In this report
268 CFS: Right in the Middle, and That Matters
The gauge is reading 268 CFS this week—solidly in the sweet spot for Deckers, right where this water comes alive. You’re neither fighting low, gin-clear desperation nor wading through blown-out banks. The riffles are pushy but readable, the deeper slots still hold fish without requiring you to bomb a sink-tip, and most importantly, you can actually wade the flats and runs along CO-67 without stepping into a trout’s living room from twenty feet away. This is the kind of flow where technique beats luck.
Water temperature is climbing into the upper 50s to low 60s by midday—manageable, but a flag that you should fish early and late in the day when the sun isn’t cranking. Wade slowly, don’t wade deeper than necessary, and if you’re planning to keep a brace, do it in the morning. June heat is coming, and even at this flow, thermal stress gets real fast when you combine midday sun and a fish that’s already worked hard on a dry.
PMD Time, But Not Yet the Evening Blitz
Pale Morning Duns own June on the South Platte, and Deckers is no exception. You’re looking at a late-morning into early-afternoon window—typically 10 a.m. to maybe 2 p.m.—when the nymphs begin their rise and the first adults start popping off. This is not a huge, coat-the-water hatch like you sometimes see in the canyon upstream; Deckers’ more open character and freestone character means the emergence is distributed and the bugs are spread out. That said, when they come, they come deliberately, and the rises are clean and worth working.
The bugs themselves are small—#16 and #18, tops. Fish them as emergers first, especially in the hour before you see the first adult silhouettes. A #18 PMD emerger (think a CDC wing or a simple parachute body in pale yellow) fished in the film or just below is your primary dry-fly move. If the hatch stalls or you’re not connecting on emergers, drop to a subsurface rig: a #18 or even #20 PMD nymph on a 4x or 5x tippet, 18 to 24 inches below a small split shot or a weighted anchor fly.
The deeper, slower slots—the kind that run along the outside bends and behind larger rocks—are where PMD nymphs accumulate. At 268 CFS, you can reach most of them with a single small split shot placed about 12 inches above the nymph, letting it tick the bottom without hanging up constantly. If you’re fishing a weighted pattern as your anchor (a small Barr’s Emerger or even a #16 Hare’s Ear), the nymph below on a 6-inch dropper will drop into that zone without needing extra weight. Pick your runs carefully—don’t spread yourself thin working every current seam. The fish aren’t everywhere; they’re concentrated in the better holding water.
Caddis in the Evening, Midges All Day
By late afternoon and into early evening, caddis (#14–16, tan and olive) start moving. This isn’t a massive sedge blow-out, but it’s real enough that having a few caddis in your box makes sense. A tan #16 elk-hair caddis or a simple X-Caddis fished dead-drift in the smooth, quickening water just above the faster runs will draw takes. Evening light helps tremendously; your silhouette matters less, and the fish are less likely to bolt.
Between hatches and around the clock, midges are your bread-and-butter foundation. Fish them as emergers and adults, especially in the slower pockets and along the edges where current breaks. A #20 or #22 black midge (Barr’s Black Beauty, a simple zebra midge, or even a tight parachute) is a sensible searching pattern when nothing is rising. Size matters more than you’d think at this flow—at 268 CFS, the water is clear enough that a too-large midge looks wrong. Stick with #20–24; #18 is your upper limit for a small midge pattern.
The Rig That Works This Week
For the nymph window (early morning through early afternoon, or whenever emergers aren’t rising):
- Anchor fly: A #16 Barr’s Emerger or weighted Hare’s Ear, or a small split shot 12 inches above your point fly.
- Point fly: #18 or #20 PMD nymph (pheasant tail, light cahill, or a thin-dubbed version).
- Tippet: 5x main, 5x or 6x droppers. At this flow, 5x is fine; you’re not in super-technical, ultra-low water. The freestone character of Deckers means fish are less line-shy than in a strict tailwater, but don’t test it with 4x and a #20 nymph.
- Strike detection: A small yarn indicator (size matters—a pea-sized indicator on #20 tippet) or fish tight-line if you prefer. At 268 CFS, a small indicator is easier and more reliable.
For the dry window (late morning into afternoon, then again at dusk):
- Point fly is your PMD emerger or dry (#18–20), on 5x tippet. Tie on a #18 PMD dry as a searching pattern if no emergers are visible yet; switch to emerger once you see the first bugs in the film.
- Skip the dropper unless fish are ignoring dries and you want to hedge your bet with a midge.
Access and Crowding
June is the start of the crowded season. Weekends will draw cars to Deckers Bridge and the Scraggy View picnic area. If you’re serious about avoiding pressure, fish Tuesday through Thursday and arrive early. The roadside character of this water means you can hit it in a morning before work and still get in solid fishing. The riffles and runs are the money here—the faster, boiling water gives you more cover and makes fish less selective. Fish it hard.
Verify current regulations before you go—the 2-trout-over-16-inches rule is long-standing, but rules change. Flies and lures only; no bait, no conventional hardware.
Tight lines this week.