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Fishing Information

South Platte River - Cheesman Canyon

SOUTH PLATTE BASIN Fishing Report
Rating
3/5
Flow
252 cfs
Wind
12 mph
Temperature
63 °F
Low/High
50/72
Weather @SOUTH PLATTE BASIN - Updated October 01, 2023 - 10:01am by OpenWeather

Current River Flow Updates

Latest Update: 9/25/23

222 CFS below the lake. As per usual, nymphing will be the most productive method throughout the canyon. Try a small floss worm, scud or mini leech as your point fly (#14-18) on 5x and trail it with a smaller baetis or midge offering on 6x. Some favorites include RS2's, black beauties, top secrets, chocolate UV midges and assorted colors of midge larvae all in an #18-24. Vary your split shot and indicator depth often to make sure your flies are getting where they need to be. Be prepared to also see fish rising on BWO's and midges, you never know.

Historical River Flow

River Information

Cheesman Canyon is the picture perfect trout stream. With house-sized boulders in the center of the river, not a road in sight, and bald eagles flying above, it doesn't get much "troutier" and beautiful than Cheesman Canyon. A mixed bag of wild rainbows and brown trout in the 12-20+ range is what will likely be on the end of your line once you can figure out what these picky trout are feeding on. Nymphing is the name of the game here but on certain days dry fly fishing and streamer fishing can be very productive as well. Rumor is that if you can catch a fish in the canyon you can catch a fish anywhere.

Seasonal Conditions

In the warm summer months, these trout will be gorging themselves on baetis, midges, stoneflies, caddis, and leeches. These trout can be difficult to trick so the key is to find feeding fish and keep swapping out rigs until you find the golden ticket. When you enter the colder winter months these fish predominately feed on small midges in the 20-26 range. At these times make sure to keep your rig on light fluorocarbon tippet (5-7x) and eliminate the indicator if you can.

Additional River Information

South Platte River below Cheesman Reservoir

SOUTH PLATTE BASIN River Gauge View Detailed Information

  • Flow 252 cfs
  • Wind 12 mph
  • Temp 63 °F
  • High/Low 50/72

River access

To get to Cheesman Canyon it is easiest to take 285 west and then turn left onto 126. After passing through Pine and Buffalo Creek you will go down a large hill that is 3 lanes. At the bottom of that hill where the speed limit drops you will see a paved parking lot on your right. This is the Lower Gill Trail parking lot. This lot is about a 30-minute hike to the first fishable water. From there you have about 3 miles of water to explore up-river.

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