Where to Go South Platte River – Elevenmile Canyon

FALL HOURS: 9am TO 6pm DAILY

Report Date: 10/1/2024

Current Conditions: 

The canyon has been extremely busy.  Please respect each other!

The flows in the canyon are low and currently at 103 cfs. The lower flows have increased the technical element of this river and the fish are getting very picky on what and when they eat. The fishing is on the technical side, but any well placed fly (within the hatches) should do the trick. We are seeing some slower days in here. There is a lot of moss throughout the river (as usual for this time of year). The clarity is excellent and we are seeing some great sightfishing opportunities right now.

Water temps are on the warm side, but still within the window of good fishing. We always recommend keeping tabs on the water temps here.

The river has still been busy, even with kids returning to school and the visitor traffic slowing down. Even weekdays there have been some pretty thick crowds. Again, give your neighbor some space and be respectful to all users of the resource. Dont be afraid to fish the "bait water" or lower in the canyon as we have seen some fantastic fish in that area. Focus your efforts back in the riffles, runs, seams and holes.

Good, dead drifts right on top of the fish are key right now. Anglers will need to bring their A Game to the river right now.

Hatches: 

The weather is keeping most of the hatches going strong. Midges, Tricos, some PMD's, and BWO's are all active. The midges and tricos will bring the morning crowds, but you will see a mix of smaller hatches throughout the day. These fish have been eating Tricos for over 3 months now and are getting picky. Try fishing drowned tricos or even spinners sub surface. Focus on them in smaller sizes too around 24-26. The tricos are starting to taper off.

Tactics: 

Nymphing will still be the most effective, but we are seeing some great dry fly fishing for tricos, a few PMD's, and BWO's. 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. The trico spinner fall will also provide some fantastic surface action. The fish are PICKY on the trico patterns.  As the day progresses, the angler will see some PMD's, midges, and some BWO's.

Weather: 

Short Term-  Again, its now October but it certainly wont feel like it weather-wise. We will continue to have some very warm and mild conditions. Temps through this week and into the weekend will be in the mid 70's. Morning lows will be cool in the upper 30's/low 40's but things will warm up quickly. Precipitation chances are also very low at this time. We could see some windier days, especially in the afternoons. Fire danger will also increase during this timeframe. If you like mild summer like weather, then this week is for you. Get out there and take advantage of the gorgeous conditions!

Long Term-  As we head past this coming weekend and the beginning of next week, it looks like we will have more of the same. This extended warmer period looks to last well into the middle of October. We will see temps in the 60's and 70's with morning lows becoming pretty chilly. Long range forecasts are hinting at some changes towards the end of the month, but for now we will stay warm and dry.

Tips: 

The tricos have been hatching for a few months now. As always, as this hatch goes on the fish will get very picky in eating them. Try sizing down into the 24-26 range for this popular mayfly. Also fishing cripple style dry flies can be a good code cracker for the picky fish.

The PMD's have also been on the smaller side. Try size 18-20 right now. We have seen some fall BWO's start to hatch as well.

Carry two rods. One rigged for a dry fly and one rigged for nymphs. You will see sporadic opportunities for both all throughout the day.

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:

• Zebra midge. sizes 22-24
• Sunny side up eggs, orange, sizes 14-16
• Sparkle wing RS2, black, sizes 20-22
• No Mercy midge, brown, sizes 20-22
• Spent wing trico, black, sizes 22-24
• Foamback emerger, black, sizes 18-20

Our Top Dry Flies for Today:

• Mole fly, natural, sizes 20-24
• 180 Trico, Sizes 20-24
• Lighthouse trico. black, size 22
• Neils BWO, size 20-22
• Chubbies!

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!