What Lies Under the Mist at Deckers, South Platte RIver

What lies under the mist? Golden Browns and Glimmering Rainbows.

Fly Fishing in Widening Orbits

Rilke says, "I live my life in widening orbits." I often think of these words when I take folks fishing on a guided trip and are willing to try something new. 

Jim told me that he had been fly fishing for only two years and it was mainly all in the upper 1/4 mile of 11 mile canyon. This is a common tendency when we start off with a new sport; We tend to go back to what is familiar. I don't think there is anything wrong with this approach. Even a 1/4 mile stretch of river can have an infinite array of  complexities and dynamics. Yet, there comes a time to broaden our horizons and challenge ourselves in new ways.

Therefore I suggested the South Platte at Deckers. Jim's good friend could not make it on this trip but his daughter came along. Lauren had only fished a few times for stocked trout in a pond which to her was not the "real thing." But here she was also trying to broaden her horizons; or living life in widening orbits, as she  maneuvered herself among the rocks in the river.

Deckers is the real thing. A good size river (currently with a high flow of 450 CFS) with complex currents, seam lines, pools, riffles and runs. When Jim looked at the river he said to me, "Good call Anthony; glad we came here." I was almost jealous of Jim; relatively new to the sport of the fly fishing and how he has all this new water in front of him to explore. And more just down stream or upstream. Miles and miles of river he has never stepped a  foot in or cast a fly in.  I told him he would some time need to venture into Cheesman Canyon; 3 miles of catch and release water, access by trail only. Wow! We have some options on the South Platte.

So we started nymph fishing. I offered my standard patterns; a brown San Juan Worm and a black or gray RS2 in black or gray (size 24). And the fish responded. We had a good number of hookups. Lost a lot to the heavy water but also were able to move some good fish to the net.

Jim and Lauren had widened their orbits.

Trout at Deckers Like High Water

Mike and Sidney fly fishing for trout at Deckers Co. for the first time. The trout are liking the high flows and large fish can be spotted moving around in the new waters. Tricos rise and fall,  but the trout largely remain  low, feeding on the drowned spinners. PMD's and caddis are also emerging.

Nice Brown Caught at Deckers South Platte River On Size 24 Trico Dry

It takes some skill to entice a big Brown to take a tiny fly off the surface and tactfulness to land it with a size 24 trico imitation.

Fifteen Year Old Lands Nice Rainbow in Eleven Mile Canyon

12 Year Old First Time Fly Fisher Steps Up for The Dry Fly Challenge

Most often when I guide I get the client to nymph fish with a strike indicator. This is generally easier. But sometimes when we get to the South Platte River the fish are rising already and we have to play their game. So, we dry fly fish.

Not only has Nicolas never dry fly fish but he never fly fished before. In fact he never had caught a fish. But here he was casting tiny dry flies to some of the most selective fish in the country. He was using a size 24 Trico imitation among the thousands of Trico Mayfly's.  The fish were rising all around.

He stepped up and made his casts. He made adjustments. He problem solved. He strained to see both 

the fly and the fish. But he figured it out and he caught some beautiful trout.

Great fishing Nicolas !

A Parker Family Triple at Deckers Colorado

After a lull in the action, the Parker family scored a Triple at Deckers. In a sudden moment, we had three fish on and landed all three fish. We only had two nets. I scooped up the first fish and Earl had to scoop on the 2nd and the 3rd fish in his net. A great day on July 4th. By the way, Marika (the mother of the two young men and wife of Steve) led off the game with a nice single; a beautiful rainbow).

Tricos Emerge: Children Join in the Dance and Enter a Larger World

The children arrive on the river; Tricos emerge to form clouds above the river and then fall. The fish rise. The children strain to see the sleek forms rising just below the surface feeding on the tiny mayflies and sometimes a bright colored rainbow took their tiny fly. While they battled the strong fish, they were connected to a larger world that almost overwhelmed them. Sometimes they prevailed.