May 4, 2023
The South Platte River – Deckers. (The Campground Run to the Cable Hole).
Flows: From 114 cfs @8p on the 3rd to 43 cfs @10a on the 4th. Then up to 117 cfs @1p and down to 103 cfs @ 4p. (Back to 45 cfs @ 8p).
Moon Phase: Waxing Gibbous (98%).
Water Temp: 42F @ 2p.
Water clarity: Very clear to ~5’.
Air Temp: 40F @ 7:30a – 57F @ 4p.
Hatches: Midge: Spotty until about 10 AM, then heavy in spots. BWO: Light from 2p to 3:30p. Caddis: Here and there in the PM. Stoneflies: Casings along the shore.
Flies: #16 Red Midge Larva, #18 Guide's Choice Hare's Ear, #24 Barr Emerger, #22 Miracle Midge, #22 Mercury Flashback Black Beauty, #24 Purple Jujubee Midge, #24 Grey Sparkle Wing RS2, #18 Mercury Pheasant Tail, #24 Mercury Black Beauty, #24 Sparkle Dun, #22 Parachute Adams, #22 Griffith’s Gnat, #24 Matt’s Midge, #20 Red Dale's Pale Midge, #24 Mercury Purple Zebra Midge, #10 Chubby Chernobyl, #18 Pheasant Tail, #16 Red Quill.
Top producers: Guide's Choice Hare's Ear, Purple Mercury Zebra Midge, Dale's Pale Midge, Sparkle Dun.
A Bald Eagle joined us near the end of the day.
Brian Kenney.
We didn’t go to the amusement park although if we did, it would have been a much less of an exhausting day for us!
No, we got a wild rollercoaster ride from the Denver Water Department. You can see from the flow data above – they first decided to substantially lower the flow the night before our trip. Then proceeded to raise it – again substantially – while we were on the water, only to lower it again before we left.
I wonder if this some sort of cruel joke they played on us fly fishermen? Smiling while they turned the dial down, then up, then back down again. “Let’s see what this does to those Pescadores”.
We left for Deckers yesterday at 6:30a intent on beating the crowd so that we could pick our spot. It was a cloudy morning with light rain possible. Good fishing weather – but as we left I said to Brian “We could be in for a tough day”.
Looking upstream into the Horseshoe Bend.
Flows are important. Consistency is the key. When they are bounced around it causes problems with the fish – especially when they change drastically like they did in the past 24 hours. What kind of problems I’m not sure, but it throws them for a loop. They don’t act the same. And when the flows are at a meager 43 cfs they seem to be very picky on what they eat. That is when they decide to eat.
I checked the flows in the morning before Brian arrived and saw the huge decrease to already low flows. That’s why I was concerned. I even checked 11 Mile and the Tailwater to see oi we had other options. The Tailwater flows were bounced around even more so during the last week. 11 Mile was more consistent, but it was still very low so I didn’t suggest any change of plans.
And a tough day it was. The fishing was off. They weren’t feeding as usual and we had to work hard to get them in the net. When they did eat, they seemed to be able to clearly distinguish between our flies and natural bugs – and chose the naturals.
We had to cover a lot of water. In Deckers that’s not always easy. A lot of wading to cross the river and at times you can’t wade in the river to get where you want to go so you have to get out of the river and hike. There are canyon walls in the area we were in and the hikes are usually up a steep hillside and then down one to get around them. On the positive side, we got our steps in and burned a lot of calories!
Brian working a hole just upstream from the Campground.
We started at the Campground. There was another guy gearing up in the parking lot and said he hadn’t fished that spot and asked how it was. I told him that it’s like any place else, it could be good and sometimes not so good. It wasn’t good on this day. We did spot some fish but they wouldn’t hit anything.
It was a harbinger for the rest of the day. Change weight. Change depth. Change flies. Change technique. Will anything entice a hit from these fish? Brian even tried changing from using an indicator to not – then back again.
I got the first one of the day. We were upstream of the Campground Run – halfway upriver near the Horseshoe Bend. We’ve had good days in this spot before and there were a bunch of fish suspended mid-to-upper column in the slow water below a deeper, faster pool. They were like the fish in the Campground. Wouldn’t hit anything.
1st fish of the day. (Surgical glove protecting a cut finger!)
At one point during one of my many changes, I put more weight on. It was too much to fish in the slower water where we could see the fish and I was about to take some off when I decided instead to drift my flies though the fast water just upstream of it. The added weight would play better in that kind of water.
Halfway through my drift – BANG. Finally – fish on! It was a 15” brownie and he hit my Guide’s Choice Hare’s Ear.
The brown was feisty as they usually are and rolled and flapped around in my net causing a huge mess with my flies. As I was working to untangle and clean them, Brian moved up into the fast water on the other side of the river. Before I was done with my flies – Brian hooked up and landed a nice 19”, fat rainbow. He took a Dale’s Pale Red Midge.
Looking downriver into the Campground Run.
Wow. Was the fishing finally picking up?
Not really. The action quickly slowed down and we picked up and moved on. But not before a pesky, sly fox snuck up and tried to steal my lunch.
