Arkansas River - CO

Fishing Outlook & Conditions

ArkAnglers's Tip of the Week

Bighorn Sheep Canyon is in great shape and is fishing well for early March, offering a wider productive window on the water than the river further north. The week begins again with highs in the 50s and 60s this week and when combined with mild nighttime temperatures are offering excellent fishing opportunities for this time of year. Water temperatures are remarkably warm, with daytime highs measuring around 50 degrees below Salida. The fish are responding accordingly, moving into much shallower water close to their winter lies to feed. Feeding behavior is more aggressive, too, with fish moving quite a bit further to intercept a drifting morsel. Midges (#18-22) are the primary forage with sporadic hatches prompting localized surface feeding from trout. We're also seeing fish feed consistently on golden stonefly nymphs as the naturals undergo their seasonal molt underwater. These can be imitated by nymphs in the #10-12 range. Blue wing olive nymphs are also making their presence known, and a little ahead of schedule, and are probably the favored food item after noon. It's reasonable to expect hatches to begin earlier than normal due to milder weather, and we've seen a FEW duns out already amidst the clouds of midges. These are best imitated by offerings in #18-20, particularly in the afternoons when their activity is at its daily peak. Expect cloudy, humid days to produce very strong baetis hatches through the rest of March and well into April. 4x-5x tippet is appropriate, and fluorocarbon is recommended to all subsurface offerings due to the low, clear water.

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