Deckers – South Platte
14 Day Forecast: Look for hatches of midges, yellow sallies, PMD's, Tricos, and caddis.
Effective Patterns: #14 UV Scud, #14 San Juan Worm, #8 Cranefly larva, #10 Pat's Rubber Legs, #20-22 Jujubaetis, #18-20 Top Secret Baetis, #20-22 Chocolate Foam Wing Emerger, #20 Mercury Midge, #18 Buckskin, #20-22 Parachute Adams, #16-20 Mathew's Sparkle Dun, #14-16 Elk Hair Caddis, #14 Yellow Stimulator, #16 Light Cahill, and #10 Amy's Ant.
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:
Flows are back to their normal historic levels. All the water is coming off the base of Cheesman Dam, so the water is ice cold. Look for hatches of midges, PMD’s, yellow sallies, caddis, golden stoneflies, and Tricos. The hatches are light in comparison to a couple weeks ago when the water was warmer. Look for those hatches to get better by the day (as the water warms up from the reservoir lowering), especially on the lower river. Anglers are catching a mixed bag on rainbows and brown trout right now. I recommend leading off with an attractor, then trail caddis larva (pupae), PMD nymphs, or a Baetis emerger. I’m finding the trout to be feeding opportunistically so keep mixing it up until you find something that consistently works. Revised 7/25/24