Time: 10:30AM – 3:30PM

Location: Eleven Mile Canyon

South Platte River 05/29/2026 Photo Album

I finally found myself with an open day on Friday, May 29, 2026, so I decided to log another day of fly fishing. As I surveyed my stream fishing options, I noted that Front Range streams were gradually rising and reflecting some level of run off. I settled on the South Platte River in Eleven Mile Canyon, as the flows were running in the 220 CFS range. This level is higher than I favor as a result of moving water from Antero, but the fly shop reports were encouraging, and I knew from prior experience that 220 CFS was manageable.

I arrived at my chosen parking area at 10:00AM, and this enabled me to wade into the river to begin fly fishing by 10:30AM. The air temperature was in the upper fifties with quite a bit of cloud cover, so I wore my raincoat for warmth and in case of precipitation. As the day progressed, I wore my raincoat the entire time; and, in fact, I weathered three periods of brief rain showers. On several occasions I was actually chilled and contemplated returning to the car for my fleece.

Wide Section

The day actually broke down into three separate sessions. Between my start and noon, when I broke for lunch, I netted nine trout. During this time I utilized a dry/dropper set up with a leading tan chubby Chernobyl followed by an olive Pat’s rubber legs and then a black Pat’s rubber legs. This combination has been a recurring theme during my recent stream visits. In this case the approach worked but not as convincingly as was the case on South Boulder Creek and the Eagle River. Surprisingly, three of the trout crushed the chubby Chernobyl and four nabbed the black Pat’s rubber legs. Two consumed a beadhead hares ear nymph, after I swapped it for the black rubber legs. Two browns extended to twelve inches, and the remainder fell beneath the one foot standard.

Held Out for Display

After lunch a couple appeared thirty yards above me. They did not spot me at first. I worked up the river a short distance, until I was within twenty yards, and I landed two small browns in the process. I approached a spot where the river ran tight to the thick vegetation, so I exited and fought my way to the road and walked upstream a short distance, before I cut back to the river. I had some attractive water ahead of me, but I worked my way downstream to the top of the braid along the road assuming I would work my way upstream to the nice smooth side channel, where I normally encounter rising fish.

Inviting

Guess who made another appearance? Yes, the fishing couple stationed themselves in the area that I coveted. In a fit of disgust, I climbed the bank and hiked .2 mile back to the car. I moved the car back up the river to a pullout next to another section that I typically enjoy. There was a red Jeep SUV parked there as well, and when I started to walk down the bank, I noticed a female angler. I quickly reversed my direction and walked up the road a bit, before I cut back down to the river. I was set to cast, and I glanced downstream and spotted the male member of the fishing couple.

Deep Pocket

In a fit of frustration I once again climbed to the road, and continued upstream a short distance to a long pool section. I made some backhand casts to the pool with no results, but I discovered that I could cross to the opposite side by wading through some moderately deep but slow moving water at the tail of the pool. I completed the crossing, and that secured my fly fishing solitude for the remainder of the day.

Fine Rainbow

Between one o’clock and 2:30PM I progressed up the river and fished some very enticing pools. I abandoned the dry/dropper configuration in favor of a double dry that featured a peacock hippie stomper and a mole fly. The mole fly accounted for a few small fish, but a lull in action ensued, so I replaced it with a light gray size 16 deer hair caddis. The caddis gained some favor with the trout, particularly when I twitched or lifted the fly. The fish count elevated from eleven to eighteen during this double dry fly episode. A few trout clobbered the hippie stomper, but the caddis was responsible for the remainder.

Another Rainbow in the Net

Throughout the early afternoon I experienced showers. The second brief downpour actually caused rain droplets to bead on my new raincoat. Early in the afternoon I spotted a handful of blue wing olive mayflies, and this coincided with my success with the mole fly. Each time the sky darkened with heavy clouds, I noted a few mayflies in the air. In fact, I rarely saw a caddis, so perhaps the trout were taking the size 16 hackled caddis adult as a large baetis? Quite a few refusals were interspersed with the takes, so the downwing vs upright wing may explain the reluctance to eat my fly by some of the stream residents.

Long Pool Next to the Bank

By 2:30PM I suffered through another fish catching drought, so I reverted to the dry/dropper. Once again I opted for the chubby Chernobyl, but for nymphs I tied on a bright green sparkle pupa, and I added a salvation nymph on the point. I worked these flies through fishy runs, pockets and troughs and boosted the fish count to twenty-three. Movement was key, and several fish smacked one of the nymphs on the lift or twitch.

Pretty Pattern

At 3:30PM I neared another long smooth pool section, and I was reluctant to fish it with the dry/dropper setup, so I called it a day and found my old crossing point, before I returned to the car. Friday was a fun day. I landed twenty-three trout, although size was somewhat lacking. One rainbow extended to thirteen inches, and another three fish measured twelve inches with the remainder in the six to eleven in range. I am obviously spoiled by the Eagle River, but given the time of year and the onset of run off on many streams, I was pleased with the results. I managed to escape my nemesis, the fishing couple, and captured a bit of fly fishing solitude. The weather was quite variable, but I suspect the cloud cover was favorable for the trout.

Fish Landed: 23