Time: 11:00AM – 2:30PM

Location: Deckers

South Platte River 05/12/2026 Photo Album

After a long day on Monday, I was reluctant to tackle another long drive on Tuesday. Flows on the South Platte in Eleven Mile were elevated perhaps due to transferring water from Antero Reservoir to downstream dams, so I was averse to making that my destination. The South Platte below Cheesman Dam, however, was chugging along at 100 CFS, so that settled it. I decided to visit the South Platte at Deckers, even though my track record for that stretch has been abysmal over the last several years.

Bringing Up the Rear

Tuesday was a gorgeous day with temperatures poking above eighty in Denver. This translated to seventies in the Deckers area. I fished with no layers, and I was actually quite warm at certain times in the early afternoon. I rigged my Sage R8 for the first usage in 2026, and by eleven o’clock I was poised next to the stream.

I began my quest for trout with a tan size 8 pool toy hopper, a salvation nymph and an orange scud. Years ago when I fished the South Platte in the Deckers section I enjoyed considerable success with a pheasant tail nymph, so the salvation was a close approximation. Likewise, the orange scud was a winner in the May time frame, thus that choice. I fished the three fly combination for forty-five minutes, until I broke for lunch at 11:45AM, and I failed to land a single fish. In fact, I saw no evidence of fish in the section that I covered. Along the way I swapped the orange scud for an olive perdigon, but that move had no impact.

Nice Deep Run Near the Start

After lunch I progressed a bit above where my car was parked, and the futility continued, so I stripped in my line and threw my rod in the car along with my gear and drove to the catch and release section close to Deckers. I was shocked by the number of cars occupying pullouts and the number of anglers present in the prime fishing spots.

Finally I spotted a pullout just before the last bridge before reaching Deckers, and I grabbed it. With my rod already rigged and my waders in place, I was prepared to fish in a short amount of time. I crossed the road and hiked along a well worn path to an area that offered some gorgeous long glides and troughs. I made a short cast to get some line out of the guides, and I was shocked to witness a decent fish, as it slowly finned to the surface just below my pool toy hopper. I think it actually pressed its nose against my fly, but then it descended without eating. This only exasperated an already slow day. At least I saw a fish.

Looks Fishy

I resumed fishing, and I spotted a decent number of tiny caddis buzzing about as well as a very occasional blue wing olive. The perdigon was simply dead weight, so I replaced it with a beadhead hares ear nymph. The salvation and hares ear did not click. Having seen caddis I replaced the salvation with a bright green caddis pupa. Again action was non-existent. Finally in desperation I swapped the hares ear for a beadhead classic RS2, since I saw a few BWO’s, and the sky clouded up a bit. All my efforts were futile.

Fish Rose Just Above the Last Point on the Right

I reached the bridge and crossed over the road and replaced the RS2 with an ultra zug bug to imitate egg laying caddis. For the next thirty minutes I prospected the pockets and runs on the north side of the river. At a spot next to a vertical rock wall, I noted a rise to the hopper and set the hook. I never felt weight, but when I brought in my line, it was devoid of flies. I suspect that I reacted to a refusal, since there was no weight, and the trailing nymphs snagged on something causing the bad knot to unfurl. The nymphs were constantly snagging in green moss, so in addition to not catching fish, I was constantly picking slime off my flies.

I had enough by 2:30PM and decided to make an early departure for my return drive. My confidence is at an all time low, and I will not be returning to Deckers in the near future. Why were there so many anglers there, if the fishing was so slow? Were they doing something different? I plan to take a break until next Monday. I have a guided float trip on the calendar for next Tuesday, so hopefully that will allow me to escape my slump.

Fish Landed: 0