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Eleven Mile Canyon Fly Fishing Report/Conditions
44°F
| Day | Condition | Temperature | Precipitation | Rain Chance | Wind | Humidity | Pressure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Tomorrow
2:00 pm
|
 overcast clouds
|
44° | 50°°F | 0 inch | 0% | 10 mph | 34 % | 14 psi |
|
Tue Feb 26
2:00 pm
|
clear sky
|
35° | 52°°F | 0 inch | 0% | 8 mph | 48 % | 14 psi |
|
Wed Feb 26
2:00 pm
|
 light snow
|
29° | 42°°F | 0.04 inch | 96% | 9 mph | 95 % | 15 psi |
|
Thu Feb 26
2:00 pm
|
overcast clouds
|
35° | 55°°F | 0 inch | 0% | 11 mph | 43 % | 14 psi |
|
Fri Feb 26
2:00 pm
|
clear sky
|
40° | 55°°F | 0 inch | 0% | 7 mph | 39 % | 14 psi |
| Hour | Condition | Temperature | Precipitation | Rain Chance | Wind | Humidity | Pressure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Tomorrow
8:00 pm
|
clear sky
|
43° | 44°°F | 0 inch | 0% | 5 mph | 24 % | 14 psi |
|
Tomorrow
11:00 pm
|
clear sky
|
37° | 39°°F | 0 inch | 0% | 8 mph | 30 % | 14 psi |
|
Tomorrow
2:00 am
|
broken clouds
|
36° | 36°°F | 0 inch | 0% | 9 mph | 34 % | 14 psi |
|
Tomorrow
5:00 am
|
overcast clouds
|
37° | 37°°F | 0 inch | 0% | 10 mph | 30 % | 14 psi |
|
Tomorrow
8:00 am
|
 overcast clouds
|
42° | 42°°F | 0 inch | 0% | 10 mph | 27 % | 14 psi |
|
Tomorrow
11:00 am
|
overcast clouds
|
51° | 51°°F | 0 inch | 0% | 5 mph | 17 % | 14 psi |
|
Tomorrow
2:00 pm
|
overcast clouds
|
53° | 53°°F | 0 inch | 0% | 4 mph | 19 % | 14 psi |
|
Tue Feb 26
5:00 pm
|
overcast clouds
|
46° | 46°°F | 0 inch | 0% | 2 mph | 35 % | 14 psi |
|
Tue Feb 26
8:00 pm
|
 scattered clouds
|
39° | 39°°F | 0 inch | 0% | 4 mph | 42 % | 14 psi |
|
Tue Feb 26
11:00 pm
|
 few clouds
|
36° | 36°°F | 0 inch | 0% | 4 mph | 45 % | 14 psi |
|
Tue Feb 26
2:00 am
|
clear sky
|
35° | 35°°F | 0 inch | 0% | 3 mph | 43 % | 14 psi |
|
Tue Feb 26
5:00 am
|
broken clouds
|
35° | 35°°F | 0 inch | 0% | 4 mph | 48 % | 14 psi |
|
Tue Feb 26
8:00 am
|
 scattered clouds
|
36° | 36°°F | 0 inch | 0% | 8 mph | 43 % | 14 psi |
|
Tue Feb 26
11:00 am
|
 few clouds
|
47° | 47°°F | 0 inch | 0% | 7 mph | 26 % | 14 psi |
|
Tue Feb 26
2:00 pm
|
 clear sky
|
52° | 52°°F | 0 inch | 0% | 6 mph | 19 % | 14 psi |
|
Wed Feb 26
5:00 pm
|
scattered clouds
|
42° | 42°°F | 0 inch | 0% | 9 mph | 39 % | 14 psi |
|
Wed Feb 26
8:00 pm
|
overcast clouds
|
35° | 35°°F | 0 inch | 0% | 6 mph | 66 % | 14 psi |
|
Wed Feb 26
11:00 pm
|
light snow
|
32° | 32°°F | 0.04 inch | 96% | 4 mph | 90 % | 14 psi |
|
Wed Feb 26
2:00 am
|
light snow
|
29° | 29°°F | 0.01 inch | 34% | 2 mph | 95 % | 14 psi |
|
Wed Feb 26
5:00 am
|
light snow
|
29° | 29°°F | 0.02 inch | 42% | 1 mph | 92 % | 14 psi |
|
Wed Feb 26
8:00 am
|
 light snow
|
30° | 30°°F | 0.01 inch | 20% | 1 mph | 88 % | 15 psi |
|
Wed Feb 26
11:00 am
|
broken clouds
|
35° | 35°°F | 0 inch | 2% | 4 mph | 55 % | 14 psi |
|
Wed Feb 26
2:00 pm
|
clear sky
|
41° | 41°°F | 0 inch | 0% | 5 mph | 35 % | 14 psi |
|
Thu Feb 26
5:00 pm
|
clear sky
|
39° | 39°°F | 0 inch | 0% | 4 mph | 43 % | 14 psi |
|
Thu Feb 26
8:00 pm
|
clear sky
|
35° | 35°°F | 0 inch | 0% | 5 mph | 43 % | 14 psi |
|
Thu Feb 26
11:00 pm
|
clear sky
|
35° | 35°°F | 0 inch | 0% | 10 mph | 41 % | 14 psi |
|
Thu Feb 26
2:00 am
