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Where to Go Arkansas River – Pueblo

Current Reports

 

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FALL HOURS 9am to 6pm Daily

 

Photo by Covey Guide Ted Demetriou

 

Report Date: 5/16/2026

 

Current Conditions:
  The flows started to increase yesterday and are currently at 375 cfs. This bump in flows will be a great benefit to the tailwater after some pretty low flows. We will likely see the tailwater flows closely match the inflows to Pueblo reservoir. (which are also up) These flows will spread the fish out more and open up a lot more of the river. Flow bumps like this usually cut down the angling traffic as well. Its an ideal time to hit the tailwater. Even with these flows, fish will focus on smaller hatch specific insects. Its not a bad idea to also add some larger food sources into the mix. Scuds, cranefly larva, worms, and stoneflies will all be in play.  Nymphing will always be the most consistent method, but we are seeing several great windows throughout the day for good dry fly fishing.
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. Again, adding some larger food sources is a good idea!
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 midge hatches later in the day here. Water temps are still cold, but they 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-  We will see some very warm "springtime" temps up here in the next few days. High temps will be in the 90's, and we will see some decent cloud cover at times. Precipitation chances will be low, but we will start to cool down after the weekend.  It looks like we are entering another good stretch of cooler and wetter weather starting next week. Temps will cool quite a bit on Monday and Tuesday and we could see some rain. This unstable pattern looks to last through next week, but temps will warm back up again. We are excited at the prospect of some sustained moisture returning to the area!

Long Term-  Precipitation chances look to continue through the Memorial day weekend as well. Temps will be nice in the 80's, but we could see afternoon thunderstorms pretty consistently each day. While the overall chances are pretty low, they are still there.  In all, this is about the best case scenario for us here. We need the rain and hopefully we do get some here.  Longer range forecasts also show increased precipitation chances through May and into June. As always, we will have to wait and see how that all shakes out.

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
  • Philly cheese crane, size 8
  • 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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