Time: 9:45AM – 1:00PM

Location: Eleven Mile Canyon

South Platte River 07/20/2026 Photo Album

Monday was an open date for fly fishing, so I took advantage of the opportunity. The high temperature in Denver was forecast to reach 102 degrees, so my choice of destination was crucial. I had an outstanding day on the South Platte River in Eleven Mile Canyon on 07/07/2026, so that became my choice. The flows were steady at 108 CFS, but the high temperature was projected to reach the eighties. I decided to start early, and in all likelihood end my day early.

My early start enabled me to arrive at my chosen destination by 9:15AM, and after I geared up with my Sage R8 four weight, I was positioned next to the stream ready to cast by 9:45AM. The air temperature at the car was 71 degrees, so I knew it was going to be a hot day.

Inviting a Cast

I began my day with a yellow Letort hopper size 10 and trailed a size 16 olive-brown deer hair caddis. The hopper initiated some refusals, but the caddis yielded a decent twelve inch brown trout that smacked the dry fly, as I began to lift it to cast in the upstream cushion in front on an exposed rock.

Ooh. Looks Good.

I was not impressed with the fish attracting capability of my dual dry fly combination, so I modified my offering. I removed the Letort hopper and replaced it with a size 14 yellow stimulator. For the trailing second fly I added a size 16 light gray comparadun. I was imitating yellow sallies and pale morning duns. I noticed a few yellow sallies fluttering up from the river as well as a couple pale morning duns.

Dry Fly Eater

The changeover provided some success, as I landed a nice brown trout and rainbow trout. The brown trout rose to the stimulator and the rainbow sipped the comparadun. The fish count was at three, as I broke for lunch at 11:45AM. The pace of action lagged significantly compared to my visit on 07/07/2026. The trout were being very picky, and I was perplexed by that development.

I Love These Sluicing Runs on the South Platte

After lunch I approached a narrow section of the canyon that exhibited faster water and deep plunge pools. I decided to give a dry/dropper a test. I removed the double dry flies and replaced them with a tan mini chubby, a size 16 PMD supernova, and a sunken trico. Although I covered quite a few attractive spots with no results, I did land three nice trout on the subsurface offerings. Two trout snatched the sunken trico and one nabbed the supernova. I was very pleased to note that my sunken trico ploy yielded positive results. One of the brown trout was a fourteen inch beauty and my best of the day, and a thirteen inch rainbow grabbed the sunken trico. I actually saw the fish move to the fly and set the hook before the mini chubby showed any movement from the take.

Tucked in the Net

After the flurry of action on the subsurface flies, the river went dead. The sighting of yellow sallies prompted me to substitute a beadhead hares ear for the sunken trico, and this move paid dividends, when I landed a small brown trout to bring the fish count to seven.

Trough

By now the time was approaching 1:00PM, and the action stalled, so I decided to convert back to dry flies. At one spot along the bank I noticed at least five blue body damsel flies flitting about. I tied some adult damsels in blue three or four years ago after encountering a dense damsel infestation on a lake, but I never had an occasion to use them. I decided to try a few casts. I flicked the damsel to some nice current seams with no results, but then I turned my attention to a nice deep run along the far bank that ended in a small eddy in front of a large exposed boulder. On the fourth drift a mouth appeared, and the damsel disappeared! I executed a swift hook set and saw the side of a nice brown trout, but within three seconds the brown twitched its mouth, and the damsel fly released. In spite of losing the fish, this was my favorite moment of the day. It was an excellent example of observing what was happening on the river and then reacting to it.

Deep Pocket Surrounded by Structure

At one o’clock after another futile fifteen minutes I decided to take the water temperature. I dug out my stream thermometer, and the air temperature read 82 degrees, before I submerged it. I held the thermometer against the streambed in two feet of water for more than a minute. When I extracted it, I checked the scale and it read 68 degrees. I instantly halted my angling efforts and returned to the car.

A Rainbow Joins the Count

Monday was an average day, as I landed seven fish in three hours. A fourteen inch brown and thirteen inch rainbow visited my net, and I was thankful for the good fortune that they embodied. Catching two trout on sunken tricos, and connecting briefly with a trout while using my blue damsel adult were superb highlights in my book. I am considering taking a break from fishing during the heat wave, although I have one more option to test. Stay tuned.

Fish Landed: 7