South Platte River: Cheesman Canyon

Cheesman Canyon flows are on the move again, increasing by roughly 200 cfs yesterday. Trout will be difficult to locate and dial in over the next couple of days due to the change in flows, but we should see them settle in over the weekend. Scuds and other large patterns (worms, caddis larva, leeches and searchers) will hot lead flies on a nymph rig. These larger patterns will encourage takes and if they don’t, they will get the trout’s attention and your trailer will seal the deal. Mercury Midges, Black Beauties, Top Secrets, WD-40s, Rojo Midges, RS2s, Darth Baetis and Stalcup’s Baetis have been our top trailers. Pay close attention to your depth right now. Unless you can see feeding trout, start with enough split shot or tungsten bead nymphs to get your flies into the deepest water column. If that doesn’t work, gradually decrease your weight to cover the middle and upper columns until you find success. Repeat this process before changing patterns. Dry flies will take a back seat the next couple of days until trout normalize to the new flow, but once they do, surface activity will improve. Griffiths Gnats, Parachute Adams, Parachute BWOs and Elk Hair Caddis are good patterns to have on hand.