June 29, 2023
South Platte River at Deckers - (From Ray’s Run to The Fishermen’s Run).
Looking into the Rock Garden.
Flows: From 400 cfs.
Moon Phase: Waxing Gibbous (80%).
Water Temp: 60F.
Water clarity: Clear.
Air Temp: 64F @ 7:30a – 70F @ 4p.
Hatches: Midge: In the AM. Caddis: From 9a till end of day. PMD: Starting about 10:30a to end of day. Heavy after 1p.
Flies: #10 Pat’s Rubber Leg, #20 Tabou Caddis Emerger, #16 Guide’s Choice Hare’s Ear, #20 Buckskin Caddis, #20 Pheasant Tail, #18 Brown Graphic Caddis, #16 Red Copper John, #20 Flashback Black Beauty, #24 Top Secret Midge, #18 Miracle Midge, #22 Olive JuJubee Midge, #18 Beadhead PMD Pheasant Tail, #20 Mercury PMD Pheasant Tail, #20 PMD Barr Emerger, #20 Chocolate Thunder, #10 Chubby Chernobyl, #18 Parachute Adams, #22 Root Beer Midge, # 20 Caddis Emerger, #22 Black Midge
Top producers: JuJubee Midge, Mercury PMD Pheasant Tail, PMD Barr Emerger, Root Beer Midge, Caddis Emerger, #22 Black Midge.
Two young bucks crossing the river at the bottom of Ray's Run.
Brian Kenney.
It was 7:30 sharp. Early for me to be on the river.
As we drove along it toward Deckers we encountered other fishermen in the likely spots either gearing up or already fishing. I was thinking to myself that they must have been there all night - camped out. But as we drove by the Resort, the parking lot was empty except for one large group of fishermen gearing up. It looked like a guide – or a couple of guides – with some of their clients already geared up and waiting for more to arrive.
Ray’s Run. That was where we hoped to start the day and why we were here so early. We wanted to be the first there – and claim it. It gets like that in Deckers. We drove past the Resort so that we could see if it was open – and it was. We then turned around a parked at the Resort to gear up.
It was partly cloudy with a chance of rain in the forecast. Perfect fishing weather. When the sun peeked through the clouds it was actually a pretty warm early morning in the mountains. Then when it went behind the clouds it was cool and refreshing.
Brian shot this interesting picture of a Cutbow that he landed in Fishermen's Run.
Brian Kenney.
Brian quickly geared up - even by his standards – and was in Ray’s Run before I closed up the car. He was in the middle of the run when I got to the river. As I walked along peering into the river I didn’t see any fish in the bottom of the run. It was shallow and the water was crystal clear. Not ideal conditions even if I did spot a fish.
I entered the river just below where Brian was fishing and quickly spotted a couple of trout in a seam near the shore. My rod was still rigged as I left it last week. A #18 Guide’s Choice Hare’s Ear leading, followed by a #20 Pheasant Tail, and a #20 Buckskin Caddis. Instead of re-rigging, I thought I’d give this setup a try and casted upstream of the fish. It only took a few casts and they bolted. Spooked.
It was worth the try.
I then spotted a few more fish in one of the troughs that are dredged through this part of the run. But in the clear, slow water they were very skittish. Bolting as the indicator approached them. I wanted to fish the top of the run but decided to cover the entire bottom of it before leaving. There were fish here and there, but they were as skittish as the other ones. Instead of running toward my flies – they were running away from them. That’s a good indication that it’s time to move on.
I got several rainbows like this one at the top of Ray's Run.
But before leaving I decided to change up my flies. Maybe they were keying on something specific. There were already some caddisflies flitting around in the air along with midges. I was also expecting a PMD hatch – although it was early for that - and it’s the time of the year when stoneflies begin to make an appearance. Trying to cover all those bases, I chose a #10 Pat’s Rubber Leg as my lead fly and followed it with a #18 PMD Pheasant Tail and a #20 Tabou Caddis Emerger.
