Arkansas River - CO

Fishing Outlook & Conditions

ArkAnglers's Tip of the Week

Beginning this morning, Twin Lakes is releasing an additional 30 CFS down Lake Creek into the Arkansas River. We'll see this change impact the Salida area by the weekend, likely moving the Wellsville gauge reading up to ~250 CFS. For the foreseeable future, this extra water will provide a little more cushion for boating, which will be a welcome change for float anglers and guides. It's not a lot of water, but a little can make a big difference in a drought year. The river will remain in the optimal flow range for resident brown trout. It remains incredibly wadeable. Summer has arrived early and great fishing can be had NOW, especially in the early hours of the day. We encourage river anglers to consider an EARLY start to the day and take a break during the heat of the day, from roughly 2 to 5PM on the warmer afternoons. Consider an earlier break on the hottest days. It's also a good strategy to seek opportunities at higher elevations where temperatures are less of a concern. Resident river fish will naturally shift out of forage mode in early to mid afternoon and fishing can be challenging at best while the fish rest. The last hour or so of daylight can see the action kick into gear again as temperatures drop and trout key on egg-laying caddis and mayfly spinners. The Arkansas River is unique due to the higher than average dissolved oxygen content throughout the system, and as such offers respite to trout even when water temperatures warm where other rivers can struggle. Wade fishing is exceptional throughout all river basins and floating is incredibly technical/limited in the lower basin. Boaters should be experienced and intimately familiar with public and private land boundaries before putting on. We are now seeing yellow sally stoneflies, golden stoneflies, red quills, pale morning duns, and various summer caddis hatches below town. The lower reaches of Bighorn Sheep Canyon have also seen sporadic trico hatches. Combined with an early emergence of seasonal grasshoppers, these are all producing outstanding dry dropper fishing and are creating great dry and double dry opportunities at times. Sallies average a 14-16, golden stones a 10-12, red quills a 12-14, pale morning duns a 16-18, and tricos a 22-24. Wet and dry imitations alike need to be in the arsenal to take advantage of the growing mass of food below Salida.

Directions open in app

Water Flow Data

Orvis-Endorsed guides nearby