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: 12/8/2025

Current Conditions: 

And like that, its winter! The canyon is taking its winter form and the fishing is also reflecting that. The fishing has been on the slower side but we are seeing some good windows of hot fishing. This window has been a little later and close to noon, or the warmest parts of the day. This time of year the angler will want to focus on areas of the river that do see some sun. The low sun angle will "cut off large sections of the river. This is where you will see the most ice and snow build up. The areas that do see some sun will afford much more productive fishing. The fish have started to congregate is deeper water as well. Cover ground and fish your areas throughly.

Hatches: 

The hatches are winding down a bit and its pretty much turning into a midge game. On certain days we are still seeing a good number of BWO's, so be prepared for that!

Tactics: 

Nymphing will be the staple, but we have had some great windows of dry fly fishing. One thing to note regarding dries... Just because you see a fish feed on the surface, does not mean they are eating adult insects. Fish emerger patterns high in the water column if you are getting a lot of refusals. 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.

Weather: 

Short Term-  A large scale high pressure ridge is developing across much of the west. This ridge will prevent any storms or cold air from coming south. Temps will gradually warm up as we head through the week, and we could actually see some record warm temperatures in this time. High temps this week will be in the 40's and 50's, with morning lows still getting quite cold. The big story will be the wind this week. Winds look to be in the 20-30 mph range with gusts in the 40's. This looks to stay persistent clear into the weekend.

Long Term-  These recent storms have definitely helped out our overall snowpack, but we are still a good bit below average for this time of year. In terms of snow, the long range forecast is bleak. This stubborn high pressure ridge looks like it will stick around for at least 12 days. During this time we will see warmer than average temperatures and likely quite a bit of wind. In terms of snowpack, we shouldnt lose a whole lot with the low sun angle we see this time of the year. Hopefully as we get closer to Christmas we will see this pattern change. But for now, enjoy the warmer temps!

Tips: 

Pay attention to the rises when you see fish feeding on the surface, or what you may think are fish feeding on the surface. These fish love to eat high emergers or mayfly spinners. Think about sinking that dry fly to entice more eats*

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:

• Foamback emerger, brown, sizes 24-20
• Mercury RS2, grey, Sizes 20-22
• Pale Ale midge, tan, sizes 20-22
• No Mercy midge, black, size 22
• Mercury black beauty, sizes 20-22
• Blindside midge, black and purple, size 22

Our Top Dry Flies for Today:

• Griffiths gnat, sizes 18-24
• Parachute Adams, natural, sizes 20-24
• Mole fly, olive or brown, size 22

Our Top Streamer Patterns for Today:

• Mini Boogeyman, black, size 6
• Baby Gonga, black, size 8
• 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!