The South Platte Day Trip Gear Checklist — What's Actually in My Pack

Every gear checklist I’ve ever found online includes things I’ve never used on the water and omits the one thing I’ve stood there at the tailgate desperately wishing I’d packed. This isn’t the aspirational list. This is my actual South Platte day-trip checklist — built for Deckers, Cheesman, and the Arkansas — and it’s the product of years of forgetting things, bringing the wrong things, and slowly figuring out what actually earns a spot in the pack. Consider it the list I wish someone had handed me fifteen years ago. New to the sport? My fly fishing essentials for beginners covers the bare minimum to get started — this is the fuller day-trip version.

What should I pack for a South Platte day trip?

A 9-foot 5-weight with a pre-rigged backup spool, chest waders matched to the season, a vest with three fly boxes (nymph, dry, and a fall streamer box), tippet from 4X down to 7X, and the small stuff that keeps a day running — nippers, hemostats, indicators, split shot, floatant, polarized glasses, and a compact first aid kit. Plus 32–48 oz of water, calorie-dense food, and coffee. And the sunscreen I always forget.

The Rod, Reel, and Line

9-foot 5-weight rod. I fish the Scott Centric 905/4 for almost everything on the South Platte. One rod. In the rod tube for the drive, in my hand on the trail. If you’re still deciding on a rod, the tailwater rod buying guide covers what actually matters for Cheesman and Deckers.

Reel with a second pre-rigged spool. The main spool has a WF5F floating line for dry fly and nymph work. The backup spool has an intermediate or sink-tip for fall streamers. Changing conditions means I change spools, not rigs.

Spare leader (two, 9-foot 4X or 5X knotted). Leaders get cut down as flies change throughout the day. Starting fresh with a new leader midday is faster than adding tippet to a leader that’s been shortened to 6 feet.

Wading Gear

Chest waders. Simms G4Z in fall and winter, Skwala RS from late spring through early fall. Match the season. Don’t try to make a summer wader work in January or a lightweight wader work in October.

Wading boots. Felt-soled with aluminum studs at Cheesman. The volcanic basalt demands it. (How the major boots compare — Skwala, Simms, Patagonia, Korkers.)

Wading belt. Worn, not hanging from the wader. If you go down in the South Platte at high water, the belt is the difference between a wader full of water and a manageable swim to the bank.

Wading staff. Collapsed and clipped to the wader at the hip until I hit the water, then deployed. The Cheesman basalt in fast current warrants it.

The Vest or Pack

I fish a wading vest (Simms or Fishpond) with enough pockets to organize flies, tippet, tools, and the few non-fishing items I carry. Not a large chest pack — chest packs add front weight that’s uncomfortable on the 1.3-mile Cheesman hike, and my back files a formal complaint about halfway up the Gill Trail. The vest distributes weight across both shoulders.

What’s in the vest pockets:

Fly boxes (three): Nymph box (midges, pheasant tails, RS2, zebra midges), dry fly box (PMD comparaduns, elk hair caddis, BWO emergers, parachute adams), streamer box in fall (Slump Busters, small Woolly Buggers, Meat Whistle).

Tippet: 4X, 5X, 6X, and 7X fluorocarbon spools. 6X is the workhorse; 7X lives in the vest for selective fish moments. I replace tippet spools when they get to less than 20 yards — not worth fishing to an empty spool mid-day.

Nippers. The Simms retractor-mounted nippers live on my chest. I cut tippet 50 times per day; having nippers that clip back without thought matters.

Hemostats. For hook removal, bending barbs, and the occasional split shot task. Two pairs — one on the vest front, one in a pocket as backup.

Strike indicators: A dozen Thingamabobbers in small and medium. They get lost, stepped on, swept downstream. Bring more than you think you need.

Split shot: Size B and BB in a small compartment case. More than you think you’ll need.

Dry shake floatant and Gink. Dry shake for treating wet flies and desiccating waterlogged hackle. Gink for treating new dry flies before they hit the water.

Tippet rings. Size 2 and 3. I convert to tippet-ring leaders on any trip where I expect to change flies frequently.

Polarized sunglasses. In the vest pocket, not in the car. Cannot fish the South Platte effectively without them — reading water through surface glare is guesswork; through polarization it’s observation.

First aid kit (small). A compact kit with bandages, antiseptic wipes, and moleskin for blisters on the Gill Trail approach. Takes five minutes to need and five seconds to pack.

Food and Water

Water: 32–48 oz minimum. The South Platte is at 7,500–8,500 feet. Dehydration happens faster at altitude and the full sun on the Deckers flats is real. I drink through at least 32 oz on a warm day.

Lunch. Compact, calorie-dense, doesn’t require prep at the river. A sandwich, hard-boiled eggs, trail mix, and a piece of fruit covers a full day of fishing without weighing down the pack. I pack everything in a small soft cooler clipped to the pack for Cheesman; it clips to my tailgate for Deckers drives.

Coffee in an insulated bottle. Early starts and cold mornings on the South Platte mean the first hour is better with coffee. A quality insulated bottle keeps it hot for four hours without effort.

What I’ve Stopped Bringing

The second rod. For 15 years I carried a backup rod to the water like a security blanket. I have used it twice in 15 years — both times for minor tip breaks I could have limped through with a taped guide rod. That’s a lot of hauling 2 lbs and a carry tube up a canyon to justify two saves. Leave it in the car.

The camera bag. A dedicated camera bag adds bulk that’s not worth it for the South Platte. Phone camera in the vest pocket. If I’m shooting seriously, a small mirrorless in a padded vest pocket. No dedicated bag.

The giant first aid kit. I cut it down to a 4×4-inch kit years ago. Enough for the real emergencies; not the overloaded 2-lb medical kit that adds nothing but weight.

Rain gear that’s too heavy. A lightweight wading jacket covers 95% of South Platte weather scenarios. The heavy foul-weather kit stays in the car unless a serious storm is forecasted.

The One Thing I Always Forget

Sunscreen. It’s always sitting smugly on the bathroom counter when I’m loading the car. The South Platte in June at 8,000 feet with 8 hours of direct sun is a reliable sunburn situation. I’ve learned to put the tube directly into the vest the night before a trip — and I still find ways to outsmart myself.

So here’s the honest version: everything else on this list stays packed between trips, ready to go. The sunscreen migrates back to the bathroom every single time, and after all these years I’ve made peace with the fact that I’m never going to learn. If you fish with me and you’ve got a spare tube, you’re already my favorite person on the river. For a deeper look at fly selection by hatch window, the South Platte fly box guide lists exactly what belongs in each box throughout the season.