Fishing Report for the Deckers Section of the South Platte River
Mid Summer
Stream Flow: 459 CFS (FINALLY!!!)
Water Clarity: Cloudy
Recommended Flies: Rubberlegs #4-8, 20 Incher Stones 8-14, Mercer’s Golden Stone #8-12, Barr’s Tungstone #10-14, Possy Bugger #8-12, #10 Hot Worms and Tungsten Worms in Pink, Red, Rusty, Wine & tan, #6 Bootlace Worm

Detailed Fishing Report
We are very excited to report that we FINALLY have some water in the South Platte River below Cheesman!!!  Flows have been steadily climbing all week and today we finished the day at 459 CFS and it should remain high for at least a few more weeks.  All the reservoirs above  are full and it’s now time for Cheesman to start unloading.   This is a good thing folks so be joyful! As a guide service and fly shop we thrive on high water tactics so if you have questions swing by the shop or let us take you out and show you the ropes.  High and/or off color water on the South Platte through Cheesman and Deckers means big flies and dumb fish.  It’s time to have some fun so put your midge and small baetis box away until winter!

We’ve had trips out all week and we have quickly got back into our high water rhythm.  The overall rig of choice has been 5 feet from indicator to the split shot.  Two BB’s in the deep water, and no weight against the soft edges.  Three fly setup leading with #6-8 Rubberlegs, 3-4″ sparkle worm or bootlace worm in the middle and a 2-3″ pink Hot worm as the trailer.  We had pretty steady hook ups throughout the day and the river entirely to ourselves.  As usual, high and off color water sent everyone packing early.  Listen closely and believe what I am saying….these “super educated” fish eat anything the can see when the water is high and off color.  Find some soft water, roll the junkyard nymph rig through there on 3x and hold on tight!

Floating Deckers Down

I am sure at some point this week we will also be dragging the rafts down to Deckers for some fun floats.  If you have a boat this is a good flow to do it at.  Put in at Bridge Crossing and take out at Night Hawk.  If you want to float through Swayback Ranch  put in at Trumbell bridge and go for it, but expect to be strong armed by the care taker in the white pickup.  Trust me when I say the sheriff and the law  are on your side.  Don’t touch bottom, drop anchor, or get out and you are in the clear.  There is one low bridge in the property that might give you some clearance issues at flows above 500.  By law, you are allowed to get out and portage around man made obstacles, so if necessary just know you have that in your corner.  Personally, I don’t find the fishing in Swayback to be any better then the rest of the river so it’s not worth the hassle of dealing with grumpy in the pickup.   What gets me is that tubers can float through there all day, fall out of their rafts, trespass all over the place, and no one says a word to them.  Come through there with fly rods and it’s a different story, even though we respect the trespass laws more than anyone.   If you are a more experienced boater, you can also try the float from Nighthawk to the Confluence.  Make sure to scout the Narrows and/or see our video on how to run it. As for fishing it from a boat, pound the edges with Long “hopper copper dropper” rigs.  Foamulator or Amy’s ant as the dry, 3 feet of 3x to a tungsten worm or  tungstone and a pink sanjuan as the trailer.