The journal · South Platte

Blog.

River guides, fly selection, and field notes from the South Platte. Written from the water, not a desk.

A small boy in a dinosaur-print snow jacket, blue snow pants, a fleece hat with ear flaps and blue mittens sits in a folding camp chair on a snow-covered frozen lake, holding a short yellow ice rod over a hole, with a portable propane heater and an ice scoop on the snow beside him, at Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska (photo: Lisa Hupp, USFWS, public domain)

Ice Fishing Gear for Kids: What a Young Angler Actually Needs on the Ice

A kid's ice fishing kit, item by item: the rod, the jig, boots, mitts, cleats, flotation, sled, shelter and heater, what to skip, and where the money belongs.

Nov 12, 2026 · 21 min read Read the story →

More from the journal

151 posts · page 1 / 13

Anglers on foot spread across a small frozen lake on a clear winter morning, a red pop-up shelter, sleds and buckets on the ice, cattails and bare trees along the shore (photo: USFWS Mountain-Prairie, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Ice Fishing for Beginners — A Colorado Starter Guide

New to hard water? Here's the genuinely minimal kit, the license you need, how to find safe early ice, and the simplest way to catch your first fish in Colorado.

November 11, 202612 min read

A PMD Sparkle Dun — splayed dun deer-hair fan wing, pale cream dubbed body, and an amber Z-lon trailing shuck in place of tails, no hackle (photo: The Caddis Fly Shop)

PMD Sparkle Dun: South Platte Tailwater Fly Guide

The PMD Sparkle Dun is a must-have emerger for South Platte tailwaters in June. Sizes, materials, and when to fish it at Deckers and Cheesman Canyon.

November 9, 202612 min read

A soft hackle wet fly — swept partridge collar over a gold-ribbed body

Soft Hackle Wet Fly Guide for South Platte Caddis

Soft hackle wet flies quietly out-fish the dry during June caddis on the South Platte. The patterns, sizes, and swing techniques that fool Cheesman and Deckers trout.

November 6, 202613 min read

My son grinning with a rainbow trout he caught through the ice at Eleven Mile Reservoir in South Park, Colorado

Ice Fishing with Kids in Colorado: The Best Kid Fishing There Is

Why hard water is secretly the best fishing for kids — and how to actually pull it off in Colorado so they stay warm, stay safe, catch fish, and ask to come back.

November 5, 202615 min read

A lone angler crouched over a single hole on dark early-season ice, dead reeds and low winter sun behind — judge the ice yourself before you trust it

First Ice Safety — How to Read Colorado Hard Water

First ice is the most dangerous ice. How to judge thickness, what to carry, how to fish with a buddy, and when to walk away — a Colorado hard-water safety guide.

November 4, 20267 min read

A South Platte rainbow in a rubber net, head up, the fly still pinned at the corner of its jaw

The Tight-Line Hookset: Converting the Take

On a tight line you don't trout-set — you sweep low and downstream: the hookset that drives a tungsten jig home, protects 5–7X tippet, and what to do after you miss.

November 2, 202614 min read

The log

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