Where to Go South Platte River – Deckers
Current Reports
Angler's Covey Bug of the Month
Bug of the month videos here
Visit the blog here
FALL HOURS: 9am TO 6am DAILY
Report Date: 1/17/2025
Current Conditions:
The flows came up yesterday quite a bit. Current flows are at 229 cfs. These flows are way above average for this time of year. These flows will spread fish out a little bit. The biggest thing right now is to really saturate your drifts. The fish are not moving that much to eat. Depth and weight are paramount. There are large stretches of the river that are not holding many fish. Move around until you start seeing/catching fish. Thats a good indication that more fish will be in the area. Lower in the corridor there is a good bit of ice. Bridge Crossing and upstream have been best. There will certainly be some anchor ice with this cold front coming. The crowds have tapered off a bit here as well. This is a good time to pay special attention to the size of flies, indicators and your approach.
Cheesman reservoir is currently 78% full
Hatches:
As usual for this time of year, Midges are the name of the game, especially sub surface. The fish have been keying in on these in particular life stages so make sure you have a good representation of larvae, pupae (emergers) and adults. Keep your patterns SMALL! If there is minimal bug activity try dead drifting a small streamer.
Tactics:
Move around until you find fish. The fishing is pretty technical. Anglers will need to pay attention to everything right now. Using big indicators with bad presentation could be a recipe for disaster. Focus not only on what patterns you are fishing, but how you are fishing them. Good dead drifts right on top of the fish will be key. 5x and 6x are also a good idea. Depth and weight will be your most important factors in nymphing. Be sure to really spend time in the areas you are fishing. The fish are not moving much to eat. The dry fly fishing is hit and miss and we have seen some great days followed by slower days. During a hatch, a well presented midge adult will take a good number of fish.
Tips:
Focus on areas of the river that see sun throughout the day. These are going to be your most productive areas. We will see some anchor ice this week all throughout the river.
Weather:
Short Term- Today everything will change with the weather. We are expecting a large scale cold blast to enter the state later today. This front will be bringing some very cold arctic air with it along with increased chances of precipitation. Snow chances up here are pretty decent and we could see 2-4 inches of snow here. The snow will be very light and fluffy due to the cold temperatures. This extreme cold will last through Monday and then we will slowly warm up a bit. Use caution if you are planning on fishing the next few days. It will only take about 10 minutes to get frostbite on exposed skin. Temps will get into the 40's by the end of next week.
Long Term- After this blast of cold air leaves the area, we will see a brief warm up as we head towards next weekend. Another system is setting up to come through over next weekend. Right now its still a bit too far to tell the exact impact, but it does look like we will cool down and have increased precipitation chances. Beyond that is anyones guess, although it does look like Colorado will be somewhat in the track of storms. We are getting into the time of winter when we can really start adding snowpack. (Feb-April are the snowiest months of the year) Keep those snow dances going!
Our snowpack has been doing decent this year and is currently sitting right above average. Our snowpack as of today in the South Platte basin is at 102% of average for this time of the year. Lets hope these storms keep coming through the high country. Snow now means water later, and we can use all we can get!
RECOMMENDED PATTERNS
For a custom fly assortment for this location, click here!
Our Top 6 Nymphs for Today:
- No Mercy midge, sizes 20-24
- Blindside midge, grey, black, size 22
- Darth Baetis, black, size 20
- Pale ale midge, olive, size 20-22
- Wader midge, size 22
- Buckskin, size 22-22
Our Top Dry Flies for Today:
- Mole Fly, brown. Size 22
- Parachute adams, sizes 18-22
Standard South Platte nymph rig set up:
Screenshot the diagram above to reference while you're out on the water!
BE SURE TO CHECK OUT OUR "WHERE TO GO" PAGE FOR DETAILED INFORMATION ON OTHER AREAS!
The South Platte River at Deckers was devastated by debris in 2002 from Colorado's largest fire in its recorded history followed by two huge floods. Since then, Deckers has been making great progress toward recovery and the debris left over from the fire and floods is being used by caddis for making their cases. The caddis have taken over the river the last few springs. Caddis hatches that rival the famed Arkansas River's "Mother's Day hatch" have happened in Deckers the last four years. It's showing no sign of slowing down.
When the fish aren't coming up to caddis, a tandem nymph rig with typical fare can still be deadly. The summer months can be a lot of fun for anglers that are into throwing streamers and big dry flies. Elk hair caddis, Amy's Ants, stimulators, and foam hoppers such as the streambank hopper are great dry flies to have. Good nymph patterns to carry are: Mercury Pheasant Tails, South Platte Brassies, San Juan Worms, Pat's Rubber Leg Stonefly, RS-2's, Murphy's Bubbleback Midge, Blindside Midges, Buckskins, Top Secret Midges, Medallion Midges, and Black Beauties.
I'm so pleased to see this fishery come back strong after the Hayman fire. Deckers has been producing some of the area's strongest, most beautiful trout in the last couple of years. While the area may get crowded, there is a ton of water along the corridor and it's always fun to go seek out new water. As with anywhere on the South Platte, be sure to check the flows before you go. Sudden bumps or drops in the flow will negatively affect the fishing on this river.
Jon Easdon, Guide and Director of Services
Deckers is also a great winter fishing destination because it is a tailwater. A tailwater fishery is where a river comes out below a dam; consequently, during the winter months the water temps are just warm enough to stay relatively ice-free all year. Sections where the sun hits the water is where you can find feeding fish. This time of year can be the most productive for solitude-seeking anglers who aren't afraid of using light tippets and very small flies.
This is an area we specialize and are permitted in, so give us a shout if you have any questions or if you're interested in allowing one of our Orvis-Endorsed guides show you how best to fish the Deckers area.
South Platte River – Deckers.
Interested in Booking a Trip?
Directions - 40 miles - 49 Minutes
- From Angler's Covey head west on US 24 W/Cimarron St, go 16.7 miles
- Turn right at CO-67 towards Deckers, go 23.1 miles