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South Platte River (Deckers) Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

The Front Range's home tailwater: Cheesman Canyon's technical rainbows minutes from Denver.

1/5
Tough. Pick your battles.Post-front sun and slick water make them sulk.
Flow
105 cfs
Air / High
69 / 70 F
Wind
SW 26 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 06701900, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

1/5Tough. Pick your battles.Post-front sun and slick water make them sulk.

South Platte River (Deckers) is in its winter mode: slow, deep and deliberate. The river is running 105 cfs, steady over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind SW around 26 mph, rising pressure near 1005 hPa and a high of 70. Water sits around 47 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:38 AM-11:38 AM and 10:07 PM-12:07 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Rainbow troutGood

In cold water rainbows use the deepest pools in rivers (Vermont), so slow, deep drifts there are the usual approach; Michigan DNR notes lake rainbows are also taken with bait or by jigging through the ice.

Brown troutGood

Below 50Β°F, fish slowly through the deeper pools; in early spring on the Great Lakes, Michigan DNR notes browns are often caught inshore before other species start biting.

Tomorrow: Cooler at 53 F with a rain chance. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

Colorado requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $57.63 for residents. What a Colorado licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing rainbow trout here? Check the size and bag limits with CPW before you keep anything. The season dates for Colorado, read off the agency, are on the Colorado seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings from SOUTH PLATTE RIVER BLW BRUSH CRK NEAR TRUMBULL, CO.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 06701900.

688398105 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 24 years of October 23

At 105 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 06701900 (SOUTH PLATTE RIVER BLW BRUSH CRK NEAR TRUMBULL, CO) is at the 49th percentile for the date: normal. In half of the 24 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 107 cfs; the highest was 311 cfs and the lowest 47 cfs.

p10 64median 107p90 230

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 06701900; today’s reading is the latest instantaneous value. Classes follow the ones the USGS used on its WaterWatch maps (retired at the end of 2025): below 10th, much below normal; 10th–24th, below; 25th–75th, normal; 76th–90th, above; over 90th, much above.

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp69 F
High / Low70 / 52 F
WindSW 26-39 mph
Pressure1004.6 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 40%
Sunrise / Sunset07:19 / 18:10
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~47 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Which day to fish South Platte River (Deckers) this week

The best day on South Platte River (Deckers) this week looks like Saturday Oct 24, at 3 out of 5, against 1 today.

Best day this week: Saturday, Oct 24 β€” fair at 3/5, rising pressure behind a front, typically the slowest.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Slow

Post-front sun and slick water make them sulk.

Solunar majors
9:38 AM-11:38 AM and 10:07 PM-12:07 AM
Minor period
4:02 AM-5:02 AM
Sun
07:19 to 18:10
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Showers, 27 mph
Rain chance
40%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on South Platte River (Deckers): seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Rainbow trout illustration

Rainbow trout

Spring and fall in most lakes; rivers fish year-round while the water stays cool

A cold-water trout native to Pacific drainages from Alaska to Baja California, now stocked in most states and fished in rivers, tailwaters and lakes. In cold water rainbows use the deepest pools in rivers (Vermont), so slow, deep drifts there are the usual approach; Michigan DNR notes lake rainbows are also taken with bait or by jigging through the ice.

Brown trout illustration

Brown trout

Spring along Great Lakes shorelines; low light and overcast days in rivers; fall spawning runs

A European trout first stocked in the US in 1883 and now fished in rivers and lakes nationwide; it tolerates warmer water than other trout, and mature stream fish feed mostly at night. Below 50Β°F, fish slowly through the deeper pools; in early spring on the Great Lakes, Michigan DNR notes browns are often caught inshore before other species start biting.

When to come: the South Platte River (Deckers) calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Rainbow trout
Brown trout
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 47 F (estimated, not a reading).

30405060JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~47 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks South Platte River (Deckers) today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 69 F, wind to 19 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 73 F, wind to 16 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 68 F, wind to 10 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

Colorado requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Artificial flies and lures only, catch-and-release in Cheesman Canyon; 2-trout bag below with size rules. Confirm with CPW.

Access

Roadside pullouts along CR-67 through Deckers; Gill Trail for the canyon; ample but popular: weekday dawns win.

About this water

Blue-ribbon tailwater of Cheesman Reservoir, Jefferson/Douglas counties, CO. Rebuilt strongly after the 2002 Hayman fire.

Fishing South Platte River (Deckers): the full guide

Deckers and the Canyon

The South Platte at Deckers is Colorado's most-fished trout water for a reason: stable Cheesman releases, prolific midges and baetis, and educated rainbows that teach presentation fast. Upstream, Cheesman Canyon's boulder pockets are the graduate seminar: 4X gets refused, 6X gets eaten. Winter fishes surprisingly well.

Cheesman Canyon, the graduate course

Above Deckers, the Gill Trail accesses Cheesman Canyon: boulder pockets holding some of Colorado's most educated rainbows. Sight-fishing at 6X-7X, size 22 midges and tricos, drifts measured in inches: humbling and addictive. The canyon fishes year-round thanks to bottom-release flows.

Reading the famous flows

The Platte here runs best 100-400 cfs: our gauge panel shows it live. Winter lows (50-90 cfs) mean spooky pods and tiny bugs; spring bumps bring the worm-and-egg window; summer afternoons push fish into riffle oxygen. Locals check flow before coffee: now you can too.

Winter's open water

Deckers' tailwater privilege shows in January: the dam-fed flows stay open and midge-fishable when the mountains lock up, and midday windows (11-3, sun on the water) bring pods of rainbows to the surface film. Crowds thin to the faithful; the fish pod up in the slow winter pools. A 20-minute drive difference between skiing and sight-nymphing: Colorado's front-range luxury.

Common questions

Is Deckers too crowded to enjoy?

Weekends near the bridge, yes. Walk ten minutes upstream or down, or take the canyon trail, and pressure thins dramatically: the fish are everywhere the water is.

What flies work at Deckers?

Small and honest: zebra midges, RS2s, black beauties (18-24), pale tricos in summer mornings, eggs and worms on bumps. 6X fluorocarbon is standard equipment.

Is fishing good at South Platte River (Deckers) right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Tough. Pick your battles. Post-front sun and slick water make them sulk.

Nearby waters

Chatfield Reservoir21 miTarryall Reservoir21 miEvergreen Lake27 miElevenmile Canyon Reservoir27 miBear Creek28 miSpinney Mountain Reservoir30 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 06701900 β€” SOUTH PLATTE RIVER BLW BRUSH CRK NEAR TRUMBULL, CO
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 18:45 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 39.2542, -105.2258 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written guide was drafted with AI assistance. Unlike our newer pages, it does not yet list the official pages its facts were checked against: that audit is under way, and anything it cannot verify will be taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.