Charlie Meyers State Wildlife Area
14 Day Forecast: Look for hatches of midges, BWO's, caddis, and a few sporadic Tricos with the warm water.
Effective Patterns: #18 -20 Mercury Pheasant Tail, #20-22 Jujubaetis, #20-22 Top Secret Baetis, #20-22 Chocolate Foam Wing Emerger, #18 Mico San Juan Worm, #18-20 Buckskin, #16 Elk Hair Caddis, #12-14 Stimulator, #20-24 CDC Trico Comparadun, #16-20 Sparkle Dun, #16-20 Parachute Adams, #10 Mimic Hopper, and #10 Amy's Ant.
Measurements
Fly Fishing Information for The Dream Stream Between Spinney & Eleven Mile Reservoirs Colorado
The lush meandering, meadow portion of the South Platte between Spinney and Eleven Mile Reservoirs is known as the “Dream Stream” or the Spinney Mountain Ranch. This beautiful 3-mile section of the Platte offers anglers the opportunity of a lifetime to catch large trout. This fabulous tailwater fishery is located in the heart of South Park, tucked between 14,000 foot snow capped peaks on the west, rich ranchland to the north and south, and Pikes Peak on the east. Spinney is a well-balanced fishery where anglers can catch trout on nymphs, dry flies, and streamers.
The river is comprised of prime trout habitat, which includes, riffles, runs, gravel bars, shelves, and undercut banks. Fly-fishers can expect to catch a mixed bag of rainbows, browns, and cutthroats in 10-18 inch range. In addition spring (rainbows, and cutthroats) and fall (browns and kokanee salmon) spawning runs from Elevenmile Reservoir are quite impressive with fish up to 10 pounds landed during a key three-four week period. Ideal flow conditions for “Dream Stream” are between 100 and 250 cfs. The regulations are flies and lures only and all fish must be returned to the water immediately.
The Charlie Meyers State Wildlife Area (commonly called the Spinney Mountain Ranch or Dream Stream) is a classic meandering, meadow stream. Anglers have the opportunity to catch rainbows, cut-bows, cutthroats, and brown trout when they fish this fabled stretch of water.
Tips & Other Information:
Outflows are very low in a effort to fill Spinney Mountain Reservoir. Spinney Reservoir is very low…the City of Aurora tells me it reached 70% yesterday (6/12), so its gonna take some time to fill…if it does. Pray for lots of rain to charge the feeder creeks and the Middle Fork of the South Platte River. Anglers should prepare themselves for sporadic midge hatches in the morning, followed by some BWO’s and caddis. There is a smattering of Tricos, and that should intensify by the day. This biggest concern right now is water temperatures. If you opt to fish the Dream Stream, please consider fishing is from 6 a.m. until 11 a.m. The water is warming up quick, so be mindful of the water temps, carry a thermometer, check the river-temps frequently,, and quit fishing when the water reaches 67 degrees. Revised 6/13/25