|
overcast clouds
|
35° | 35°°F | 0 inch | 0% | 11 mph | 37 % | 14 psi |
|
Thu Feb 26
5:00 am
|
scattered clouds
|
35° | 35°°F | 0 inch | 0% | 10 mph | 32 % | 14 psi |
|
Thu Feb 26
8:00 am
|
clear sky
|
37° | 37°°F | 0 inch | 0% | 9 mph | 31 % | 14 psi |
|
Thu Feb 26
11:00 am
|
clear sky
|
50° | 50°°F | 0 inch | 0% | 4 mph | 19 % | 14 psi |
|
Thu Feb 26
2:00 pm
|
clear sky
|
55° | 55°°F | 0 inch | 0% | 3 mph | 17 % | 14 psi |
|
Fri Feb 26
5:00 pm
|
clear sky
|
48° | 48°°F | 0 inch | 0% | 3 mph | 29 % | 14 psi |
|
Fri Feb 26
8:00 pm
|
clear sky
|
42° | 42°°F | 0 inch | 0% | 3 mph | 35 % | 14 psi |
|
Fri Feb 26
11:00 pm
|
clear sky
|
41° | 41°°F | 0 inch | 0% | 4 mph | 33 % | 14 psi |
|
Fri Feb 26
2:00 am
|
clear sky
|
41° | 41°°F | 0 inch | 0% | 5 mph | 34 % | 14 psi |
|
Fri Feb 26
5:00 am
|
clear sky
|
40° | 40°°F | 0 inch | 0% | 7 mph | 36 % | 14 psi |
|
Fri Feb 26
8:00 am
|
clear sky
|
42° | 42°°F | 0 inch | 0% | 4 mph | 39 % | 14 psi |
|
Fri Feb 26
11:00 am
|
clear sky
|
52° | 52°°F | 0 inch | 0% | 3 mph | 27 % | 14 psi |
|
Fri Feb 26
2:00 pm
|
clear sky
|
55° | 55°°F | 0 inch | 0% | 4 mph | 24 % | 14 psi |
|
Sat Feb 26
5:00 pm
|
few clouds
|
50° | 50°°F | 0 inch | 0% | 6 mph | 33 % | 14 psi |
Flow (CFS) : 81.1
Best Section:
Upper reaches near the Dam
Avoid:
Heavily shaded areas that have built up shelf ice
Key Fly:
Disco Midge (20-24).
Flow Note:
Low profiles and stealthy approaches are key.
Tuesday, June 24th, 2025
Eleven Mile Canyon has gradually increased in flows over the last 30 days. Currently sitting just below 100cfs, the fish should be happy and feeding. They will also be very aware of you with lower clear water. The bug life in Eleven Mile is always abundant. As we head into the meat of the summer, Caddis are going to be strong throughout this section. Fishing emergers and dry flies will be highly sought after by the fish. Fishing a light dropper right with a short dropper is an excellent way to take advantage of this. Look for the fish to spread out when the water is cool and the light is low. They will then push into the riffles and faster water as things heat up. Like anywhere, keep an eye on temps and consider reeling up if the water hits 60° Farenheight. Morning and evening hatches can be the most fun and magical time on the water in the canyon, anyhow.
CPW Station Details
Most Recent visit
Sunday, November 24th, 2024
What a day in a special place! Mild weather and active fish. Flows have been steady. Fish were feeding well on a variety of flies. My FL CDL put some in the net along with the standard midges and attractors. Even with the high sun, I found some risers but failed to seal the deal. It was busy. If you are new to angling, people have different ways of spending their time on the water. Some like to be social, others don’t. If you get a cold shoulder, don’t take it personally and seek other water. There is plenty of room for all of us! Tight Lines!
Overview
Welcome to Colorado’s fantasy land near Florissant. Tucked in the canyon is one of the State’s finest parks. It lies below the dam holding the water for Eleven Mile Reservoir. Look below for all the fly fishing details you need to capture success within these welcoming canyon walls.
