South Platte River: Dream Stream

Not much has changed on the Dream Stream since last week. Flows are holding steady in the mid 100 cfs range and water clarity is relatively high. Underwater vegetation that grew over the summer is starting to die and detach, so don’t be surprised if you find yourself navigating clumps of dead grass floating downstream. As air and water temps drop, pronounced pools, runs, pockets, shelves and seams along banks tend to hold the most trout. Strong hatches will bring trout into riffles and transitions but other than that, you’re better off focusing on softer water. Trout are looking up during the morning/evening midge and afternoon BWO hatches, so be prepared to fish dry flies during these windows. Terrestrials are still active along the banks and based on the weather forecast, we should have at least another week to fish hopper droppers. When trout aren’t feeding on the surface, nymph rigs and streamers will turn heads. Potential storms this weekend will be particularly inviting for streaamers. Olive leeches, Squirmy Worms, Buckskin Caddis, Pheasant Tails, Hare’s Ears, Micro Mayflies, JuJu Baetis, RS2s, Mercury Baetis, Jujubee Midges, red Zebra Midges, Top Secrets and Perdigons are productive sub-surface patterns. A few kokanee have made their way into the system but we are far from the peak of the run. While we understand that it can be tempting to try and snag these fish or use other unethical fishing methods, we urge you to practice good fishing ethics and fish to kokanee like you would a trout. They are already in a delicate state and if they are treated poorly, it will negatively impact the spawn and reduce kokanee populations over time.