Fly fishing the Arkansas River This includes an Arkansas River fishing report.
Type of Stream
Freestone/Tailwater
Fly and Gear ordering and delivery: We can get flies to you within two to three business days from the time you place your order via Priority Mail. If you provide a budget for flies, we will select them to match the budget and get them to you on time for your trip. Please see the bottom of this column for ordering options.
We also have custom Perfect Fly selections in 3 different price ranges for this stream that come with or without fly boxes. They make excellent gifts. Click Here To Order or Call us at 800 594 4726 or email us at sales@perfectflystore.com.
Species
Brown Trout
Rainbow Trout
Cutthroat Trout (Snake River)
(Wild Trout)
Size
Medium
Location
Central Colorado
Nearest Towns
Salida
Buena Vista
La Junita
Lamar
Season
Year-round
Access:
Fair to Good
Non-Resident License
State of Colorado
Seasons:
Although trout can be caught year-round, fly fishing the Arkansas River during wintertime provides tough fishing conditions for most of
the river.
Winter:
Fishing below Pueblo Reservoir can be very good.
Spring:
The river blows out in May from the spring runoff. April is the heaviest fished month of the year.
Summer:
Summertime fishing can be very good but the stream flows remain fairly high and wading can be tough.
Fall:
Autumn returns some very good fishing mostly because its spawning time for its many brown trout.
Recommended Tackle & Gear
Fly Line:
5 or 6 weight
Leaders:
Dry fly: 9 & 12 ft., 5 or 6X, Nymphing:
71/2 ft., 3 or 4X, Streamers 0-2X
Tippets:
Dry fly: 5 or 6X, Nymphing: 3 or 4X,
Streamer 0-2X
Best Fly Rods:
Perfect Fly Superb Five or Ultimate Six
Fly Reels:
For 5/6 fly line
Fly Floatants and Misc Items:
Floatants, KISS Strike Indicators
Tools & Accessories:
Nippers, forceps, retractors, etc.
Fly and Gear ordering and delivery:
Email us at (sales@perfectflystore.com) with the dates you will be fishing and we will send you a list of our fly recommendations. We can get flies and gear to you within two to three business days from the time you place your order via Priority Mail. If you provide a budget for flies, we will select them to match the budget and get them to you on time for your trip. Your can also call us at 800-594-4726 and we will help you decide what flies and gear to use. All orders are shipped free in the U.S. If under a $100 order requiring Priority mail is a charge of only $8.10. Orders over a $100 are shipped free via Priority Mail.
Copyright 2013 James Marsh
Arkansas River, Colorado Fly Fishing Report – April 24, 2024 The stream is still flowing near a normal level in the tailwater and in the freestone section. Good Midge, Little Black Caddis, March Browns and Skwala stonefly hatches continue to take place. We update the Arkansas River fishing report weekly, so check back with us often.
Stream Conditions: Rate: 514 cfs
Level: 2.80 ft
Afternoon Water Temperature: 52
Clarity: stained
USGS Real-Time Stream Flow Data at Parkdale CO
Rate: 823 cfs
Level: 9.64 ft
Afternoon Water Temperature: 50 degrees
Clarity: stained
USGS Real-Time Stream Flow Data at Pueblo CO
7 Day Weather Forecast: (click the link below for more detailed information)
Recommended Trout Flies: Included in the Arkansas River fishing report.
Brown Sculpin and White Belly Sculpin and Articulated streamers, size 6/4
Black Matuka and Olive Matuka Sculpin, size 4/6
Blue-winged Olives: size 16, 18 nymph, emergers, duns and spinners
Aquatic Worms, size 12, pink, red, and others
Midges: Light Green and Red (Blood) midges sizes 20/22, larva, pupa and adult. Our larva and pupa midge flies, pre-rigged in tandem, are very popular here. You can fish them under a strike indicator keeping the larva fly near the bottom. https://perfectflystore.com/product/pre-rigged-tandem-midge-larva-pupa-tippet
Skwala stoneflies, size 10, nymphs and adults
Little Black Caddis, size 18, pupa and adults
March Browns: 12/14, nymphs, emergers, duns and spinners
Fly Fishing On The Arkansas River In Colorado: The Arkansas River is the state of Colorado’s longest river. It flows over three-hundred miles from its headwaters near Leadville to the Kansas state line. The trout waters take up about one-hundred and twenty miles of the stream, from its headwaters downstream to Cannon City. There is also about eight miles of tailwater fishing below Pueblo Reservoir. Fly fishing the Arkansas River provides as much fun and excitement as any of the state’s top trout streams. The Arkansas River fishing report includes the entire length of the river in Colorado.
