How to Fish the South Platte River in Waterton Canyon like a PRO!

Learn to fly fish the Waterton Canyon section of the South Platte from the Pros! Make sure to check out the FULL LIST OF HOT FLY PATTERNS in the description below. If you are in Denver Colorado and looking for a good spot to fish and catch a lot of Trout you need to check out the Waterton Canyon Section of the South Platte. In this video we break down the access points, fish habitat, hot spots to fish, the bugs, and the best flies for fishing this section of the South Platte. The Waterton Canyon trail is great for the whole family and can easily be hiked or accessed by bike. It is 6.2 miles long and only gains 700 feet over that distance. When fishing in the canyon, focus on the deep pools created by the rock weirs and dams in the canyon as this is where most of the fish will school up. There is a healthy population of mayflies, caddis flies, stoneflies, midges, aquatic worms, scud, and sowbugs in the South Platte River in Waterton Canyon and we break to each to the best fly patterns in this video. The River Oracle Streamside Match the Hatch Kit and individual sampling tools can all be purchased at: ascentflyfishi...
The best winter fly patterns for fishing this section of river are:
Midge Patterns:
Zebra Midge: ascentflyfishi...
Zebra Midge Pupa: ascentflyfishi...
Ian’s Brass Ass: ascentflyfishi...
Disco Midge: ascentflyfishi...
Pheasant Tail: ascentflyfishi...
Mayfly Patterns:
Juju Baetis: ascentflyfishi...
Chocolate Thunder: ascentflyfishi...
RS2: ascentflyfishi...
Greg’s Emerger: ascentflyfishi...
Firebead Hares Ear: ascentflyfishi...
Stonefly Patterns:
Pat’s Rubber Leg: ascentflyfishi...
Stonefly Nymph: ascentflyfishi...
Iron Sally: ascentflyfishi...
Poxyback little stone: ascentflyfishi...
Caddisfly Patterns:
BH Woven Caddis Larva: ascentflyfishi...
Buckskin: ascentflyfishi...
Jelly Cord Caddis Larva: ascentflyfishi...
Sowbug Patterns:
Ray Charles: ascentflyfishi...
If you would like to purchase any of the patterns shown in this video, you can click on one of the links above or see all of our flies, tools, and fly fishing accessories at www.ascentflyfishing.com .
The Ascent Fly Fishing family and community is all about inclusivity and opening up the water so that every angler can have a great day on the water! If you have any tips, tricks, or favorite fly patterns for the Waterton Canyon section of the South Platte River in Littleton Colorado, please share them in the comment section below!

[@jwright9639]

Wow, absolutely amazing! Truly a science which I have yet to master. Thank you for this incredibly informative tutorial from not only the professional biologist, but seasoned angler. Thanks again!

[@MattsFishinMission]

this was quite possibly one of the most impressive fishing videos i've ever watched!

[@AscentFlyFishing]

Did you like this type of video or find it helpful? If so, please let us know what parts you found the most helpful, what you would like fleshed out in greater depth, and which waters you would like us to sample and break down next. We would also like to hear the tips, tricks, and fly patterns you use on the Waterton Canyon section of the South Platte River. We look forward to hearing from you and helping you catch more fish!

[@CJDuranOutdoors]

Ascent Fly Fishing I love the insect collection and identification :)

[@naomimacdonald1658]

this is the most helpful video. it has inspired me to see what insects are in my home streams. very awesome. keep it up!

[@dobchase]

Great detail. I really liked the side by side of the live bugs and the lures.

[@adambomb8841]

How do I access that road you were on???

[@AscentFlyFishing]

@@adambomb8841, You will just park in the Waterton Canyon parking lot on the east side of waterton canyon road and then head west over the crosswalk, onto the trail, and then onto the road heading west up the canyon! Tight Lines and thanks for watching our video! If you need flies for the canyon we're just 10 minutes away!

