The Canyon Fly Shop River Report
Deckers and Cheesman Canyon (92cfs) Friday, October 30, 2026
Things have stabilized and been really low and clear, fishing will be tough!
The best way to attack the water lately is to nymph in the morning till about 11 and then focus on that dry fly game from 11-3.
Top flies:
Split back PMD size 18-22. Radiation baetis size 20
Top secret midge size 24
Chocolate thunder size 24
Tan or Red bling midge size 24
Blindside midge size 22
Brown floss worm size 12
Hot head leech in black or olive
Top dries:
Bwo Dry 20-24
Griffith’s gnat 22-26
*we have been trailing mole flies, top secrets and chocolate thunders just behind our dries and absolutely cleaning up!!!
Stop in the shop for all the right flies and we will spend some time with you discussing important things like depth, fly setup, drifts, where to focus your drifts, etc!
Also, if you’d like to hone in your skills and get out there with one of our top notch guides we can make that happen for ya! We are on the water every day and can give you all the tips and tricks you need to be successful on the water as much as possible
The Canyon Fly Shop
6814 W 38th Avenue, Wheat Ridge, CO
www.thecanyonflyshop.com
(304)692-6450
Don't focus on the fish you see especially in the deep holes, those fish can see you and are typically not sitting in those deep spots to feed but to rest and for protection. Trout typically feed in 2-4 feet of water where bug life is plentiful so focus on that type of water and cover ground!
Tailwater fishing can be intimidating for a lot of people and for good reason but Deckers section of the South Platte can be a great place to get a few fish to the net especially on some of our more mild front range days. You should even see some trico rises on the warm mornings with some very good bwo hatches following in the afternoon. You can either use a glo bug on a hook or our personal favorite, the peg egg. Squirmy worms, leeches and floss worms are some more go to leads. Remember, your lead fly can pick up fish for sure but you're mainly using that fly to get your tiny flies down to the bottom, put appropriate split shot above your leady fly 8-10 inches. For your middle and bottom fly be thinking in the 20-26 range. We love to use a purple juju, rainbow warrior or hot head sow bug as our mid fly followed by a size 22-26 midge. Black zebras, gray and black RS2s, chocolate thunders, top secrets and WD-40s all in that size range will produce plenty of fish most days on this section.
Deckers is said to hold 3,000 fish per mile so don't be afraid to cover some ground and try to find an open run. If you love peace and solitude, you may want to avoid this section but it can be very rewarding when you catch it on a great day. It's not uncommon to be catching a couple dozen trout in the 12-22" range on a good day when your flies and drifts are dialed in. Presentation is everything here, good presentation and the right depth on the right tippet is always the key.
Stop by @thecanyonflyshop and we can get you all set up to have a great day on the water from fly selection to tippet size and even dial in your weight and depth. Your most beginner friendly shop in the front range!
Boulder Creek (above town below the falls)
CFS: 12 Friday, October 30, 2026
***On those warm afternoons grab a few hippy stompers and a couple of Matt’s purple sexy’s and Duracells for a fun day on the water for lots of feisty brown trout! We are transitioning to late fall and winter flows and temps so you should only be fishing the heat of the day and in the sunshine. Also, size down on a double nymph rig with a blue poison tung or black zebra for more action in the deeper holes.
Hopper dropper fishing is always crazy productive throughout the canyon but right now is a great time to throw a single dry fly or even a double dry setup such as a small parachute adams to a little bwo or mosquito pattern. Target the pockets and seams this time of year and you should end up with some good wild browns all day. There are miles of the canyon to fish so if you’re struggling just drive a few more miles up and see if the water and fishing turns around for ya. Also, it's super important this time of year as the water gets lower and lower to fish the higher gradient sections where more water is pushing through faster.
Hopper Dropper: Purple or Red hippy stompers or brown triple foams down to a Duracell, Purple waltz sexy, purple blow torch, perdigon, Spanish bullet
Dries: Parachute adams, elk hair caddis in tan or yellow, small stimulators, bwo, mosquito
Clear Creek (clear creek canyon above golden)
October 30, 2026 CFS: 45
**Wooly buggers are a great option right now, cover ground and work the water hard!
You can throw a Duracell, purple sexy, Frenchie or Spanish bullet under a hopper or stimulator and should be able to pick up quite a few fish!!
Single dries are fishing amazing right now. The super hot fly is elk hair caddis in tan or yellow. Royal Wulff, Mosquitos, Purple Haze are also very productive right now. You can also run a double dry fly set up or even run a stimulator to a short dropper. Hopper dropper fishing is still productive but starting to transition to colder temps and lower flows so size down on a double dropper rig with a blue poison tung or black zebra midge.
Once again if you’re not having success move spots a couple of miles. Also, warmer afternoons are the best times to fish and move upstream miles if necessary to find the fish. The good thing about clear creek is there are miles and miles of public access from highway 6 all the way up I70 to the Eisenhower tunnel.
Blue River (Silverthorne)
October 21, 2026 CFS: 151
**Great spot to fish right now with the bump in flows, take advantage!!! Worms and eggs and trail with a mysis shrimp and a tiny midge underneath!
The Blue is beautiful water with beautiful rainbows with vibrant red stripes in an urban setting in the town of Silverthorne. If you don't mind Chipotle and Factory Outlets as your background this is always a great place to fish with an abundant amount of fish stocked regularly that end up becoming gorgeous with the tailwater flows and mysis shrimp. The red stripe is something else if they have been in there for a while. Mysis shrimp is definitely always on our rig here and we like to follow with tiny flies such as a tan bling midge, demon midge, red disco midge, blue poison tung or black zebra midge. If you need a more in depth report or help fishing the blue stop in the shop and we will help you out as much as we can!
Colorado River (Kremmling)
October 22, 2026. CFS: 396
From Hot Sulphur Springs down to the confluence in Dotsero the streamer fishing has been great as well as your typical nymph rigs. Our typical setup under an indicator on The Colorado usually consists of a Pat's Rubber legs and then some sort of a combo between a flashback pheasant tail, purple psycho prince nymph, purple juju baetis and blue poison tung. Cover ground on this river if you're streamer fishing and while nymphing find those productive eddies and runs and spend time catching as many fish as possible in those productive areas before moving on.
