TRIP SUMMARY

What else is there to say? The ol' local tailwater is absolute fuego right now and the bug factory is open for business! Flows are at a prime level and the abundance of food in the river has these fish happy. Literally everything is hatching on the South Platte right now. Before 10 AM we had thick hatches of midges, caddis, blue wings, and tricos. In soft sections and on the edges fish were consistently rising to dries. Did we get a few? Yes! Was it frustrating competing with all of the naturals? Yes! Was there any rhyme or reason in terms of fly selection? Absolutely not! One took an Elk Hair Caddis, one took a Parachute Adams (20), another took a Trico Spinner (22). After the noses disappeared, we switched back to nymphing and made the switch from a leech to a san juan and we had quite the flurry of action sight fishing before lunch. The ol' Deckers Dirt Snake was our top morning producer but also took multiple fish on a Mercury Bead PT (18-20). On hot days, fish push up into the riffles as the water warms up. When the sun is high move slowly and you'll likely be able to sneak up on a fish, make a short cast, and have a great chance of connecting with it. Post lunch PMD nymphs were on the menu. Top flies were Barr's PMD Emerger (18) and Mercury Holographic PT (20). Tinker with your height and weight depending on where you are on the river. Wet wading season is here!