[@JBlackburn08]

way to show a good example and not harass the bighorns. props man

[@daddymcsnacks_561]

By far the most informative fly fishing video I've seen thus far! 🤯 🎣😯

[@CTwindguy]

The clarity and verbal skill of the presenter is much appreciated. Rather tired of mumbling wonky instructions on YT. I’ll look for more videos from you!

[@richardtaylor5859]

Peter. When I stopped by the other day I mentioned I had yet to view your video series. Well, shame on me. Now that I have "discovered" your educational and practical skill videos I can't get enough of them. In 30 minutes I have learned great new material or reinforced some of my basic knowledge. Thanks for keeping it simple. The enjoyment I get fishing is really enhanced when I have a process to go through in choosing what I am going to throw out there for the trout. Understanding the "method to the madness" makes fly fishing just that much more satisfying.

[@artb3869]

Great job breaking down the logic of it all! Best video I have ever seen do this. May you make more!

[@MrKarloz97]

Dude is putting on a clinic. The whole 9 yards. Very informative. I had success with the Largest he found on Thompson River in Estes Park.

[@KevinCunningham-xo4ns]

These guys at Ascent fly fishing are the best! Go out of your way to buy flies from them, especially on the days they have sales. Check out their website and see how they source their fly manufacturing. It's awesome! They will always give you the right advice for flies giving a particular river and time of year. They may also provide you a beer. Just don't spill it in their streamer box like I did.😂

[@alexdroban4312]

This is a great video. One of the best! I really enjoyed the entomology lesson as well as the description of the canyon and scenery. Thank you!

[@logankraske5432]

I wish I saw this when I first moved to Littleton! Thanks, Peter!

[@chipbolman8035]

Terrific video, full of entomology and very practical in terms of how to fish this stretch of the So. Platte R.

[@Waddy5691]

This is a great video, thank you! I’ve had success in the summer up there with the Hopper (Golden Chubby Chernobyl), Copper (Copper John), dropper (Pheasant Tail) grouping. The canyon is certainly one of my favorite spots!

[@weezypeezy1725]

You don’t even understand how Much this helps me

[@dougroberts4535]

Great video! There are not many videos out there that go this in depth on the entomology of fly fishing. Thanks for sharing!

[@eckhal2]

Excellent video, son just moved to Denver so will be checking out the fly fishing, 55 year fly fisher, thanks will stop by shop when out there

[@downstreamthoughts]

I really enjoyed watching you sample the bugs and showing us how you attempt to match them. I learned so much from you in one video. I just liked seeing the bugs and how you are picking out the patterns, colors, and size to match it. Thanks. That's what made this video very different from other fishing videos out there, getting deeper into the science and biology behind the flies. Very cool More of the same types of buggy videos would be great for me, and which types of water certain bugs thrive over others so I am fishing less blindly. PS: If you haven't already, check out the "Trout Hunting NZ" channel for just plain fishy fun.

[@HuckinGrains]

Fantastic!

[@geraldg7420]

Very comprehensive. Well presented.

[@codywogan7259]

Super helpful thank you man

[@billhickmann5145]

Thanks look forward to trying this area, video was very informative.

[@davidchao1]

Thank you for the great video. I really liked how you broke down the flies and the patterns that best looked like it. I wasn't sure if Waterton Canyon had a large fish population because of the construction. I would love to see a video of how you break down each section of the river and which technique. I saw high sticking towards the end. How would you fish the diversions, above and below? How do you select what size split shot? Thanks for a great video!

[@AscentFlyFishing]

David - Thank you for the feedback! How to fish specific habitat types is certainly going to be something we cover on this channel and is we will dedicate a series of videos to this topic. As most of the action in the late winter and early spring is primarily going to be on wet flies, we will produce several videos breaking down different nymphing techniques and rigs. Stay Tuned!

[@toddgray6274]

Thanks Peter - great video. I will order some stuff from you today. I appreciate you helping making me a better FF

[@zenbooter]

There isn't anything about this video you could improve except make more videos. Shame I can't live there at times.