The River
Eleven Mile Canyon is the “tailwater” river found nestled below the Eleven Mile Canyon Dam. This fishery is controlled by Colorado as a recreation area and requires a day pass/camping permit for access. While it is still a highly pressured location, this does help to limit the overall traffic. The River falls through the canyon experiencing different gradients throughout. There are long meandering stretches as well as the more common tight gradient pocket water. It shares many characteristics with its lower elevation sister location Cheesman Canyon but is accessed fully by vehicle.
Seasons
You Fish Eleven Mile Canyon basically 365. With the “tailwater” effect in motion this section offers open water year round. Cool summer water and warm winter flows. Spring hatches can be AMAZING but be aware of the spawning Rainbows. With the water controlled (and consistent drought conditions) runoff is typically mild and short lived. The summertime brings the bugs and the people. It gets busy with campers, climbers and general outdoor recreationalists. If this isn’t a bother to you, enjoy the wet wading and warm weather. Fall cools and brings certain hatches with the opportunity for fish to feed before winter. This is when the Brown Trout spawn begins. Watch out for reds! With winter comes the cold. This place gets chilly! Some of the tighter, more shaded locations do ice up. They can ice over from bank to bank. However, the sunny, faster portions will keep you fishing. The fish stack up and tend to sit low and slow. Be careful of the ice shelves as they can drop out below you.
Fish
Fish, fish and more fish! There is an interesting variety in Eleven Mile Canyon. While the expected Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout and Mountain Sucker are pretty common. There is also a good population of Cutthroat/Cutbow Trout. Occasionally, there is lore of spill over fish from the reservoir such as Pike and Walleye. I have even heard people speak of Smallmouth Bass. For me, I have only ever caught the trout and the suckers. All of witch can range in size. Depending on the section you will find the average fish to range from 10-16”. Finding the bulked up 18 isn’t uncommon. You can find some large fish if you know where to look…
Tactics
There are days when you will watch a pod of fish. They are completely aware of you. They ignore every presentation you make with a certain smugness. The Canyon is a pretty forgiving fly fishing spot and the river is very approachable. The fish aren’t as spooky as they are on other sections of the South Platte River. For this reason it’s a great place to try out different tactics. Nymphing will put the most fish in the net. If you know your way around a tight line nymph setup you will be deadly. Indicators over slow slack pools can be super effective. But DO NOT forget the dry fly rod. Hatch specific single dry or dry dropper. Just make sure you take advantage of them looking up.
Bugs
The bugs here are a big reason for the draw. Eleven Mile Canyon is well known for its consistent bug hatches. The most notable bug here can be hard to call because there is such abundance. Midges year round help to provide dry fly options (if you can see the tiny bugs) in the winter. Blue Wings make their typical rounds in the spring and fall. Caddis are super fun to float in the summer. And there are large bugs too. Stoneflies and terrestrials can be in play from late spring into early fall. When there is little action (it does happen) attractors are always a good call. Mop flies and Squirmy Worms will put fish in the net on most if not every trip to The Canyon.
Recommended Flies
Previous Reports
Monday, June 9th, 2025
The Eleven Mile Canyon section of the South Platte continues to offer some excellent fishing as we head into mid-June. While flows remain on the lower side, they’ve been consistent, currently sitting between 70 and 80 CFS. This stable flow is a bit below historical averages for this time of year. However, it means good wading opportunities and relatively clear water. The clear water can provide challenges when fishing for educated fish. Presentation is key regardless of whether you are fishing dries or nymphs. Midges are always in the system, but Caddis can be a major play this time of year. Using a dry attractor like a Stimulator or Hippie Stomper is effective. Pair it with an emerging dropper like the Soft Hackle Hares Ear for excellent results.
Thursday, April 3rd, 2025
Flows are looking to be on the rise, even if slightly. This is a welcome change after seeing them dip a couple of weeks back. This fishery doesn’t tend to be overly impacted by these types of flow changes and fishing should still be excellent. Expect clear water and plenty of bug activity. Elevenmile Canyon is a fairly consistent dry fly fishery when compared to other sections of the South Platte. Midges should still be owning the game. However, Blue Wings will become more prevalent as the days progress through the spring. Expect the fish to switch and key in on BWO’s as the waters warm throughout the day. Light dry dropper rigs can be very enjoyable. They work well if the fish have relocated to higher positions in the water column. A Griffiths Gnat with or Parachute Adams with a small CDC or Foam Wing Emergers can be a great tactic. Get out there if you can. Who knows what spring runoff may bring.
