MID-WINTER FLY FISHING ON THE SOUTH PLATTE - DECKERS, CO (FEB 2015)

I co-worker that formerly lived here in Colorado, visited the previous weekend and invited me out for a day of mid-winter fly fishing. It took a little convincing, as I usually put away the fly fishing gear sometime in early October and focus my efforts on skiing all winter. However, with reassurance and promises that I "would be really surprised" with how productive the fishing would be, I committed for a full day and 2 hour drive south to fish the South Platte near Deckers.

The drive was pleasant and on a state road I'd never driven before, which is always a plus. Most of the drive was forested with Ponderosa Pine in canyon terrain. When we arrived on the South Platte, the sun was shining and the temperature hovering just below freezing. Perfect. We fished the first hole for 30 minutes without much luck, but I quickly learned what subtleties accompany fishing in the winter... iced up guides and frozen reels.

We quickly moved onto to my buddy's "honey pot", but still didn't have any luck and also had to compete for space on the water with a handful of other fisherman. We then got back in the car and drove a few miles back down river to a great looking hole about 1 mile up from Deckers. I immediately starting hooking up with healthy rainbows in the 13-16" range, all on subsurface midges. Over the next 2 hours, I landed about 6 fish and was blown away with that kind of action in mid-winter.

Needless to say, my buddy returned home and my fly fishing gear went back into storage for the remainder of what I hope will be a killer spring skiing season. Bring on the snow.