WadeNot recommended
Not recommended today. Recheck the river, weather, and access before planning another trip.
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Fly fishing report · West
South Platte Below Chatfield Fishing Report
This report covers the South Platte River below Chatfield Reservoir through the South Platte Park corridor. Check the PLACHACO flow, exact access, weather, and current rules before choosing a bank or wade plan. It is not a Chatfield Reservoir fishing report.
See the below-Chatfield flow chart ↓Generated artwork: BlueStreamFly · Regional illustration; not the exact location.
Good day to fish?Latest river check
Poor
Not today. Choose another reach or day.
34
No access method is recommended today. Skip this reach for now. Review the live flow and current notices before choosing another reach or day.
Update time and confidence
Live data checkHighHow much of the live flow, weather, and alert data came back.
Today's callMediumWater temperature not verified; do not use this score to clear warm-water risk.
Score calculated Sep 1, 2026, 11:42 PM MDTUsually checks again about every 45 minutes
Not recommended todayChoose another river or day
No access method is recommended in today's conditions. Review the live river and weather checks before making another plan.
Bank / edge34/100
Not recommended today. Recheck the river, weather, and access before planning another trip.
FloatNot recommended
This report does not recommend floating this reach.
Your plan
A simple below-Chatfield plan.
PLACHACO measures the river immediately below Chatfield Reservoir. Start on the bank. Wading is conditional, and this report does not recommend floating.
- Check
- Read the PLACHACO update time and trend, park notices, current CPW rules, and weather.
- Fish
- Start from a confirmed park bank. Wade only when current, depth, footing, temperature, and an easy exit all work.
- Leave
- Stop for an extreme-low call, rising water, unsafe heat or storms, bad footing, or an official restriction.
Live river check
What the river is doing
Check the latest flow and weather before you go. A quick change can make the river harder or less safe to fish.
Showing server-checked river conditions while current readings refresh.
- Flow
- 0.61 cfs
- From the latest stored river check. Open the official source for the newest reading.
- Air now
- 68°F
Current NWS forecast period
- Next 24h high
- 87.0°F
NWS air forecast near
- Rain chance
- 3%
For this forecast period
This is an air forecast, not a river-temperature reading. Check the water with a stream thermometer before fishing in hot weather.
Latest stored weather check
Partly Cloudy
Partly Cloudy
- Wind
- 5 mph
- Weather checked
RiverReports preview · current series loading
Colorado DWR PLACHACO · South Platte below Chatfield Reservoir · discharge in cfs
Latest stored Colorado DWR gauge
Showing the available RiverReports chart while the current structured flow series loads. Check the chart on RiverReports Opens in a new tab.
More forecast and source details
National Weather Service
South Platte immediately below Chatfield forecast point
The National Weather Service forecast is temporarily unavailable.
Live data
Where these readings come from
Latest stored Colorado DWR gauge: South Platte River below Chatfield Reservoir — PLACHACO
How to fish it
PLACHACO measures the report reach.
Make this a short below-reservoir plan. A reading above the extreme-low cutoff is not an automatic green light. Access, temperature, clarity, footing, weather, and the release trend still decide whether to bank fish or wade.
Extreme low · 5 cfs or less
Treat the automated call as poor. Do not float, do not force a wade, and inspect whether a lawful bank session is even practical.
Above the extreme-low cutoff
This removes one stop condition. It does not prove good fishing, safe wading, suitable temperature, clear water, or open access.
Rising or pushy release
Stay on a protected bank and leave if depth, current, footing, or a safe exit becomes uncertain.
Heat, storms, or stained water
Check the exact river with a thermometer and inspect it from shore. Stop for unsafe weather or trout-stressing water.
Fishing words used on this page
- Cubic feet per second (cfs)
- Cubic feet per second, or cfs, shows how much water passes the gauge each second.
- Blue-winged olive (BWO)
- Blue-winged olives, or BWOs, are small mayflies that often hatch in cool or cloudy weather.
- Caddis
- Caddis are small water insects. The adults look a little like tiny moths.
- Emerger
- An emerger copies an insect as it rises from below the water toward the surface.
- Midge
- Midges are tiny flies and a common trout food, especially in cold water.
- Pale morning dun (PMD)
- Pale morning duns, or PMDs, are light-colored mayflies that often hatch in warmer months.
- Soft hackle
- A soft-hackle fly has moving fibers that can look like an insect rising through the water.
- Stained water
- Stained water is darker or cloudier after rain, runoff, or a change in flow.
- Streamer
- A streamer is a fly that looks like a small fish, leech, or other swimming food.
- Terrestrial
- Terrestrials are land insects, such as ants, beetles, and grasshoppers.
Why this call
Why this score
FlowHurts
Colorado DWR shows 1 cfs. The flow has been stable over about 6 hours. PLACHACO at 5 cfs or less is an extreme-low stop for the immediate below-reservoir fishing call. Do not float or force a wade; this conservative planning rule is not a CPW closure. Colorado DWR records for this date (1986-2025, 40 readings) show a median near 63 cfs and the lower quartile near 32 cfs; today's flow is below normal for the date. Colorado DWR PLACHACO measures discharge on the South Platte River immediately below Chatfield Reservoir. It does not report current water temperature, clarity, safe footing, open access, or downstream Littleton conditions.
SeasonHelps
Fall · September through November: Cooler weather can improve the window; BWOs, midges, terrestrials, and a small streamer cover the main choices.
WeatherHelps
The current NWS air forecast is about 68F, and the next 24-hour high reaches about 87F. Partly Cloudy.
Public alertsHelps
No active NWS alert was returned for this forecast point.
