Time: 11:00AM – 4:00PM

Location: South Platte River

Fish Landed: 13

South Platte River 10/25/2015 Photo Album

It is getting late in the 2015 season, and my opportunities to fish are dwindling. When my friend, Danny, texted me on Saturday to ask what I was up to on Sunday, I leaped at the opportunity to register another fishing day. The weather forecast projected highs in the mid-60’s in Denver and sunny, so this influenced my decision to fish in a positive direction.

I picked up Danny at his new apartment in South Denver at 7AM, and we were off to the South Platte River. By the time we drove to our target destination and hiked the trail, we were positioned to begin fishing by 11AM. The temperature at the trailhead before we departed was 33 degrees, but the warming effects of a vigorous hike enabled me to shed my fleece layer after fifteen minutes. When we arrived at our base camp, I slipped back into my fleece, but this was adequate for my entire day on the river as the temperature probably warmed to the upper fifties.

Danny and I agreed to work along both sides of the river in parallel, so I elected the southeast side as it was away from the trail. I tied a tan Charlie boy hopper to my line, and then I added a salvation nymph, and on the third cast I hooked and landed a small brown trout. Danny meanwhile opted for a yellow Charlie boy hopper that supported an egg fly and a small midge larva that he designed. Danny chose to pack in his Tenkara rod, as it collapsed to the size of a very small wand to tote along the trail. I watched with interest as he cast the eleven foot long rod with a single fixed line that probably extended to fifteen feet. The Tenkara method proved to be very effective for Danny, as he could use the length of the rod to flick long casts to all the likely fish holding locations in the river. The extra reach and lack of fly line allowed nice drag free drifts, and with the flows at 73 cfs, being able to stay back and execute long distance casts was a significant advantage.

Meanwhile I progressed up the river casting my Sage four weight loaded with a traditional fly line and tapered leader, and I landed seven fish by 12:30 when I perched on a large midstream boulder and devoured my lunch. Seven fish in a hour and a half on October 25 was commendable, and I was quite pleased with my accomplishment, although Danny and his Tenkara wonder stick were playing havoc with the trout of the South Platte River to a much greater extent.

After lunch the action slowed, but I was pleased to land an additional six fish in the remaining time. The sun was directly above us with no cloud cover, so perhaps this explained the lull in action from 1 until 2:30. Danny and I continued to pick up fish, but the pace was much slower than our earlier experience. We also encountered another fisherman who was fifty yards above us, so this may have had an impact as well. The fly fishing gentleman appeared to carry two fly rods, as he moved quickly and paused only at places that were prime spots. Danny and I both conjectured that his upstream wading and movement produced a negative effect on our fishing success, but there was no way to prove this theory.

By 2:30 he was no longer visible, and we suspected that he either departed or moved a far distance above us. At any rate, the fishing improved in the later afternoon hours. In fact Danny was on fire, and although he did not count his fish, we were both certain that he exceeded twenty fish landed on the day.

I persisted with the Charlie boy and salvation nymph for most of the day, and nearly all my fish chomped the salvation. What a productive fly this attractor nymph has evolved into during 2015! I also experimented with a third fly in the afternoon and cycled through a soft hackle emerger, ultra zug bug, hares ear, and emerald caddis pupa. The ultra zug bug and hares ear delivered one fish each to my net, and the the other flies simply served as decorations on my line.

By 3:30 I reached the huge deep pool that bordered our base camp. I performed a feat of rock climbing in order to circumvent the huge vertical boulders that blocked my upstream migration, and once I was positioned above them, I began to lob short casts to the narrow shelf pool in front of me. This area did not yield any fish, so I decided to waste a couple casts in a short pocket no more than five feet long that was just above the shelf pool. On the first cast a fish rose and smacked the hopper, but I was only able to maintain contact for a split second. I was certain at this point that the only fish in this small area had been pricked, and that I was wasting my time to cast again, but I flicked another cast to the pocket nonetheless.

