High Water – Good Fishing at Deckers!

The Decker’s portion of the S. Platte has been running around 170cfs for the last week or so. This flow is about double what it usually is this time of year but don’t let the high water deter you, there’s still plenty of fish to be caught. The air temp has regularly been getting into the mid 50’s but with this recent snow storm I would expect the rest of this week to be about 10-15 degrees colder. No need to get on the water early as things don’t pick up tell about 10:30-11am. Of course, if you’re the impatient type and want to get on the water sooner, keep in mind, the closer you get to the damn the warmer the water will be, so try starting higher up the river in the morning and move down as the water warms up.

We’re finding fish stacked up in the deeper slower runs, but with the higher flows I’d keep a sharp on longer glides and on slower bank water as well.

The best hours of fishing this time of year are in the middle of the day (11-3:30)

Nymphing is obviously the most productive method to take fish this time of year. A combination of larger attractor flies (stone fly, san juan worm, crane fly, or egg) followed up with a size 16-18 (rainbow warrior, floss fly, or barr’s emerger) and for a small point fly (thunder midge, fire midge, xmas midge, or zebra midge) sizes 20-24.

Try and set your hooks on every movement or pause of your indicator as eats this time of year are very subtle in the slower water.

There are a lot of spawning beds in the river right now so please be mindful of were you step, if you see sections of lighter colored sand or gravel avoid walking near or through it.

See you out there,

Levi Lambert

Minturn Anglers Guide