With still no takers I decided to head upstream.
Brian was fishing a deep channel with a sandy bottom. The deep channel then gives way to an area where there are boulders strewn about. He could see fish in the clear water of the channel before the boulders – but they weren’t hitting anything he offered. Sounded familiar.
Releasing a brownie. I found nice ones like this in the Rock Garden pockets.
I took up a spot at the very top of the run where there is fast, white water flowing over a series of huge boulders which form a deep channel in the middle of the river. On either side of the channel the water is slower with braids formed by other smaller boulders on the near side of the river.
Finding a place to stand with good footing in the boulders is a challenge along this part of the run. Once I got into position and was comfortable, I began to cover the it. After a few minutes I could see a few fish swimming up into the upper column then disappearing back into the deep water. And I could see them down deeper in the channel too.
What were they feeding on?
One of the many rainbows Brian would net in Fishermen's Run.
Brian Kenney.
Whatever it was they weren’t taking any of my flies so I changed them up again. This time choosing a #16 Red Copper John as my lead and following it with a #18 Bead Head Olive Caddis Emerger and a #20 Flashback Black Beauty. This was a pretty heavy nymphing setup and to boot, I had a .2 gram split shot on for weight.
I wanted a heavy rig because the water was fast and I didn't want my flies swinging out in the current. And I've caught a lot of fish in the deeper part of a run when other fish were rising up into the column. So I wanted to give this heavier rig a spin. Then I could go lighter by taking of the weight.
After a few on point drifts without a look I decided to do just that - take off the split shot. Still no takers. Then I decided to try lifting my flies in the column by moving a bit upstream and lifting my rod at the end of the drift.
Releasing a rainbow back into Fishermen's Run.
First time – BANG – I got a hit. I didn’t get a good hook set though and the fish quickly spit the fly. But it confirmed that I needed to get my flies up in the upper column. Time to change up my flies – yet again. The Copper John and Bead Head Caddis Emerger were too heavy - I needed something with less weight.
It was about 10a and I could see more midges in the air now than earlier. And I was still expecting a PMD hatch which I thought could start happening within the hour. This time a choose a #18 Mercury PMD Pheasant Tail as my lead fly and followed it with a #18 Miracle Midge and a #22 Olive Jujubee Midge. This would be a light nymphing rig with no added weight.
First cast and bangeddy - BANG – fish on. He was on the near side of the trough and took my Pheasant Tail. A game 14” rainbow. Not the biggest fish – but the first one in the net.
After releasing the rainbow I continued to cover the run. It was apparent that my flies were still too low which was surprising to me. My thought was I should switch up to a Dry/Dropper rig.
Releasing a rainbow.
I had left my other rod downstream and didn’t want to leave to get it – so I decided to change up my nymphing rig. It was an easy change. I picked a #16 Parachute Adams as my Dry and tied on the nymphs I had on, for my Droppers below it. The Mercury PMD Pheasant Tail was only about 10” below my Dry. This setup would definitely keep my flies up in the column.
And it did – and the action picked up. And it was fun. I could see the fish coming up to take one of my flies. First a 17” rainbow taking the Jujubee Midge. He took me all the way down to where Brian was before I finally netted him. He was flopping around in the net as I removed the Jujubee from his lip and somehow broke the tippet. After releasing him I noticed my fly was gone.
With the expected PMD hatch now even closer - I tied on a #20 PMD Barr Emerger to replace it. This would end up being the fly of the day for me. A few more 17” rainbows with some browns mixed in - all taking it.
A highlight was when an 18” brownie full of vim and vigor came up and attacked the PMD. He then proceeded to take me all over the place. I was tripping and stumbling over the the boulders that line this part of the run as I tried to keep up with him. In the middle of this arm tiring fight I asked Brian to net him for me. It still wasn’t easy – but I was able to guide the fish to his waiting net. A picture worthy beautiful brown.
It was a challenge to land this bad boy!
Brian Kenney.
