Fly GuidePheasant Tail Nymph: Sizes, Variations, and When to Fish It
The Pheasant Tail Nymph is one of the most effective trout flies ever tied. Learn sizes, key variations, and exactly when to dead-drift it on Colorado tailwaters.
The box, pattern by pattern
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.
Latest from the river
The Chubby Chernobyl: My Summer Attractor and Dry-Dropper Anchor
How I fish the Chubby Chernobyl on the South Platte — a foam attractor that doubles as a summer searching dry and a dry-dropper anchor, plus the sizes and colors I trust.
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Fly GuideEgg Patterns — When the Spawn Is On, This Is What's Eating Trout
Egg patterns rule the South Platte during brown spawn (Oct–Nov) and rainbow spawn (Mar–Apr). Otter's Egg, Y2K, dead-egg variants, and how to fish ethically.
Fly GuideSan Juan Worm — The Pattern That Isn't Pretty But Catches South Platte Fish
The San Juan Worm is the unglamorous workhorse of South Platte tailwater nymphing. Red, pink, purple — when and why it earns the point spot on Deckers.
Fly GuideThe 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 GuideThe 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 all winter.
Fly GuideThe 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 it works year-round on Deckers and Cheesman when standard PTs fade.
Fly GuideMayer'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 swung streamers on South Platte tailwaters.
Fly GuideOlsen'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 and green, and how to fish it tight-line.
Fly GuideThe 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.
Fly GuideThe 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 GuideWalt'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.
Fly GuideThe 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 for fall browns and high water.
Fly GuideBarr'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 pine squirrel beats a Woolly Bugger.
Fly GuideBarr'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 GuidePMD 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 GuideSouth 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 GuideMercury 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 GuideTrico 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 GuideSouth 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.