Deckers – South Platte
14 Day Forecast: Look for sporadic hatches of midges.
Effective Patterns: #20-22 Top Secret Midge, #20-22 Manhattan Midge, #20-22 Jujubaetis, #20-22 Top Secret Baetis, #20-24 Chocolate Foam Wing Emerger, #18 Micro Egg, #20-22 Red Larva, #20 Mercurry Blood Midge, #20 Flashback Mercury Black Beauty, #20 Buckskin, #20-22 Pat's Midge, #20-24 Griffith Gnat, #22 Mole Fly, and #22-24 Parachute Adams.
Measurements
Colorado Fly Fishing Report for Deckers on the South Platte by Pat Dorsey
The mileage below Cheesman Canyon is the renowned Deckers area, a world-class fishery with easy access and lots of opportunity. The best fishing is from Bridge Crossing to the lower boundary of the Tee Pee Club. Like Cheesman Canyon, the fish are challenging to catch, and there is no substitution for a good dead drift. Deckers can offer good dry fly fishing at times but like upstream in the “The Canyon” a good nympher will catch the majority of fish. Anglers can expect to catch assortment of browns and rainbows with some exceeding 20 inches. The river is made up of riffles, runs, shelves and gravel bars, and nice pocket water. The ideal flow for Deckers is between 150 and 400 cfs. The regulations are two trout over 16 inches in length and flies and lures only. Please consider catch and release on all fish caught in the area.
Deckers is a world-renowned stretch of the South Platte River. There are miles of public water to fish in and around the hamlet of Deckers.
Tips & Other Information:
Outflows are currently 124 cfs below Cheesman Reservoir, which is below normal for this time of year. Cheesman Reservoir is at 78% capacity as of this morning. Target the deeper runs and slower pools with spider web thin tippets and tiny midges in the morning. As the water warms the fish move into the riffles keying on Baetis nymphs. The afternoon blue-winged olives are adding some excitement for dry fly fanatics. Overcast days are producing the best hatches. There is a decent number of caddis flying but they are not a factor yet. These are little localized hatches…the majority of the river is still to cold for reliable hatches. Flows are low and the substrate is very mossy. Make sure you nymph mid-column otherwise you’ll be cleaning moss off every cast…Revised 4/6/26