South Platte River: Cheesman Canyon

Cheesman Canyon flows recently dropped and now sit in the low 200 cfs range. Flows are at a great level, so if you’ve been itching to fish the canyon, now is a great time to do so. Absent a hatch, trout will stack up in pools, runs, outer seams and slack water. During a hatch, tailouts, soft riffles, transitions and seams along structure are highly productive targets. While crowds tend to make it difficult, covering a lot of water is a great tactic right now. In regards to fly selection, caddis and BWOs are stealing the show. Bright green caddis larva patterns and Guide’s Choice Hare’s Ears are productive lead patterns when trailed by a baetis emerger or caddis pupa. Baetis emergers will be particularly effective over the next 5-7 days, due to overcast skies and precipitation. If you’re not seeing results, swap out your lead pattern for an orange scud, San Juan Worm, Mini Leech or Gummy Crane. Dry fly fishing has been hit or miss but should improve with the current flow. Hi-Vis BWOs and Parachute Adams are great dry fly patterns for the BWO hatch. Elk Hair Caddis and All-Season Caddis will attract attention during a caddis hatch. If you have a hard time tracking small BWO patterns, lead with an Elk Hair Caddis and trail a BWO pattern. With both of these hatches occurring around the same time, fishing a double dry fly rig can be highly effective.