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Where to Go Arkansas River – Pueblo

Current Reports

 

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SUMMER HOURS 6am to 6pm Daily

 

Photo by Covey Guide Ted Demetriou

 

Report Date: 5/27/2026

 

Current Conditions:
  Its that time of the year to play "What the heck are they doing with the flows" After a couple of weeks of really strong flows, they have now dropped to about 57 cfs. The water board stated that outflows (flows on the tailwater) would pretty closely mimic the inflows to Pueblo reservoir. Well, they seem to have veered off of that. We dont expect these flows to stay low for long, but I guess you never know. Thats more of a guess. Even with the low flows, the river has been fishing decent.  Class is back in session down here and the focus should shift back to smaller hatch specific bugs. Nymphing will always be the most consistent method, but we are seeing several great windows throughout the day for good dry fly fishing. The afternoon BWO hatches have been quite fun. We are also seeing some good caddis activity, primarily in the evenings. 
Hatches:
 Midges and BWO's are the main attractions right now. We are seeing these two hatch on and off all throughout the day. Pay attention to the hatches and switch accordingly. Cloudy days are supporting some absolutely great mayfly hatches. Caddis are also becoming quite active and will add another cool element to the days hatches. Regardless of the time of year, these fish really prefer the hatch specific insects.
Tactics:
 These fish want absolutely perfect drifts, so keep the focus on your presentation!
Tips:
  The prime fishing window is rather large right now. There are opportunities from earlier in the mornings clear through the evening. In fact we have seen some great BWO hatches later in the day here. Water temps are warming nicely and the river has really come to life. Fishing in town has been great, just be cautious on where you park. and do not leave ANYTHING in your car.

Weather:

Short Term-  Cool and wet is the forecast for the next few days. This area will get some great rain this morning and its currently raining there as I type this. Its always nice to get some rain down here!  We will see conditions more akin to March than late May. This little stretch of cooler and wetter weather has sure been nice. We will  precipitation chances this whole week, although they will be pretty low. Temps will be in the 80's and be warm. Things will briefly dry out on Saturday and Sunday and we should have a good amount of sun.

Long Term-  At the conclusion of the weekend, we will return to more of a daily rain pattern. Each day is a carbon copy of the next and you can expect afternoon thunderstorms each day next week. Temps will be nice in the 70's and 80's. In all, it will be beautiful as we head into June. Longer range forecasts are keeping this overall pattern in place, but as always we will have to wait and see. If the jet stream shifts even a little bit, we could be in for some hot and dry conditions.

This is an area we offer guided walk/wade and float trips, please give us a call if you are interested!
RECOMMENDED PATTERNS
For a custom fly assortment for this location, click here!
Our top 6 nymphs for today-
  • Blowtorch, sizes 18-20
  • Mercury RS2- grey or black, size 22
  • Barrs emerger, BWO, sizes 18-20
  • Caddis Candy, sizes 16-18
  • Daysaver BWO, size 20
  • Mayers mini leach, olive, sizes 14-16
Our top Dry flies for today-
  • Neil's BWO, olive, sizes 20-22
  • Parachute Adams, sizes 18-22
  • Smokejumper, olive, size 22
  • Micro CDC cripple, olive, size 22
  • Parachute BWO, size 20
Our top Streamer patterns for today-
  • Micro Dungeon, Natural. Size 10
  • Baby Gonga, yellow. Size 8
  • Conehead barely legal, olive/white, size 4

 

Standard nymph rig set up. 

BE SURE TO CHECK OUT OUR “WHERE TO GO” PAGE FOR DETAILED INFORMATION ON OTHER AREAS! 

Shop Hand-Picked Pueblo tailwater Flies

The tailwater on the Arkansas River has blossomed into one of the best fisheries in the state, and it's a short distance from town. Fish populations are very healthy here and even hold some truly goliath trout. The technical angler will be perfectly at home here. If you go further into town, you will also find many other different species of fish, including largemouth and smallmouth bass, walleye, and even carp.

This area is oftentimes best fished in the shoulder seasons or winter due to high flows in the summer. But don't let bigger flows stop you! We are the only outfitter on the front range that offers both guided walk/wade and float trips here.

This is an area we specialize and are permitted to guide in, so give us a shout if you have any question or if you are interested in allowing one of our Orvis Endorsed Guides show you how best to conquer the Arkansas River – Pueblo.

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Directions - 50 miles - 50 Minutes

  1. From Anglers Covey: take I-25 south to Pueblo
  2. Get off on the highway 50 exit and go right
  3. Take highway 50 to Pueblo Blvd. and turn left
  4.  Turn right on Thatcher and take Thatcher to Valco Ponds.
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