Where to Go South Platte River – Elevenmile Canyon

FALL HOURS: 9am TO 6pm DAILY

Pikes Peak Trout Unlimited has installed water temperature sensors in 11 mile canyon. Check out the water temps HERE

Report Date: 3/18/2025

Current Conditions: 

The canyon has been fishing well as of late. Early spring can be rather dynamic in here and the last few weeks have been no exception. The crowds are increasing a bit more but for the most part there has been a good amount of water per angler. The flows in the canyon are right about average for this time of year and are currently at 89 cfs. These flows are basically matching the flows going into the lake. This is something we will see al throughout the year. Its very unlikely we will see much fluctuation in these flows until later in the spring. As we have stated in the past, Denver Water likes to keep 11 mile reservoir full. The lake is currently 103% full. As usual, The fishing is still on the technical side, but we have seen a lot of fish moving into prime feeding lies all over the river. The fish are happy! A lot of the ice along the river has melted quite a bit. But there is till some good ice build up in the shady parts of the canyon. The clarity is excellent and we are seeing some great sightfishing opportunities right now.

Dont be afraid to fish up here in poor weather conditions, especially during a snowstorm. While most people go clear up by the dam to fish, there are some great places lower in the canyon right now. Above all, focus on areas of the canyon that do see some sun.

We have seen some great midge hatches and fishing the adult stages (Dry flies) has been fun!

Hatches: 

The weather has been keeping the hatches going strong. Its pretty much all midges right now. The main hatches have been in later morning/early afternoon. Go small on your offerings as the bugs are on the tiny side. We have seen some great midge dry fly fishing. Its about time for anglers to start carrying some longer profiled midges with them. The big spring midge is coming!

Tactics: 

Nymphing will still be the most effective, but we are seeing some great dry fly fishing for midges. Focus on dry fly fishing during the pronounced hatches. As the bugs start to emerge the fish will be consuming them at a high rate. Watch the surface closely and switch over to dries as necessary. Again, keep your patterns small!

Weather: 

Short Term-  Temps have been pretty warm, but we have seen a ton of wind up here (everywhere for that matter) The next 5 days will be extremely windy and challenging. Today we will have a quick front move through the area. We could see some brief precipitation, but it shouldnt amount to much and be pretty short-lived. Temps will cool today and tomorrow and we will again see lows in the teens through Thursday. Friday looks like the nicest day, although there will still be some good wind. This upcoming weekend will be extremely windy with highs in the 40's.

Long Term-  Looking ahead, some very nice weather is on tap for us next week. The best news is that the wind should calm down as well! Temps will be above seasonal averages and in the 50's and maybe even 60's. Longer range forecasts are still showing a system coming through the state at the very end of March. Its too far out to tell exactly what will happen, but the forecasts are all starting to agree that something will happen. For the sake of our snowpack and the overall situation, lets hope its something significant. We are getting too warm too fast this early spring.

Despite the recent warm weather and wind, we have seen some higher elevation storms in the South Platte basin. Our snowpack is holding strong. This basin is one of the strongest in the state actually and is sitting at 102% of average as of today. As we roll into spring we will have longer days, a higher angle of the sun, and a lot of wind. This combination can start to decrease the overall snowpack at a good pace. With our biggest snow months historically on the horizon March and April), lets hope we can keep building this for our summer water. Snow now means water later, and we can use all we can get!

Tips: 

With the warming temperatures the fish are starting to occupy more traditional feeding lanes. Fish will move into riffles and seams during the thick of the midge hatches. Covering ground is a great plan right now. Fishing is still on the techy side of things, but the fish are feeding a lot more now.

This is an area we offer guided walk/wade trips, and we are one of the only outfitters permitted to do so in 11 mile canyon, please give us a call if you are interested! (We are currently only offering full day trips here)

RECOMMENDED PATTERNS 

For a custom fly assortment for this location, click here! 

Our Top 6 Nymphs for Today:

• Sunny side up eggs, orange, sizes 16-18
• Top secret, brown- Sizes 20-24
• Blindside midge, grey. sizes 20-22
• No Mercy midge, brown, sizes 20-22
• Black Beauty, sizes 20-24
• Lightspeed leech, olive, black-size 16

Our Top Dry Flies for Today:

• Mole fly, natural, sizes 20-24
• Parachute Adams, natural, sizes 20-24
• Matts midge, sizes 22-24

Our Top Streamer Patterns for Today:

• Baby Gonga,  Grey, size 6
• Slumpbuster, Natural, size 4-6
• Wooly buggers, brown, sizes 6-8

Standard nymph rig set up for the South Platte:

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!