Deckers – South Platte
14 Day Forecast: Look for hatches of midges, Tricos, caddisflies, pale morning duns, and blue-winged olives.
Effective Patterns: #20-22 Top Secret Midge, #20-22 Manhattan Midge, #20-22 Jujubaetis, #20-22 Top Secret Baetis, #20-22 Chocolate Foam Wing Emerger, #18 Micro San Juan Worm, #10 Pat's Rubber Legs, #20-22 Red Larva, #20 Mercurry Blood Midge, #20-22 Flashback Mercury Black Beauty, #18-20 Buckskin, #18-20 Sparkle Dun (BWO), #22-24 CDC Biot Trico Comparadun, #18 Sparkle Dun(PMD) #14-16 Elk Hair Caddis, #10 Amy's Ant, #20-24 Griffith Gnat, #18-22 Mole Fly, and #20-22 Parachute Adams.
Measurements
Colorado Fly Fishing Report for Deckers on the South Platte by Pat Dorsey
The mileage below Cheesman Canyon is the renowned Deckers area, a world-class fishery with easy access and lots of opportunity. The best fishing is from Bridge Crossing to the lower boundary of the Tee Pee Club. Like Cheesman Canyon, the fish are challenging to catch, and there is no substitution for a good dead drift. Deckers can offer good dry fly fishing at times but like upstream in the “The Canyon” a good nympher will catch the majority of fish. Anglers can expect to catch assortment of browns and rainbows with some exceeding 20 inches. The river is made up of riffles, runs, shelves and gravel bars, and nice pocket water. The ideal flow for Deckers is between 150 and 400 cfs. The regulations are two trout over 16 inches in length and flies and lures only. Please consider catch and release on all fish caught in the area.
Deckers is a world-renowned stretch of the South Platte River. There are miles of public water to fish in and around the hamlet of Deckers.
Tips & Other Information:
Outflows are currently 151 cfs below Cheesman Reservoir and 152 cfs at Deckers. Cheesman Reservoir is currently at 67% capacity as of this morning. The lake is dropping fast as inflows are only 70 cfs. Outflows are projected to stay around 100 cfs for the next two months. Anglers should prepare themselves for hatches of midges in the morning. We’re starting to see some Tricos and the duns, spinners, and drown Tricos are part of matching the hatch. There are also good BWO’s and PMD’s in the afternoon. Target the weed beds with PMD nymphs in search of some sweet colored up browns. Keep and eye on water temperatures and quit fishing if they hit 67 degrees. Be mindful of our finned friends and release them quickly! Revised 9/12/26
Note: Cheesman Reservoir is “turning over” so the water is stained and there are alot of free-floating particles, water plants, etc. in the river. This is extremely early but my guess is that it is due to the lower lake levels. I’ll keep you posted as the lake re-stratifies and clears in the days to come.