Brian and I both packed our lunches out. We had sandwiches in our backpacks and mine was laying on the bank beside my dry fly rod and I was in the river fishing with my nymphing rod. That’s when the fox showed up and cautiously started to sniff around my backpack – then approach it. I had to yell at him to get him to back off – which he did. I was glad that I didn’t have to wade out of the water and chase him off!
We moved upstream – checking and trying each fishy spot along the way. This is the area where you run into some tricky wading. The canyon walls come down to the river’s edge in some spots or huge granite boulders form the bank in others. It’s in these places that you have to wade out of the water and hike either up and over the canyon wall or around the huge boulders.
Brian's 1st catch - a fat, 19" rainbow.
Brian Kenney.
Sometimes you have to pick you poison. Cross the river where the hike in not as challenging – or take the challenging hike. Sometimes you have no choice – you have to cross. And crossing the river is tricky. Lots of boulders to trip over or slip on. And unexpected deep holes and washouts by the boulders.
As we moved upstream we found most of the spots we wanted to fish were already taken. The exception was the Eddie Pool. It was open and Brian fished it while I ate an early lunch and watched. Brian said he could see some fish in it – but no takers. He moved upstream and was chatting with a guy in the Mini-canyon as I gave it a shot. I didn’t see any fish and didn’t find one on my many drifts through it.
There were three guys fishing the Mini-canyon and as we climbed up over the canyon wall we could see some large trout in the water below. The guys fishing it said they could see them too – but they wouldn’t hit anything. Hmmm. We know that tune.
One of the steep hills along the river.
The bottom of the Between the Islands Run was open and we headed to it.
I started out covering the river upstream in the riffles working downstream toward Brian while he covered the river upstream of the lower island. As I worked downstream I hit a couple of depressions with fast water flowing through them before giving way to a midriver seam. ’ve got some trout out of them in the past, some really nice one too – and I couldn’t pass them up. After my third drift through the second one I had a 17” or so rainbow hit.
He was fighting me in the fast water and I was concerned that he’d take me downstream. Then decided to swim upstream. Good by me – I like to fight fish from the downstream side. They’re fighting me and the current and it hard for them to spit the hook. But this one did! It surprised me. How did he do that?
A brownie Brian caught in the Mini-canyon.
Brian Kenney.
Just before hooking up that rainbow – they guys who were in the mini-canyon had left. As I approached Brian he said he was headed that way. I wanted to go there too and was planning to follow him – but I first wanted to cover a few spots in the pocket water.
I never made it.
Just as Brian left the fish started to rise. Not a bunch of them like last week and not as steady. One fish here – then another there – and I’d target them. I got some interest – false takes – then they just ignored my flies afterwards. And I did get some takes – and missed them except for one small rainbow who took my #24 Sparkle Dun.
Small midges and baetis from the stomach of one of Brian's fish.
Brian Kenney.
There was a brownie that we spotted when we first arrived sitting in one of the pockets not moving. He stationary and I don’t know how he was able to suspend himself and maintain his position in the water – but he did. He was the first fish that I saw rising and after few drifts he casually came up and refused it – only after a complete inspection. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a fish look over a fly so carefully!
This ended up taking quite some time and Brian ended up coming back up to meet me. As he did, he said “You must have been landing them or you would have left long ago and met up with me”. Well that wasn’t really the case – but I was bound and determined to get at least a few of them on my dries and had only one to show for my effort.
He on the other hand had some success in the Mini-canyon – landing a few trout on his #24 Mercury Purple Zebra Midge and his #20 Red Dale’s Pale Midge. Brian pumped one of their stomachs and found a bunch of small midges and a few baetis.
A small rainbow that hit the Sparkle Dun.
We both had noticed a few caddis in the air and Brian had seen some Stonefly casings along the bank of the river. He also had struck up a conversation with another angler who said he was just killing it using his Green Caddis Emerger. There’s now more on the menu for the trout – always a good thing.
The next stop was Mark’s Run where Brian covered the middle of the river with his nymph rig. While he did that I moved up into the Cable Hole. Yep there were fish in sight – and they were eating – but not anything I was offering. I covered the hole from one side of the river – then the next with my nymphing rig. Nothing.
A quick hitting rainstorm moved in and the fish started to rise to BWOs that were hatching. No dice as I drifted my dry flies to them. Again, I had some refusals – and after that they just ignored my flies. That was new. Many times in the past after I had a fish refuse my fly – I was able to trick him later.
A fox trotting along the road.
Brian Kenney.
Toward the end of the day Brian showed up and fished the Cable Hole with me from the opposite bank. As he was standing there another fox came trotting up the road giving us no concern before bounding up the steep hillside. Then as we began to move downstream toward the car a Bald Eagle came soaring overhead and landed in a tree near Brian. He had just caught a fish and was proceeding to eat it in the tree.
We covered a lot of water and we’re exhausted as we began the long walk back to the car.
Brian got this rainbow in the Mini-canyon.
Brian Kenney.
The Rollercoaster Ride of-a-day was over.
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