Fishing usefulnessHelps
Skip at an extreme-low call, for rising or pushy water, unsafe heat or storms, poor footing, unclear access, or an official restriction affecting the plan.
Trip notes
Trip notes
Four checks before you fish.
Use a fresh PLACHACO reading and trend. Above 5 cfs removes the extreme-low stop but does not prove good fishing, safe wading, suitable temperature, clear water, or open access.
Skip at an extreme-low call, for rising or pushy water, unsafe heat or storms, poor footing, unclear access, or an official restriction affecting the plan.
Check PLACHACO, the Chatfield park page, current CPW rules, and weather. Then choose one confirmed bank and inspect the water before rigging.
Check Waterton, Deckers, or the North Fork independently. Another South Platte page is not automatically safer, open, or fishable.
Fish on this river
What you can fish for
Brown trout
Primary fishWhen: Cool, fishable river conditions
Use the small-nymph, dry-fly, and compact-streamer plan only when the river and access checks support it.
Rainbow trout
Also presentWhen: Cool, fishable river conditions
No current stocking, abundance, or feeding claim is attached to this river report.
Carp and bass
Check current rulesWhen: Downstream context only
Verify the exact Littleton reach separately. A downstream species record is not a promise below the dam.
What to try
Seasonal flies for the river below Chatfield.
Use the date range as a starting box, then let the feeding and water you can actually see choose the fly.
SeasonWhat to look forFlies to try
December through March
What to look forMidges and occasional BWOs
Flies to try
April through May
What to look forBWOs, midges, and caddis
June through August
What to look forCaddis, PMDs, and terrestrials
September through NovemberCurrent
What to look forBWOs, midges, late terrestrials, and streamer windows
Each pictured fly opens its matching Fly Box guide. These are seasonal planning choices, not a live hatch report.
Access and safety
Keep Chatfield and Littleton separate.
This score is for the river immediately below the reservoir. South Platte Park is a separate downstream access and condition check. Open the current CPW Fishing Brochure, Fishing Atlas or closure list, and posted park signs for the exact river reach and trip date. This river report is not the Chatfield Reservoir report, and it does not freeze numeric limits that may change.
Choose the rules before the water.
Below Chatfield Reservoir · scored reach
Use PLACHACO for discharge, then confirm a legal, open Chatfield State Park bank and inspect the water there. The gauge is not an access permit or a safe-wading clearance.
CPW Chatfield State Park and current notices in a new tabSouth Platte Park · separate Littleton reach
Check its current parking, river-use guidance, and onsite conditions as a new plan. The below-dam score does not automatically carry downstream.
South Platte Park river guidance in a new tabPLACHACO is a monitoring station, not proof that a particular bank, trail, gate, or crossing is open.
A park listing does not open every bank. Follow closures, posted signs, and private boundaries, and leave if the entry or exit is unclear.
River sources
Where this report comes from.
Colorado DWR, CPW, USACE, South Platte Park, NWS, and RiverReports sources were checked August 27, 2026. The hero is a generated regional illustration; no field visit, current water-temperature reading, clarity check, or same-day access inspection is claimed.
How this report was checked
How this report was checked
Reviewed byBlueStreamFly River Review Team
Trip guidance checked
What was checked: Official flow, dam, park, regulation, downstream-reach, and weather sources were checked. No field visit is claimed.
Live measurements and forecasts keep their provider timestamps. Rules, access, and trip guidance use the source-review date shown here. BlueStreamFly planning advice is editorial interpretation, not an agency notice.
First-hand experience: BlueStreamFly does not claim a first-hand visit or local field test for this report unless a real contributor is explicitly named and linked.
Rules and closures
Check what is allowed, where the rule applies, and whether the river is open.
Flow and weather
Check the latest river reading and forecast before you leave.
Access and land
Check public entry points, land rules, and seasonal access changes.
More helpful links
Use these links for stocking, safety, and other local details.
See all 8 checked sources
Rules and closures
Check what is allowed, where the rule applies, and whether the river is open.
What this source covers
Open the current rules and check the river section, season, and special limits.
Flow and weather
Check the latest river reading and forecast before you leave.
What this source covers
Open this river reading to check the latest level, flow, and update time.
What this source covers
Open this page and check the latest safety advice before your trip.
What this source covers
Open the land or access page, then check signs before you park or enter.
What this source covers
Open this river reading to check the latest level, flow, and update time.
Access and land
Check public entry points, land rules, and seasonal access changes.
What this source covers
Open the land or access page, then check signs before you park or enter.
More helpful links
Use these links for stocking, safety, and other local details.
What this source covers
Open this page for more river information and check when it was last updated.
What this source covers
Open this page for more river information and check when it was last updated.
Quick answers
A few last checks.
Is this a Chatfield Reservoir fishing report?
No. It covers the South Platte River immediately below Chatfield Reservoir. Use a reservoir-specific source for lake fishing, boating, stocking, and lake conditions.
Which flow source powers this report?
Colorado DWR PLACHACO supplies the live discharge for the river below Chatfield Reservoir. RiverReports supplies the companion chart. No substitute station is used.
Does PLACHACO report water temperature or access?
No. It reports discharge. Measure water temperature at the river and use current park pages, CPW rules, closures, and posted signs for access.
Can I float the South Platte below Chatfield?
This report does not recommend a float route. South Platte Park says floating is not recommended at 50 cfs or less in its separate downstream recreation reach. That guidance is not a fishing closure and does not verify a launch, takeout, shuttle, craft, PFD, or obstruction plan.
What Colorado fishing rules apply?
Use CPW's current Fishing Brochure, Fishing Atlas or closure list, plus posted signs, for the exact river reach and trip date. Do not copy reservoir or another South Platte section's rules onto this reach.