Deckers – South Platte
14 Day Forecast: Look for hatches of midges, yellow sallies, caddisflies, Tricos, and pale morning duns.
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, #16 UV Scud, #18 Micro San Juan Worm, #20-22 Red Larva, #20 Mercurry Blood Midge, #20 Flashback Mercury Black Beauty, #18 Graphic Caddis, #20 Buckskin, #10 Amy's Ant, #16 PMD, #22-24 Trico Spinner, #14-16 Elk Hair Caddis, #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 191 cfs below Cheesman Reservoir and 202 cfs at Deckers. Cheesman Reservoir is currently at 74% capacity as of this morning. It’s dropping ast because inflows are only 121 cfs. The feeders creeks are adding s0me additional water from the recent rainfall. Anglers should prepare themselves for hatches of midges and caddisflies. Overall, Deckers is fishing good considering the condiitons. We have been ctaching some nice browns as of late with the ocassional mid sized rainbow. The substrate is clogged with aquatic folliage making things challenging for the nymph fisherman. If you opt to nymph-fish, make sure you keep your flies mid-column to reduce your downtime. A dry-and-dropper is not a bad idea right now to minimize your downtime. Start fishing early and finish early! Keep and eye on water temperatures and quit fishing if they hit 67 degrees. Be mindful of our finned friends and release them quickly. Revised 7/30/26