The hopper paused, and I instinctively lifted my rod and set the hook on a feisty and chunky brown trout. I carefully maintained pressure on the fighter and guided it to my net and discovered a thirteen inch beauty. This was my largest fish of the day, and a very fine brown trout by South Platte River standards.

I was checking my flies and preparing to resume my quest for trout, when I heard Danny shout from his position at the midsection of the large pool on the base camp side of the river. I pivoted to observe, and saw him using his hand over hand retrieval method to guide a large fish to his net. He motioned me, and I could not hear what he was shouting, but I guessed he hoped I could join him to photograph his prize. I complied and carefully waded across the river and snapped a couple shots of Danny and the fourteen inch wide body rainbow trout. This proved to be the catch of the day, and Danny was quite pleased with his Tenkara prowess.

My nice brown trout was the eleventh catch of the day, and once my photographic duties were complete, I waded back to the southeast side of the river and resumed my progress. I managed to hook and land another small brown before I approached a nice deep pool with a foam current line seven feet out from the bank. I paused to observe and noticed several splashy rises along the foam. I ran my dry/dropper combination along the entire current line, but the fish were apparently tuned into something different, as they ignored my offering.

I gave up on the area and moved upstream, but the shadows now extended across the river, and following my flies became quite a challenge. I had not seen Danny since the photo session, so I exited the river and hiked back down the path and spotted him in the same large base camp pool. Now that I was reassured that he was nearby, I retraced my steps on the path and entered the river across from the foam line pool. Since the dry/dropper was no longer delivering fish at a reasonable pace, I decided to experiment with a caddis dry fly. I tied an olive-brown deer hair caddis to my tippet and moved closer to the foam. Once I was satisfied with my stance, I fluttered some casts to the current seam and allowed the caddis to float toward the spot where I saw rises earlier. I could not see the caddis, but I clearly observed the three splashy refusals that were associated with my first three drifts.

I rested the area and flicked the caddis farther upstream and along the bank, but then I returned some casts to the area of rejection and elicited one more swat. I was not done yet, however, and I executed one more downstream drift, and on this pass I could clearly follow my fly. Just as it reached the nadir of the current seam, the fish rose and sipped my fly, and this provoked a swift hook set on my part. Alas, I felt weight for only a split second and then it was gone. Although I was frustrated by my inability to land this fish, I was at least pleased that I managed a take.

Danny was now across from me, and we were near the downstream point of a long narrow island that divided the river into two channels. The sun was still covering the left braid, and I could see a smooth pool near the bottom of the island. I asked Danny if I could work up the left channel, since I felt it was more conducive to my delicate single caddis adult approach. Unfortunately the caddis did not interest the fish despite the fact that I stayed back a good distance and executed some nice long distance casts. I abandoned the shallow smooth pool and moved upstream to a spot where I noticed two or three very subtle rises. The only food source I could see were tiny midges that hovered in sparse clouds over the river, so I decided to try a parachute hopper with a zebra midge dropper.

This tandem offering actually yielded a tiny rainbow trout that was below my six inch minimum, but that was the extent of my success. I quickly migrated upstream and stumbled on one additional spot where the water depth suggested that a fish might be present. Sure enough I flicked a very short cast to the small pocket, and a ten inch brown trout emerged and crushed the parachute hopper. This was my last success on the day, and with the temperature dropping and the shadows lengthening, I quickly waded to the top of the island and then crossed the river to the path and returned to Danny.

I suggested that we should begin our return hike, but Danny asked if he could work some very attractive runs between us. I looked on as Danny expertly maneuvered the Tenkara and landed a couple more brown trout. By now it was nearly 4:30, so Danny finally relented and climbed out of the river and spooled his long line, and then we began a vigorous hike back to the car.

It was a fun day on the South Platte River. I landed double digit trout late in October, and I was able to fish a dry/dropper combination most of the day. Best of all I enjoyed the companionship of my friend, and I introduced him to a new location, and he experienced one of his best days of the year. Hopefully I will register a few more decent days of fishing in 2015 before the winter storms force me to the fly tying bench.