[@obewonknobe]

Super informative thanks for sharing 👍🏽

[@mccloskey2011]

Fabulous video. Very much appreciated

[@stephenbrody2717]

Great video. The best bug matching video I have ever seen on YT. Was curious your leader set up. Any rigging ideas unique to your approach this area? I thought probably not but always curious about that stuff. Thanks for all the time you put into this video.

[@michaelmaio651]

Super helpful! I am excited to hit the canyon this weekend. Thanks!

[@AscentFlyFishing]

Michael - Don't hesitate to reach out if you need any help. Please let us know what the hot flies were for you after you hit the canyon!

[@teamlazz1]

Good info for a quick day of fly fishing!

[@stefanfolk1506]

Just found this video, its great! I really would love to see more of these on various streams around Colorado. Ill be in Fort Collins this fall for school, and it would be sick to see one of these videos on the Poudre!

[@charliebleifeld4913]

Great information

[@markacuellar]

Excellent video!

[@kcriggins1]

Shoot, cool video sir. I used to buy flies from you back in the day. Really good stuff sir

[@JVinkd78]

Great video Pet!

[@russelllieser4226]

Thank you for the video learned a lot.

[@tjgalati9281]

Awesomeness!!! More more!!!

[@bevrizzolo1588]

I love the video! Waterton Canyon is a great place to wet a line this time of year. I'm looking forward to more videos on different streams...what a great way to learn!

[@AscentFlyFishing]

We're in the process of wrapping up a couple new video we shot today on How to Fish the Spring Rainbow Spawn and how to Fish a Peg-egg rig. We are planning to post at least one of these videos this week, so stay tuned!

[@garycook8751]

Peter, dynamite video! Thanks! Gary

[@JakeLarrimore]

Super helpful, thank you!

[@mountaingoat6393]

AMAZING! Thank you.

[@freshpotttts]

Thanks for making this, it's really great seeing the why and how of choosing a fly from a pro instead of just hearing "use a pheasant tail". That being said I am curious as to how you choose which fly out of the many you have matched to. Is this down to experience of just knowing what fish prefer, abundance or are you aiming higher calorie bugs?

[@AscentFlyFishing]

@freshpotttts great question! We prioritize abundance first and foremost. This is going to be whenever and wherever you fish. What we are sampling the most of is also quite probably what the fish are seeing and feeding the most consistently on. When we sampled the canyon, the Blue Winged Olive Nymphs were our most abundant, followed by a the stonefly nymphs and caddis larva which were "tied for 2nd". The other factor we took into account was the trouts' hunger for callories after a long, skinny winter, thus adding the larger stonefly nymph or caddis larva into the mix. Regardless to what we started the day with, we need to remain flexible. If the trout consistantly take the BWO nymphs, I would ultimately double or triple up on those patterns and abandon the stonefly nymph or caddis larva.

[@jtm4810]

from foco. fished deckers area first time 6/28/2020. water was very low and while less than 1-2 ft in depth...just wasn't sure what depth to fish as nymph was dragging and collecting moss. how do you fish it when it is like that? this was an incredibly informative video.

[@John3Ks]

Would you please share your knowledge and expertise with those of us fisherpeople' from the midwest living in CO. that haven't a clue, the equipment, the experience but have the desire and love for river fishing with traditional fishing tackle live bait, lures etc.. the methods techniques to enjoy a productive day/night of fishing for a dad and his daughters in Waterton Canyon? Greatly appreciate any & all advice...

[@joesfoot]

Not as scientific or subtle as the method in this video, but I used to have extreme luck with Pistol Pete spinners (fly rod) and Jakes Spin-A-Lure Silver with red dots (spin casting) all along the length of the canyon.

[@lavidadeunfranciscodiario6991]

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@danfug3940]

subed!

[@perchpsk]

I’m looking for some good stretches of this stream or other streams in the area that allow all bait and spinners. Any advice?

[@BacalaoBrad]

No wonder they have big trout ... look what's on the menu

[@getoutandride8277]

i know your fudging with me stop

[@jkdurden]

Excellent video!