Cheesman Canyon

We are a family that enjoys fishing.  We each enjoy the sport for different reasons and with different levels of intensity.          If fishing enthusiasm and intensity were able to be measured, Sutton would register in the fanatical range.  So, it was no surprise that he met us in Denver with his rod and reel neatly packed between his dress clothes.  Within hours of arriving and with the help of his Orvis app, he had rented a car and was headed to the South Platte River just outside Deckers, CO.  The following three days, he took advantage of this fabled fishery located about an hour from Denver and close to Colorado Springs.  Cheesman Canyon houses one of the finest stretches of Western trout water with relatively easy public access.  We excitedly tagged along with Sutton on his final day in the Canyon.  Flies and Lies, a fly shop in Deckers, CO, minutes from Cheesman Canyon, provided the needed midges.

tiny, tiny trout bait 

Scouting

The fish could be seen from up high, lying in the current behind the many large rocks in the river.  

Walking along the trail into the Canyon, we were immediately presented with the blackened remains of trees burned during the Heymen fire of 2002.  This fire, which followed years of drought, destroyed thousands of acres.  It's said that the South Platte ran black with ash and fishing was ruined for a number of years.  Young Aspen now thrive beneath the burned trunks of Pine, in the wake of the fire.  Colorado has been blessed with rain this Spring and the So. Platte was running a little high.  It was not possible to cross the river from the area we were fishing, which limited the fishing options, although we saw one angler on the far bank.  The parking area was full when we arrived, yet we were not crowded on the river by fellow anglers. 



                     Cactus and other flowering western wildflowers graced the canyon hillsides.



A fish made off with Sutton's fly in this choice hole.

Some folks find comfort in the pines!



Fisher enjoyed her canyon stroll after having spent two days at Camp Bow-Wow in Denver.  That's another story!!

Fish on!!!

 A Brown Trout

A happy fisherman.  Sutton said it was hard to get fish to take the fly.

There were Mule deer in the grass along the roadside.  This one begged to have its picture taken so I obliged.

Since leaving Denver, we have driven through miles and miles of ranch land with antelope grazing along the Green River in Wyoming. We were surprised by the amount of snow in the mountains outside Salt Lake City and the volume of water in the swollen Snake River in Idaho.  Now the rain hits the windshield as we wind through the river valleys of Oregon.  Next stop, Sequim, WA.