Tailwater · Mixed · Colorado

South Platte — Eleven Mile Canyon

Eleven Mile Canyon is the reach below the reservoir, a granite-walled tailwater you can drive right alongside, which makes it popular and pretty in equal measure.

Species

A proper day on the water

Low and clear — careful approach country. Stay small, stay accurate.

75% confidence in this read
Water temperature for brown trout
Cool — slow
9°C est.ideal 10–16°C
0°14°28°
Why this score · for brown trout
  • Temperature8228% weight
  • Flow8022% weight
  • Clarity9518% weight
  • Feeding Time5013% weight
  • Pressure807% weight
  • Insect activity5812% weight
Conditions
Level
Dry recently
No gauge reading
Water temp
9.0°C
Estimated
Clarity
Clear
Air temp
17°C
Wind
NE 20 km/h
Gentle breeze
Pressure
1015 hPa
Rain · 24h
0.0 mm
No rain
Rain · ahead
0.7 mm
No meaningful rain · next 48h

Live readings — water temperature is an estimate where the gauge does not record it.

How to fish it · for brown trout
When
Nymphing can work through most of the day.
Where
Cover mixed depths.
Method
Start with tight-line nymphs and adjust if fish rise or drift higher.
Kit
9 ft #4 rod, floating line, 12 ft tapered leader to 4–5 lb fluoro tippet.
Why this works
Good — water clarity is right today, though time of day could be better.
Through the year
0–3 scale · June highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Trout seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
Black MidgeHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Freshwater ShrimpHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Western Blue-Winged OliveHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Pale Morning DunHatch
2
3
3
2

Numbers are intensity 0 (none) to 3 (peak) — a guide, not a guarantee.

Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • Colorado licence
  • Gold Medal / special-regulation sections — verify CPW rules
  • Canyon road access (fee area).
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
About this water

Eleven Mile Canyon is the reach below the reservoir, a granite-walled tailwater you can drive right alongside, which makes it popular and pretty in equal measure. Browns and rainbows hold in the pocket water and the slow glides, and it fishes well in the cold months when the high country is locked up. It's more forgiving and more scenic than the Dream Stream above it, and it shares the same essential logic: watch what comes out of the dam, fish small, and expect company near the easy pullouts.

  • Mixed
Seasons & zones
  • Trout1 January → 31 December
Other water nearby · 5