rising. They were on the other side of the river in an eddy close to a sheer granite wall that dropped intot the river. We wouldn’t be able to go after them from where we were.
So we setup just below the island and began to cover the run. I would make the first cast and hand the rod to Roman. At the end of the drift he would execute his roll-cast and repeat. I was encouraged to see some trout rising. When they are, the Hopper/Dropper setup is a very effective one to use.
As we covered the run we noticed some more fish rising downstream of us – about midway to the bridge in a seam close to the opposite shore. After seeing a few of them coming up consistently, we retrieved the line, grabbed our stuff and headed that way. The river was too deep to cross so we hiked all the way to the bridge – crossed it and dropped down to the river on the opposite bank.
Roman in Fisherman's Run.
Again, I made the first cast and handed the rig to Roman and he covered the seam. I would point to different spots for him to aim his cast – but he was doing all the work. After several attempts I gave it a try. After a few drifts I had a fish hit just as I was getting ready to retrieve.
After getting a good hook set, I handed the rod to Roman so that he could fight it to the net – and he did. We soon had a 14” rainbow in the net. He took the Black Two-Bit Hooker which roughly imitates a trico. It’s a heavy fly and I was surprised that the rainbow hit it in lower column of the water.
After releasing the rainbow, Roman took over and continued to cover the seam. He was following my directions to a tee. As he was doing so I noticed a fish regularly coming to the surface close to the shore just upstream of me. At that point I was satisfied that he could manage on his own so I grabbed the dry fly setup and approached the seam. I had on a #20 Parachute Adams and a #22 Cripple BWO. On the second or third drift he came up and hit my Parachute Adams. But I was too quick on the set.
Shannon with a 14" rainbow he netted in Ray's Run.
Brian Kenney.
They say when a fish rises to take your fly – you should let his head go back under the water - give it about two or three seconds and let him take the fly before setting. I find that very hard to do! Especially on the first take of the day!
It was a little early for lunch when the fish stopped rising and seemed to do a disappearing act. And I was surprised that Roman wanted to break for lunch – but it was a good idea. So we hiked up to the car and ate our lunch before heading upstream to Deckers.
One fish in the net. Not a bad start.
The fly fishermen were out – like ants - as we drove along the river to Deckers. I wasn’t too hopeful that Fishermen’s Run would be open – but that was my first choice. The water is low there and you can wade into it relatively easily. And there are big rainbows and brownies within short casting distance. A perfect place for Roman – and me too! More times than not I have had a blast fishing it.
Roman with a 14" rainbow in the net.
We drove past the Resort and onto the YMCA road where you get a good look into Fisherman’s and Ray’s Run. Yep – there was a guy on either side of Fisherman’s and we could see Brian and his gang up in Ray’s. It was a bit disappointing to see Fisherman's taken and we drove on to see if the other spots were open.
They weren’t.
Having struck out, we turned around at Mark’s Run and drove back toward the Resort. I can’t remember why but we did. On the way we stopped and said hi to Brian. Exchanging mostly hand signals. I couldn’t make out whether he was getting fish in the net or not.
We continued on and low and behold – Fisherman’s Run was now open!
We parked at the Resort and made the short walk up to the run. As we approached we saw a nice rainbow coming up in an eddy within two feet from shore. On my second cast he hit the Parachute Adams and made a run. It was brief, as Roman reached for the net the big rainbow broke free. Ugh!
Roman with a 17" brownie.
That was an exciting few minutes – seconds really – and it was also encouraging. Feeding fish. Big ones. That’s what we were here for!
I set Roman up in the middle of the run where there is a gravel beach. The gravel continues into the water affording pretty easy wading. I had setup a nymphing rig for Roman and directed him to roll-cast into the troughs that are no more than ten to fifteen feet offshore. His rig was tied with a #20 Mercury Pheasant Tail leading, followed by a #20 Flashback PMD Pheasant Tail and a #20 PMD Barr Emerger. There was a handful of fish moving about. They were his target.
I had changed flies on my Hopper/Dropper rig and now had a #18 Split-case PMD leading and followed it with a #20 Flashback PMD Pheasant Tail and a #20 PMD Barr Emerger. The Split-case PMD is tied with a tungsten bead head which provided all the weight needed.
For some reason the fish weren’t hitting the flies.
A happy fisherman with a 15" brownie!
As Roman continued to cover the middle of the run, I moved a bit upstream and fished some small pockets near the shore as Brian, Shannon, and Sean came down to join us. They had spent the day in Ray’s Run. Brian said the fishing was slow.
Shannon was able to fool a 14” rainbow with a #22 Black Midge and Sean netted a 15” brownie – got him on a #16 Red Pig Sticker. Brian had landed a couple of suckers. Got them on a #18 Flashback Pheasant Tail.
Sean's 15" brownie - got him with the Pig Sticker
Brian Kenney.
There was a nice size brownie feeding in front of one of the boulders I was covering in the pocket water and I was able to get him to take one of my flies. After which he flew out into the middle of the river and downstream. Me following trying to keep up. I finally had him across from me – Roman at the ready with the net. As I guided him to the net he broke off. Jeez!
I think I was pulling him – not guiding him. That’s a no-no.
After that things improved.
I was mostly helping Roman – casting my rig on occasion. At the end of his drifts – I told him to let out a foot of line and the flies sit a bit, then lift slowly before casting again. The Leisenring Lift. I wanted his flies to come up into the column to see if we could get a fish to chase.
Roman getting ready to release the 15" brownie.
After he showed me that he mastered the technique, I went to get my rig and proceeded to cover another spot. Before I could even get into position, Roman had one on!
He called out to me and I turned to see him with his rod bent – line tight. He was now fighting a large fish. I went into the water downstream of him as he fought the fish and Roman eventually led the fish to it. A nice 15” brownie. He took the PMD Barr Emerger on the lift.
You couldn’t have found a prouder grandfather – anywhere!
Later Roman would have another one on. Same technique – same fly. Roman doing all the work by himself. Casting, letting the flies sit at the end, lifting, setting the hook and fighting him to the net. This time a 17” brownie that gave Roman all he could handle.
This 18" rainbow attacked my Chubby Chernobyl.
While Roman was landing his brownies, I was able to entice a nice 17” rainbow to take my #20 PMD Barr Emerger. It was the fly of the day for us. And Brian had a couple on – but they were able to break off.
As the action slowed - Brian, Shannon, and Sean decided to call it a day.
It was now late in the afternoon but Roman was still at it. Hoping to land yet another nice brownie. I picked up my Hopper/Dropper and began to cover a couple of seams close to the shore where I could see a few rainbows cruising in and out.
As my flies drifted down the seam one of the rainbows made a mad dash to my Hopper and smacked it. I mean to tell you – just slammed the fly – and took off. It all happened in a microsecond. I instinctively set the hook and held on as the fish raced all the way to the opposite shore.
Wow!
Me holding the 18" rainbow.
Roman Polce.
I finally got him to the net – a plump 18” rainbow. Chubby Chernobyl firmly set in his lip.
After releasing him – we decided that we’d better head home. We would be late and Nona would be worried – and we could be in trouble! So we collected our stuff and headed out.
It was nice to see family out on the river – fly fishing – and enjoying the day.
And what a day it was.
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