I fished the South Platte River at two different locations. The Platte is fishable for many miles. I fished below Eleven Mile and below Cheeseman Dam. The other significant areas are below Antero Reservoir (just opened during the past couple of years) and below Spinney Reservoir. The Platte runs through South Park, a wide, flat basin surrounded by mountain peaks (including the Collegiates).
I fished Cheeseman Canyon with Ron above the Wigwam club along the Gill Trail. The river is heavily fished in this catch-and-release section. The fish are well-educated and difficult to catch--meaning I only caught one. The fish are easy to spot in the crystal-clear, cold water. The fish are numerous and some are quite large. We fished in the middle of the day; I think the morning or evening might be more productive. I saw a couple of trout take insects on the surface, but the overall pattern was small weighted nymphs. I didn't see any other fishermen catching fish. The gorge is very pretty with huge boulders, evergreen trees and the gurgling river. The Gill Trail has been much improved so that the hikers and fisherman stay on the trail. Now, the foliage is recovering everywhere.
On another day, Ron, Dawn and I left Colorado Springs to float the
Arkansas River. But storms the night before turned the water into a frothy, chocolate milk shake. We drove the entire river and wound up fishing the Platte below Eleven Mile near the bridge. The parking lot had lots of trucks. Everyone seemed to catching lots of small fish. During the first hour, I caught six small fish on tiny nymphs and 6x tippet. Ron and Dawn also caught numerous, small fish. After lunch I sought larger fish in the deep back eddies. The heavier split shot caught lots of seaweed and more small fish. Ron caught some using a #18 Trico on the surface.
The South Platte is close to Colorado Springs (and Denver) and is a world
renowned catch-and-release area. The trout are extremely selective and
fishermen either need to fish the river on a regular (maybe daily) basis or have a good dose of luck.
Dawn and I drove from Colorado Springs to the Black Hills of South Dakota with plans to fish Rapid Creek, Spring Creek and French Creek. We got as far as Custer and noticed hundreds of motorcycles. It was Sturgis Rally week. We were lucky to get a place to stay in a basement apartment. After recovering from our disappointment, we went to Mount Rushmore and then to stay in a cabin in the Badlands.
