South Platte Archives - WADEOUTTHERE

Give the Fish (and Your Kids) a Break

When the fish stop biting, they may just need a break. I had a tremendous day fishing when I started moving more, giving the trout in one spot a rest, and then coming back later. That day the river taught me that children, like trout, can surprise you if you are willing to let them rest.

On November 3, 2025 • By Jason Shemchuk

Tactics and Techniques

Leveraging Angles in Fly Presentation.

Nymphing had been good that morning. Enough takes and a few landed fish combined with being back on the South Platte River in surprisingly relative solitude made the sun seem a little warmer on my skin. When the blue winged olives began lifting in clusters across the river, I was reminded of how picky the trout can be on the South Platte and began slipping slowly into soft head shaking head and a smile that was part frustration and part commitment to figure these fish out.

On February 19, 2021 • By Jason Shemchuk

Lessons Learned (Stories)

Sight Fishing – Part 1. Pick Your Battles.

We saw their tails first, walking up the river with hands on boulders, and watching the water with each careful step a little further ahead. They swayed in the current. The river bottom was gold pebbles. At first squinting helped pick out the black spots on their backs. A touch of blue swirling in the seam just behind the eyes and then long red that waved like flags planted in the stones. I cast to them while my friend watched. Beautiful rainbows in a beautiful canyon. He moved back to the sand along the bank and watched while I made my casts. Standing there, he waited, then moved upstream around the bend.

On December 21, 2020 • By Jason Shemchuk

Lessons Learned (Stories)

What to Do When It’s Raining Trout.

It was not the first time I had found myself in this situation on the river, and it would not be the last.

On April 4, 2020 • By Jason Shemchuk