Tuesday, February 4th, 2025
The fishing has been on fire this winter in Eleven Mile Canyon. I am not the only one who has been aware. With some warm weather following a cold snap, lots of people made their way out. The fishing should continue to be great as long as there is a good bit water coming out of Eleven Mile Reservoir. Right now, it appears that they are beginning the descent. Flows had been very consistent for 30 days but, over the last 1,0 have begun to drop. Eleven Mile reservoir is at 102% as of 1-30-2025 but our current snowpack is sitting right at average. It is still really early to tell what the rest of the winter will hold. Get out and fish!
Friday, January 20th, 2025
Winter time in Eleven Mile may be my favorite time. This historically was because it was the best time to hit it with less crowds. People have started to figure that out though. The flows have been prime and the fishing should be on fire. The last time I was in the Canyon was at the end of November but it was excellent! Low and slow for the most part. Keep an eye out for the midge hatches in slower water.
Sunday, October 13th, 2024
Active fish, as usual, were in the canyon today. The fish are still somewhat spread out due to unseasonably warm temperatures—plenty of bug activity from the typical fall bugs like Blue Wings and Midges. I even spotted some Tricos throughout the day on different water types. Although a few fish did key in on some smaller bugs, I was unsuccessful in making it happen and spoked the few fish I had a dry fly opportunity at. I wrangled a few small fish on orange Perdigons and Wire Juju Midges. Overall a good day of fishing on the South Platte in Eleven Mile Canyon!
Friday, November 1st, 2024
Fall is finally setting in slowly in the Rocky Mountains. The canyon is cooling off, but the bugs are still active. The flows have been relatively consistent, holding close to or slightly above 100cfs. The water is low and clear, and the bug activity is moving into the smaller size ranges. Blue wings are active along with Midges. This should continue throughout the winter, even on the colder days when conditions are right otherwise. I prefer to run two rods this time of year. Keep a light dry fly handy while working water with either a light indicator right or a technical Euro system. This way, you can be ready when the hatches turn on. Get out and get after this excellent fall fishing!
Most Recent visit
Sunday, August 25th, 2024
This past weekend (August 24th), I was able to bum around the South Park area for a day and a half. This section of the South Platte, by far, fished the best. I arrived later in the day after fishing the middle fork in different places. The fish here were moving and eager. A few sporadic hatches were going on at the same time. Fishing a Foam Wing Emerger in a size 20 got the most aggressive takes. The rest of my fish came on the Orange Bodied Perdigon.
Tuesday, August 27th, 2024
The dog days of summer are closing out, and autumn is moving in. Elevenmile is fishing as great as ever. The flows have been consistent, and the trout have their feedbags on. Match the hatch as the day progresses. You may find midges, assorted mayflies, and the bountiful caddis. Dry droppers are a great way to fish this section right now. Be ready to pick sea weed/moss off your nymphs. There is plenty of that around as well.
Monday, January 9th, 2024
Launching this page, it has been awhile since last being in Eleven Mile Canyon. Writing this it is mid spring and as you can see from the date above, it was dead winter when last there. We had been filming a rod release video for AvidMax on this day. It was a brisk morning. The water was steaming and the fish were active. We caught fish in multiple locations on nymphs. A Mop and Midges. A staple rig for me. Although there were rising fish in selective pods, I failed to seal the deal on the few hits I received on a tiny Reaper Midge. After wrapping up with the project, I took some personal fishing time. I climbed into a spot I had never fished before, set up my GoPro and captured a strange encounter with a long snaky Cutbow. The fish came creeping down river into a slick I was fishing at the end of a tailout. It seemed to track my Mop Fly as if it was a bait fish. It moved so I set and it turned and positioned behind a bundle of subsurface weeds. I made a couple more cast, watched the fish moved and set without success. After loosing site of the fish I turned to the camera. Then things got exciting. I’ll let you watch the video for the rest. Sometimes you can do everything wrong and still find excitement.
Monday, July 22nd, 2024
It’s summertime in the canyon. Flows are steadily decreasing (outside of what looks to be a pulse release on the chart), and summer bugs are around. Dry fly activity can be great this time of year with an abundance of bug life. The crowds will be thick as well. This is a heavy summertime destination for campers, hikers, climbers, and anglers, so be prepared to share the water and road with others.
Wednesday, June 19th, 2024
Like the rest of the state runoff has arrived in Eleven Mile Canyon. It is welcome here as it has been a long time since we have seen this much water on this section. Stick to the edges and soft pockets while fishing this section. It is still going to be one of the better options around for the next week or two at least.
Sunday, June 23rd, 2024
Flows look to have peaked on this section of the South Platte. Although it is a tailwater section, it looks like it is matching much of the natural drainage tendencies currently. According to Denver Water, Eleven Mile Reservoir is currently at 105%. With flows coming from below and over the spillway currently. As water warms focus on the summer time bugs. Expect to see consistent hatches of both Caddis and PMD. Dry dropper would be my main play on this section this time of year.