Time: 11:00AM – 3:15PM

Location: Eleven Mile Canyon

South Platte River 08/31/2026 Photo Album

My last fly fishing outing was last Tuesday, so I was itching to visit a Colorado stream again during the week that began with August 31, 2026. The weather forecast played a role in my choice of destination, as the probability of afternoon storms was in the 50% range in most locales. I decided to make the drive to the South Platte River in Eleven Mile Canyon, because the road runs along the river, and I would not be far from shelter should a storm roll in.

Breaking in the New Net

I arrived at my chosen pullout by 10:30AM. I was surprised by the number of cars in pullouts along the road, as I drove toward the dam, but I found a favorite section unoccupied. The temperature on the dashboard was 58 degrees, as I prepared to fish, so I slid into my raincoat for additional warmth. I suspected that I would remove it during my stay on the river, but it never came off, as heavy clouds blocked the sun for most of the day. There was a sunny stretch, when I felt excessively warm, but I waited it out, and more clouds blocked the sun’s rays for the remainder of the afternoon.

Nice Pool

The flows were 66 CFS, and the river was very clear. I chose my Sage R8 four weight, since wind was not a factor, and I did not expect to tangle with many trout in the fifteen to twenty inch range.

A Trout Came from the Side Pool

During the morning I opted for a light dry/dropper configuration. I began with a peacock hippie stomper trailing a sunken trico. The South Platte in Eleven Mile is known for its summer trico hatch, and I thought perhaps I could cash in on some straggling sunken spinners, but the strategy failed. Between eleven AM and 11: 50AM I managed to land four small trout. Two gobbled the hippie stomper, and one snatched the salvation nymph, after I replaced the sunken trico, The fourth landed trout nabbed a gray size 16 comparadun, after I replaced the sunken trico and nymphs. Three were small rainbow trout and the other was a sub twelve inch brown trout.

Beast Brown Trout

Brown Grabbed Hopper in the Froth

After lunch, since the hippie stomper was attracting refusals, I swapped it for a large deer hair caddis, and I retained the gray comparadun on a long leader behind the caddis. These flies were relatively easy to track, and as I mentioned previously, a small rainbow grabbed the comparadun. I did have a few refusals to the caddis and a couple very momentary connections. It seemed the fish were interested, but something made them very tentative.

Orange Border on the Tail

Run Next to Boulders Delivered

I grew weary of tracking the flies in the glare for minimal return, so I shifted my strategy once again. I went big with a tan pool toy hopper and trailed an olive perdigon for weight and followed that with a salvation nymph. The move paid huge dividends, when a sixteen inch brown trout smashed the hopper in the froth of a deep but short pocket in the middle of some fast water.

Another Brute

Hopper Eat Below the Round Left Side Boulder

For the remainder of the afternoon I worked my way up the river at a steady pace, and I boosted the fish count from five to ten. The second five to visit my net were quality trout with a couple thirteen inch rainbows, two thirteen inch brown trout, and another hopper crusher in the form of a fourteen inch brown. Catching these fish required an abundant number of casts and a lot of wading, but I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge. The action was frequent enough to hold my interest, until I called it quits at 3:15PM.

Pool Toy Hopper

Before I returned to the car, I pulled out my new stream thermometer (my old one went through the wash, and the mercury sank, so that the scale was off by 30 degrees). I glanced at the scale before submerging, and the air temperature was a cool 66 degrees. After one minute in the river, I extracted the cylinder, and the new reading was 57 degrees. I thought the water felt warm, but that was in comparison to the relatively cool air.

Monday was a fun day on the South Platte River. Dry fly action has slowed compared to earlier visits in July, but I discovered that persistence with a hopper/dropper and nymphs could be rewarding. Perhaps I can return in September for some blue wing olive activity.

Fish Landed: 10