Where to Go Arkansas River – Pueblo

The flows on the Pueblo tailwater have been stable right around 143 cfs over the last couple of days. The river was quite off color for a couple of weeks due to lake turnover of Pueblo reservoir. The clarity is increasing by the day now and current visibility is a few feet. The fishing has been pretty consistent and typical for November. Nymphing has been the strongest, but we have also had some great dry fly fishing here. The crowds are starting to show up here and winter is typically the busiest season on the tailwater. The the winter water storage program will begin on 11/15 and we will likely see a drop in flows and then flows right around 100 cfs through the winter.

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.

Tactics:

 With the decreased clarity, its a good idea to augment some larger food sources into the mix right now. Cranefly larva, leaches, scuds,  and crawfish imitations are all a good bet.

Weather:

Short Term-  We will continue to see some very nice and unseasonably warm and dry weather this week. A strong ridge of high pressure is setting up and will bring temps in the upper 70's to the area for the entire week. Morning lows will also be on the warmer side with lows only in the 40's and it should warm up pretty quick each day. Wind does not look to be much of a factor either and anglers can expect winds around 10 mph. most days this week. Looking ahead, this is likely going to be the last "nice weather" stretch of this season, be sure to get out and enjoy it.

Long Term-  All good things come to an end, and this will certainly be the case with the weather. A much anticipated change in our weather pattern will be coming next weekend. A large and colder storm track will set up and move through the western US around Saturday. This first part will just cool the temps a little bit. This will happen on Saturday and Sunday. There initially wont be that much of a change, besides slightly cooler temps. Then on or around the 18th all signs are pointing at some snowfall potential entering the picture. Its still too far out to know the exact impact, but precipitation chances will significantly increase and we will have colder temps. With the statewide average snowpack at 19%, we need to start building some snow in our basins. Lets hope this is finally the beginning of snow season here in Colorado!

The entire tailwater fishes great, even through the city of Pueblo. If you do fish in town, be careful where you park.