Fly Guide
The Zebra Midge Torch — My South Platte Midge
The standard Zebra Midge catches fish. My version — black tungsten bead, orange tag, tied on a Fulling Mill jig hook — catches more. Here's the Torch.
Fly Guides
The patterns that work on the South Platte — recipes, tying notes, and exactly how to fish them on Deckers, Cheesman, and the Dream Stream.
Fly Guide
The Duracell Jig: Red Wire, Silver Bead, and Why It Runs the South Platte in Winter
Craig McDonald's Scottish jig nymph — red wire rib, UV brown body, silver bead. Named after the battery. Why it dominates Deckers and Cheesman November through April.
Fly Guide
The Frenchie: Lance Egan's Competition Jig That Never Left the Guide Box
Lance Egan's UV pink hotspot Pheasant Tail jig — competition-bred, guide-proven. Why this pattern works year-round on Deckers and Cheesman when standard PTs stop producing.
Fly Guide
Mayer's Mini Leech Jig: The Small Dead-Drift Leech That Out-Catches Streamers
Landon Mayer's pine squirrel mini leech on a jig hook. Dead-drift, jig-style — why this small pattern out-fishes traditional swung streamers on South Platte tailwaters.
Fly Guide
Olsen's Blowtorch: My Favorite Fly and the Variations I Tie
My favorite fly. Devin Olsen's competition jig with a hot-tag and opalescent rib. Why I tie the Blowtorch in orange, green, with and without CDC — and how to fish it tight-line.
Fly Guide
The Perdigon: Why the Fastest-Sinking Nymph on the South Platte Works
Spanish competition nymph with a UV resin body that sinks 40% faster than traditional patterns. The anchor fly that gets your rig to depth before the current wins.
Fly Guide
The RS2: Rim Chung's South Platte Emerger That Defined a Tailwater
Rim Chung tied the RS2 in the 1970s for the South Platte. Fifty years later it's still the most-fished emerger on Deckers, the Dream Stream, and Cheesman.
Fly Guide
Walt's Worm: The Pennsylvania Nymph That Belongs in Every South Platte Box
Walt Young's 1984 Pennsylvania limestone nymph — buggy hare's ear body, cigar profile — imitates scuds, cased caddis, and crane fly larvae all at once on Deckers.
Fly Guide
The Wooly Bugger: The Most Copied Fly in History and Why It Still Works
Russell Blessing's 1967 Pennsylvania pattern is the most-tied fly in fly fishing. Why the Wooly Bugger still earns its place in a South Platte box for fall browns and high water.
Fly Guide
Barr's Slumpbuster: The Streamer John Barr Built for Big Browns
John Barr's Slumpbuster is the most versatile streamer in Colorado fly fishing. How to fish it, when it works, and why the pine squirrel does things a Woolly Bugger can't.
Fly Guide
Barr's Emerger: The PMD Pattern Every South Platte Angler Needs
John Barr's classic emerger imitates mayflies stuck mid-hatch. Recipe, rigging, and when to fish the PMD and BWO versions on Deckers and the Dream Stream.
Fly Guide
PMD Hatch Guide — Pale Morning Duns on the South Platte
The complete guide to Pale Morning Dun fishing on the South Platte — hatch timing by section, exact patterns, and how to adjust for refusals.
Fly Guide
South Platte Stonefly Hatch Guide: Spring Patterns & Tactics
When and where stoneflies hatch on the South Platte, plus the nymph and dry fly tactics that actually work during spring runoff.
Fly Guide
Mercury Midge: Pat Dorsey's South Platte Staple
Recipe, tying notes, and how to fish Pat Dorsey's Mercury Midge — one of the most consistent midge patterns on pressured tailwaters.
Fly Guide
Trico Hatch on the South Platte — Late Summer Fly Fishing Guide
When and how to fish the Trico hatch on the South Platte — July through September spinner falls on the Dream Stream and Deckers flat.
Fly Guide
South Platte Fly Box — 12 Patterns Every Tailwater Angler Needs
Twelve fly patterns every South Platte tailwater angler needs — midges, dries, nymphs, and streamers with sizes and when to use each.