Still "Summer" at Deckers 10/24/14 Fly Fishing Report

I just can't believe this weather. It still feels like summer even in the mountains at Deckers. I could have easily wet waded today.  We had a good flow of 140 CFS for the South Platte River. There were some marvelous hatches still occurring about  mid morning that continued into the early afternoon. This morning we saw BWO's and Tricos. My client and I  were impressed with the number or large fish rising to the small bugs. These were "slabs";  big healthy rainbows. My client caught several large rainbows in the 20-21 inch range and broke off several larger. We also netted a number of  "smaller" fish. How exciting to catch big fish on small dry flies. As is often the case we just use a variety of small parachute type dry flies in sizes 22-26 on 6X tippet using "reach mend" and "parachute" casting techniques.

Hard to believe the snow is going to fly soon.  An old song from my high school years just popped in my head with the lyrics,  "It may be warm but the snow is going to fall, enough to cover us all....."

Better get those last drifts while it is still summer.

Looking For Big Fish In All the Wrong Places: Big Fish On Dream Stream On The Rise

This time of year, on the dream stream, the crowds go after the big Browns that run up out of 11 mile reservoir. Most fly fishers are chucking heavily weighted nymphs and fishing down to the monsters that are laying low. We are looking "down" trying to sight fish, but maybe we should try looking "up".

This morning, once again  there was  a heavy Blue Winged Olive Mayfly and Trico hatch that brought the fish up on top. I put aside my nymphing rod and fished to large rising rainbows, Cutthroats and Cut-bows. I landed several heavy fish over 20 inches. It felt "right" to fish on top since that was where they were and they were actually eating. It also felt right to match the hatch and make a nice delicate dry fly presentation. Sometimes, I just get tired of chucking lead. 

It is also common knowledge that there are a lot of little dinks that are rising. In fact, most of the rising fish are small, but in their midst you will sometimes notice a slurp and a gulp that is NOT  made by a small fish. Cast to those gulpers and you may be rewarded for looking for the big fish in all the right places.

LATE TRICOS in ELEVEN MILE CANYON

Unbelievable BWO and Trico hatch in Eleven Mile Canyon. It lasted for hours and better than I have seen all summer. Every fish was up top slurping. As always I just use tiny size 24 parachute adams or a black parachute trico (white wing post), or a BWO parachute. It seems to help to mix it up and try different ones. A perfect drift is way more important than the fly. This rain and cooler weather might but an end to it though.

Dream Stream October 3, 2014

What was most strange about fishing the dream stream today was the huge hatch of Tricos. They were so thick below the dam that I had a hard time seeing through them as I was trying to sight fish. And the fish were responding to them. Big fish! It is October 3!  This past summer I had seen some great trico hatches on the dream stream but often the fish were apathetic. Today they were gulping and not messing around.

Dream Stream Browns

I am still catching resident Browns on the dream stream. Best flies are San Juan worms and small red or black midges down deep. The Browns are healthy and look like foot balls. This morning I caught several 20 plus inch Browns and numerous smaller rainbows.  The Browns are  truly beautiful and certainly remind me of the the yellowish/orange colors of the Aspen in the surrounding mountains.

It seems to be too warm for the big surge up from 11 mile which is a good thing because without many of the big fish up, people are somewhat staying away. It is so mild that Tricos are still hatching in significant numbers bringing the fish to a rise (at least the smaller fish). The hatches, the mild weather, less pressure is all good as it allows the resident fish some time to put on some weight for winter with out being harassed.

Habitat improvement work is still being done in the middle of the river.

Eleven Mile Canyon Dry Fly Fishing: A Late Surge of Feeding

Just show up and cast. Cast a dry fly. Almost anything seems to be working. I mainly only see Tricos and midges hatching but a wide variety of drys are working right now. People are catching fish on trico dry flys, all kinds of parachute adams/BWO's, PMD's, midges, caddis, Amy's Ants, hoppers, and what ever else you can float. The fish seem  to be more opportunistic than selective, perhaps trying to put on some weight for winter. So, this is a great time to throw some dry flies and work on those different dry fly casting techniques.

Decker's South Platte River Fly Fishing Picture Report

Some times pictures are better to tell a story as these images from yesterday reveal. Lots of water flowing down through Deckers especially compared to up stream in Eleven Mile Canyon where it is a trickle. Expect a lot of pressure at Deckers on the South Platte. There are some nice fish at Deckers but as always they are picky and getting hit hard.