Time: 11:00AM – 4:00PM

Location: Eleven Mile Canyon

South Platte River 03/30/2026 Photo Album

After a stellar day on March 24, I was anxious to return to a stream on Monday, March 30. The Arkansas River was my first choice; however, forecast wind speeds in the high teens deterred me. In addition, the 24 Fire forced the closure of CO 115, and this extended my drive time to lower Bighorn Sheep Canyon by thirty minutes to nearly three hours. Instead I chose the South Platte River in Eleven Mile Canyon. Wind speeds were predicted to be in the low teens, and I knew from previous experience that the north/south orientation of the canyon offered some amount of protection.

Early Action in This Section

I arrived at my chosen starting point by 10:30AM, and the dashboard thermometer registered 45 degrees. This was colder than I expected, so I pulled on my fleece hoodie and added my rain shell for wind protection. I rigged my Sage One five weight, and that meant that I used the same rod for every fly fishing outing in 2026.

Prime Shape

To begin, I chose a peacock hippie stomper and an olive perdigon. I went light because the river was tumbling along at 60 CFS and clarity was excellent. I began just above a bridge, and I was shocked, when a thirteen inch brown trout grabbed the perdigon within the first ten minutes. In the same run but higher up, two rainbows snatched the perdigon, and I was off and running. By the time I broke for lunch at around noon the fish count was perched on six, and this included a thirteen inch rainbow and a few more trout beneath twelve inches. All the trout nabbed the olive perdigon. My confidence was sky high, and I anticipated an afternoon olive hatch.

Pleased with This Catch

For the remainder of the day I continued with the hippie stomper and the olive perdigon. At 1:30PM I noticed a couple baetis fluttering about, so I added a classic RS2, and I eventually cycled through a sparkle wing RS2, and a sniper baetis. I hooked a fish momentarily with the classic RS2, but that was the extent of my success with BWO nymph imitations. For the last half hour I swapped the sniper baetis for a beadhead hares ear, and the shaggy nymph produced two trout.

Wide Moderate Depth Riffle

Head Shot

The star of the afternoon was the hippie stomper. In quick succession I prospected two moderately attractive riffles, and two fat fifteen inch brown trout responded. I have no idea what they mistook the attractor dry for. These two fish were numbers seven and eight. The hippie stomper then produced a 14 inch brown and two robust thirteen inch rainbows. I spotted five spawning rainbows, while I ate lunch, but I did not bother them. Apparently not all the rainbows were in  reproduction mode, as I landed the two hippie stomper eaters after lunch.

A Brown Emerged from This Hole

Monday was a rewarding day in Eleven Mile Canyon. I avoided the wind for the most part, and I landed fifteen trout including five in the thirteen to sixteen inch size range. The air temperature reached the upper sixties, and I was comfortable for my entire tenure on the river. March continues to be superb.

Fish Landed: 15