Where to Go South Platte River – Elevenmile Canyon

FALL HOURS: 9am TO 6pm DAILY

Report Date: 9/9/2024

Current Conditions: 

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

The flows in the canyon have started to drop. Current flows are at 142 cfs. and we expect the flows to match the inflow eventually (115 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. With the very warm weather the potential for water temps to get into the dangerous 67 degree mark are possible, especially lower in the canyon. If you see high water temps, its best to call it a day.

The river has 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. The fishing has been great and we are seeing some great hatches everyday. Dont be afraid to fish the "bait water" 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: 

Midges, Tricos, caddis, some PMD's, are all active. The midges and tricos will bring the morning crowds, but Caddis and PMDs are doing well later in the morning. These fish have been eating Tricos for over 2 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. Hopper droppers are a good bet at this time.

Tactics: 

Nymphing will still be the most effective, but we are seeing some great dry fly fishing for tricos, caddis, PMD's and even terrestrials. Focus on nymphing early in the morning. 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 good Caddis and PMD hatches.

Weather: 

Short Term-  We will have more of the same this week. Highs will be in the 70's and rain chances are very low. We could see a rogue storm roll through but nothing will be long lasting if it does develop. The wind looks great most of the week as well. The exception to that will be on Thursday, where we could see some strong winds around noon. Morning lows are starting to get chilly in the 30's and 40's, but it is warming up pretty fast each day. Get out and enjoy this great late summer weather!

Long Term-  After this coming weekend, things look to cool off a bit. Its hard to say right now if thats the beginning of some sustained changes, but it will cool off for a few days. Temps will remain in the 60's and we could see some pretty cold morning lows.  Long range forecasts are hinting at some incoming changes toward the back half of September, but as always we will have to wait and see how that develops.

Tips: 

The tricos have been hatching for a couple of 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.

This is a great time for dry/dropper fishing. 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
• Pheasant tail, black, size 22
• Sparkle wing RS2, black, sizes 20-22
• Blindside midge, grey, sizes 20-22
• Spent wing trico, black, sizes 22-24
• Foamback emerger, black, sizes 18-20

Our Top Dry Flies for Today:

• Sparkle Dun, PMD, sizes 16-18
• 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!