The river begins from several small headwater streams in the highest mountain range in Colorado, the Sawatch Mountains. It also receives water from Turquoise Lake, Twin Lakes Reservoir and Clear Lake Reservoirs. This makes it sound like its a tailwater, but it is far more freestone stream in character and most of its water comes from freestone tributaries. The river is best described as one-hundred twenty miles of pocket water. The headwaters of the Arkansas River flow through some of the state’s most beautiful mountains. This area can be fishing from State Route #24 that follows the headwaters closely. The headwater stream is small, average only ten to twenty feet in width in width. Runoff on the Arkansas River usually occurs between the middle of May to the first of July. The water can be dirty and very high during runoff and almost impossible to fish. Most of the fishing on the Arkansas River takes place downstream below Buena Vista. It’s still considered a small stream but it grows the further downstream you travel. The river consist mostly of fast, pocket water. There’s plenty of pools, riffles and runs throughout its length. Most of the trout are brown trout. There’s a few rainbows. The browns probably average about 12 inches but much larger ones are present.State Route 285 follows along the river south of Buena Vista but route #291follows along the river downstream to the city of Salida. East of Salida, the Arkansas is followed by Route #50. There’s road access from the headwaters all the way to the Kansas State line. There’s only a few places the river departs from a nearby road. Access points and pull offs along the roads are numerous.There is a tailwater section on the Arkansas River located at Pueblo Reservoir. It has a very good population of both rainbows and brown trout. This section can be fished during the cold months of the year. April brings on the hatch that the Arkansas River is noted for – the Mother’s Day caddisfly. Anglers travel from great distances to fish this prolific hatch. When the hatch begins, it usually moves up river about eight miles a day and provides about three weeks of great dry fly action.There’s over a hundred miles of fly fishing opportunities on the Arkansas River in Colorado. Easy access and plenty of trout, beautiful scenery are the river’s main features. Fly fishing the Arkansas River provides anglers an opportunity to see much of the state as well as catch plenty of trout.
Fly Fishing Guide to the Arkansas River: Although rainbow and a few cutthroat trout exist in the Arkansas River, most of the trout are browns. As mentioned in the opening, the main event of the year for the Arkansas River is the huge Mother’s Day caddisfly hatch. That brings anglers in the month of April to the river from all across the country to start their fly fishing year off. The standard joke about how to find where the hatch is occurring is to drive up the highway that borders the stream for miles and miles and when you cannot see out your windshield, you have found the hatch. The caddisflies really do get that thick at times. The water that comes from Clear Creek Reservoir, Twin Lakes Reservoir and Turquoise Lake each provides good fishing. The upper river below Leadville produces some nice trout. In late May the river blows out from the spring runoff from melting snow. It remains high and pretty much unfishable until about mid July. The river remain high and unwadable in areas until August. The flows stay high a long time but that doesn’t mean you cannot catch trout. One of the best hatches, the Golden Stoneflies, starts in June during the runoff and for the most part certainly hurts the fishing; however, it is still possible to catch trout in certain places along the banks of the high water. By the middle of August terrestrials become important and continue to work until the first of October. Just keep in mind the flows stay relatively high, in the 500 to 750 cfm range until the middle of September. The river is small enough that you can fish from the banks just about anywhere there is access. In some areas it is possible to wade with these flows but you should use a lot of caution.There are several areas the river can be floated and is a good way to fish certain sections of the stream. One of these areas is from Salida to Howard. Don’t forget the tailwater below Pueblo Reservoir. The best time to fish there is from about the first of November until the middle of March. It provides excellent fishing all winter long. There is a lot of public access thought the eight or nine miles of fishing area below the dam. It is even possible to catch trout on the dry fly there during one of its many Blue-winged Olive hatches.
Arkansas River Hatches and Trout Flies: Our information on aquatic insects is based on our stream samples of larvae and nymphs, not guess work. We base fly suggestions on imitating the most plentiful and most available insects and other foods at the particular time you are fishing. Unlike the generic fly shop trout flies, we have specific imitations of all the insects in the Arkansas River and in all stages of life that are applicable to fishing. If you want to fish better, more realistic trout flies, have a much higher degree of success, give us a call. We not only will help you with selections, you will learn why, after trying Perfect Flies, 92% of the thousands of our customers will use nothing else. 1-800-594-4726. The Blue-winged Olives actually start hatching in late March long before the April Mother’s Day caddisfly hatch. The hatch last until about the middle of June. Some very good dry fly action is possible, especially on nice warm cloudy days. The action can be good even when it is snowing lightly. There is a second hatch that takes place from about the middle of July through most of August. The Mother’s Day caddisfly hatch of the Brachcentrus species is the big event of the year. It normally starts about the middle of April and can last up to a month long depending on where you fish the river. The hatch moves upstream about eight miles a day when it starts. These caddisflies act a lot like mayflies because they emerge on the surface mid-stream and provide good dry fly action during the hatch as well as during the egg laying process which begins late in the afternoons. You can catch trout almost all day long during the hatch using pupa imitations when it first begins, then changing to dry fly imitations of the adults for the remainder of the hatch and the egg laying event that last until dark. July and August brings hatches of Pale Morning Duns in many areas of the river. The water is still relatively high but you can always find areas of the stream where you can fish the hatch. July through September is the best time to fish imitations of terrestrial insects. Ants, grass hoppers and beetles are the main insects to imitate. Don’t forget the midges. They hatch year-round but become especially important on cold days when nothing else is hatching. You can catch plenty of nice brown trout on the tiny flies if you will give them an opportunity to work for you. One of the most popular types of flies on the Arkansas River are streamers. Imitations of sculpin, minnows, leeches and baitfish work great at times, especially when the water is high and slightly off color. You can catch trout during the mornings of the Mother’s Day hatch using streamers. As always, we recommend our own “Perfect Flies”. We have simi-realistic imitations of all stages of life of the Brachcentrus caddisflies. They perform very well during the big hatch. Our Golden Stonefly imitations are the best and most effective flies you can buy for the hatch. You can obtain specific imitations for everything the trout eat in the Arkansas River. We hope you give them a try. The Golden Stoneflies hatch from about the middle of May until the middle of July. You may catch a good part of the hatch before the stream blows out but much of it is usually ruined from a fishing standpoint. Even when the water is still very high there are always some places you can catch trout on imitations of the stonefly from the banks of the stream. We leave you with this advise. Check back on the Arkansas River fishing report frequently, because things change often. Thank you for viewing our Arkansas River fishing report.