It was getting toward lunch and I suggested to Brian to fish my spot while I ate streamside. Brian was using a standard nymph setup with all weight removed and landed several nice brownies.
As I was eating I was looking upstream of Brian where the Rock Garden ends and Ray’s Run begins. As you would expect by its name, the Rock Garden is a section of the river that is filled with a bunch of various sized boulders. The boulders form nice little pockets and pools below them. It looked enticing.
After finishing my sandwich, I was going to head upstream into the Rock Garden when I noticed a couple of rainbows in the slow, shallow water near the shore next to me. Well - I thought I may as well catch these guys before I head up. But no – as the fish earlier in the slow, clear water at the start of the day – they quickly bolted.
As I entered into the Rock Garden surveying the river and its surroundings I was thinking to myself – “this is beautiful – just what my vision of a perfect place to fish is like”. The water is faster and it seemed as if I stepped through some unseen barrier and was now fishing another river.
It felt like I was on a mountain stream and had it all to myself. And I was!
The rainbows were healthy and hungry!
The only drawback was the boulders. From small unseen ones to large ones, so large that you couldn’t step over them - and everything in between. And all of them ready to trip you up before you knew it. I had to go at a slow steady pace to get into position to fish the pockets and pools.
As I waded toward the first one I tripped and stumbled but caught myself. As I did, I noticed a few nice brownies bolting from the pool into the fast water. They were gone. I had to move onto the next one. There I found a very large boulder with a small seam of water running beside it and in the seam was a smallish brownie. On my first cast – which was very tricky – I had to cast over the boulder and for a time I couldn’t see my flies until they floated directly on target into the seam. Kind of like a blind golf shot.
The brownie shot to the surface – quick as a cat – heading for my Chubby. Just a quick he broke off – right before swallowing it! After that he ignored my offerings until he finally got spooked and bolted.
After letting the first pool where I spooked a few brownies sit for awhile, I headed back down to it. This time careful to not trip. First cast into it and BANG – fish on. All I could do was hold on! It was a brownie and he bolted into the fast water and took me all the way down to where I had left Brian. He was in the trough doing a highwire act – jumping clean out of the water several times. I was surprised that he didn’t break off. I finally netted him with my PMD Barr Emerger planted in his lip.
I shot this picture of Brian with a nice brownie while I was fighting a rainbow in Fishermen's Run.
I would get a couple more like this. Same thing fish flying down the river – me stumbling over the boulders after him. One particularly large brown took me even farther down river. I was chasing him but couldn’t keep up. I was able to keep the line tight but with so much out of my reel I had no control of him and he swam into some kelp and around a submerged boulder. Fish gone – flies snagged up.
As I was fishing the Rock Garden, Brian continued to fish the trough below me and continued to land brownies. When he broke for lunch I decided to head down and fish it. I was getting tired – the wading in the boulders in the Rock Garden was wearing me out. I needed a break!
After Brian returned from lunch we continued to fish the trough and landed a few more fish. The pace was slowing down and we decided to head downstream to Fishermen’s Run. The river was wide open now. Only one women on the river between us and the Resort.
I tried the bottom of Ray’s Run again before heading all the way to Fishermen’s. It took a while and at one point I had to retie my entire rig. When I finally got there Brian had already landed three nice rainbows.
We were doubling up in Fishermen's Run.
We shared the run – me fishing the top of it, Brian below me. And we were getting nice rainbows. Very healthy and colorful. At one point - we doubled up – both netting 17” rainbows that looked like twins.
Then we did it again. This time Brian had landed his rainbow while I was still fighting mine. Brian calls out to me – “can you get a picture of this one?” I was standing about six feet from him and said “you do realize that I have a fish on – right?” It makes me laugh even now as I write this – but I still pulled out my camera and shot a picture of him with his fish. My rod in my other hand with what would end up being a 17” beauty still fight to get off.
That’s how the day went. A bit slow to start, then exciting and fun catching hungry trout.
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