Where to Go Arkansas River – Pueblo

 Conditions have remained good on the Ark tailwater. The flows are on the low side at 62 cfs. and are pretty typical for this time of year. We are very unlikely to see these flows vary too much throughout the rest of the winter. Water temps are still not super cold and that can foster some great winter bug activity. The river has been super busy this year and it doesnt seem to matter if its a weekend or a weekday. This location gets a lot more busy in the fall and winter. That being said, there is still plenty of fishable water down here. The fishing can be on the technical side, but persistence is the key. The fish are occupying all parts of the river and moving into riffles or shallower water to feed during the peak of the hatches. Nymphing has been the strongest, but we have also had some great dry fly fishing here. There are a lot of "pickles" or smaller fish in the river right now. You have to get through them to find some of the larger fish. Its important to take great care of these little guys though, as they are the future big fish in this fishery. There are still quite a few redds in the river and still some fish occupying them. While the brown trout spawn is pretty much done please be cautious of them and their redds (spawning beds). If you see redds there is a good chance they are holding eggs. Its important not to disturb those areas, they are also the future of this fishery!

Hatches:

There are Midges, BWO's and still some Tricos in the system. Especially with lower flows, keep your patterns small and sparse! Pay attention to the hatches and switch accordingly. Cloudy days are supporting some absolutely great mayfly hatches.

Tactics:

Cover ground. Even though its busy you can still find some parts of the river that are relatively empty. Keep your terminal tackle on the small side with 5x and 6x tippet, and either small or no indicators.

 With the increase in angling traffic, its a great time to explore some of the lesser visited areas on the tailwater. Fishing in town has been great, just be cautious on where you park. and do not leave ANYTHING in your car.

Weather:

Short Term-  While we will still have pretty mild weather for the next few days, we do have some changes on the horizon. Today through Thursday will be warmer than average and temps will be in the 60's. Then on Thursday night a front will move through the state. This first storm wont do much here but should benefit the high country. We could see some rain throughout the day on Friday. The weekend will be gorgeous with temps in the 60's. Morning lows during this time will be very mild and in the 30's.

Long Term-  After this weekend, the jury is still out on the weather for next week. In the big picture, there will be some more consistent precipitation in the high country and that should remain the case in the next couple of weeks. Locally here we likely wont see much of a change. In fact, there are not really any precipitation chances at all next week. Temps will be above seasonal averages in the 60's. Morning lows will get colder as the week progresses as well. Beyond that, longer range forecasts are still suggesting an overall pattern change. The big factor will be where the jet stream ends up. If its over or near Colorado, then we should start getting some more snow.