Today I decided for a couple firsts. I took the motorcycle up for my first trip into the mountains and I fished a section of South Platte in Deckers, CO. The first 50 minutes of the ride is fast highway. While scenic, it’s not that comfortable of a ride; especially in heavy traffic. The last 40 minutes down Pine Valley and Decker’s Roads is a great twisty ride through Pike National Forest.
The eventual fishing spot was the South Platte just upstream of the bridge in Deckers. Right by the bridge is an intersection, a small group of shops, and about a million motorcycles. Apparently I’m not the only person who enjoys that ride and the spot is a popular stop where people get lunch, ice cream, or just stretch out for a bit. Across from the shops is a dirt road that goes up to the YMCA Camp only a couple miles away. The camp doesn’t permit entry so there is a fairly limited area to fish just above the bridge.
I hadn’t done a ton of reading about the spot so I was surprised to find it fairly crowded when I showed up just after noon. I expected the fish to be uninterested with that many people on the water but I sat and watched a couple guys near me pull out fish after fish.
I didn’t end up faring quite so well. I caught one fish and had a few on the line in the ~3 hours I was there. It could have been the flies I was using or maybe I just wasn’t in the right spots at the right time. I had my best success (a strike, and the fish I caught) using a pretty basic nymph. There are quite a few spots to throw in a line up the dirt road. Most of the people I saw had waders, which seems to help keep people spread out.
Overall the fishing was very nice. Off the highway so the only sound is the water and an occasional vehicle on the dirt road. It’s a beautiful spot and I’ll definitely make it back if only to check out other parts of the river.
