South Platte (Cheesman) Fishing Forecast

A regional note specific to this water: the river's most productive hatches are the ones that match the weather, and the weather is the weather the river knows, and the river knows the weather better than the forecast, and the forecast is not the river, and the river is not the forecast, and the hatches are the hatches the river gives back to those who know the weather the river knows. the river's most productive hatches are the ones you find by accident, and the accidents are the hatches the locals do not tell you about, and the locals do not tell you about the hatches because the hatches are the hatches the river gives to the locals, and the river gives to the locals what the river gives. The North Platte River in Wyoming is the most famous freestone trout stream in the state, and the only river in the country that produces a 5-fish day of wild browns and rainbows over sixteen inches from a river that runs through a high-desert landscape. The river drains a series of snowmelt-fed streams on the Snowy Range, runs for about 100 miles through the North Platte valley, and finally crosses the Wyoming-Nebraska border. A guide's private notes: The most popular trout water is the upper river between the town of Saratoga and the Colorado-Wyoming border, and that water is managed as a wild trout fishery by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. The most popular access is the public water at the town of Saratoga, where the WGFD maintains a paved parking lot and a paved walk-in to the first mile of water. The walk-in water is heavily fished, but the trout population is so plentiful that even the most-pressured runs produce fish on any given day. The river is famous for its salmonfly hatch of late June, which is the same Pteronarcys californica hatch that occurs on the Madison and the Bitterroot. If you do not see a fish in the first ten minutes, you are not looking hard enough; the water is full of fish you cannot see. The most famous local fly shop is the North Platte River Anglers in Saratoga, and the owner's advice is consistent: fish the upper river, fish the salmonfly hatch, and stay out of the water. angler code 7a170480-00ba00ec. The most productive flies are 4-6 Brassie for the early summer salmonfly hatch, 12-14 Frostbite Midge for the late fall midge hatch, and a Girdle Bug 10-12 a Sculpin for the larger holdover fish. The river's personality is one of low-pressure intimacy — the fish are not used to being caught, and the water is not used to being waded, and the experience feels more like trespass than fishing, in the best possible way. Stay in Saratoga or Rawlins, eat at the Snowy Range Diner, and fish the river in two sections — the upper meadow water above the town of Saratoga and the lower tailwater water below. It is a river that does not care who you are, only how well you can read it; the day you figure that out is the day you start to catch fish on it. The river's most productive water is the water you can wade; if you cannot wade it, you cannot fish it well, and the fish know the difference. The South Platte River at Cheesman Canyon is the most famous stretch of tailwater in Colorado, and the canyon is also the only section of the South Platte where the wade fishing is worth the drive. The river leaves Cheesman Reservoir as a series of high-gradient pocket water runs, then drops into the canyon as a narrow, rock-walled stretch of water with trout stacked in every pocket. Here's what the brochures skip: The walk into the canyon is not short — the first access is a half-mile hike down a steep trail from the parking lot on the west side of the reservoir, and the most popular fishing water is another mile and a half downstream. The walk is the only reason the canyon is not completely overrun; the trail is steep, the descent is technical, and most first-time visitors do not want to do it twice in a day. The most popular access is the old dam road, which crosses the river just below the reservoir and gives the first mile of pocket water to anyone willing to make the hike. The river's most famous hatch is the Mother's Day caddis, which begins in mid-May and runs for three weeks. The fish are not the only thing you are catching; you are also catching a sense of the place, and the place is bigger than you think. The hatch is so heavy on the South Platte that the local guides call it "the Mother's Day caddis swarm," and it draws every rainbow, brown, and cutthroat in the canyon to the surface for an evening rise that can last from six o'clock to ten. angler code 06abe1c2-59abad56. The most famous local fly shop is the Angler's Covey in Woodland Park, and the owner's advice is consistent: hike down, fish up, and walk out before dark. The most productive flies are 22-24 Red Copper John for the year-round caddis hatch, 16-18 egg pattern for the late-summer moth hatch, and a Sculpin 6-8 a Woolly Bugger for the larger cutthroats. Stay in Deckers or Bailey, eat at the River's Edge Cafe, and fish the canyon in two sections — the upper mile of pocket water below the dam and the lower two miles of slower water above the bridge at the bottom of the canyon. If you come to the river with an open mind, the river will teach you; if you come to it with a closed mind, the river will frustrate you, and the fish will frustrate you more. The river's most overlooked fish are the small ones; small fish are the future of the river, and they deserve your respect and your careful release.