Arkansas River
Lower
Recent Guide Reports
Trending Flies in Recent Reports
- Prince Nymph
- Pat's Rubberlegs
- PMD
- Golden Stonefly
- Yellow Sally
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Water Temperature Over 68°F
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Recent Guide Reports
Jul 26
ArkAnglers
Friday, 7/26 2024
Flow at Wellsville: 712 cfs
Water Temp.: 50s-60s
Clarity: Dirty in the very upper reaches of Bighorn Sheep Canyon. Clear at the moment from Wellsville down, but the dirty water is headed down.
Friday Report - Braden Baker
Fishing is now excellent on the Arkansas River. The lower basin is clear this morning but there's a short bubble of dirty water moving down from the middle basin that will pass downstream throughout the day. Flows have dropped significantly over the past three weeks, increasing productive fish habitat along the edges and really ramping up the dry-dropper and streamer fishing. NOW is the time to be here for high octane, productive summer fly fishing. Floats and wade trips are all reporting happy fish and lots of trout willing to take dry flies off the surface. Size up on leader and tippet and work the edges with a shallow dry-dropper combination or with streamers. You're looking for any structure that slows the velocity of the river and gives the fish shelter from the fast flows. Anglers should stock up for hatches of yellow sallies, golden stoneflies, various caddis, pale morning duns, and other terrestrial food. That said, fish are also very opportunistic so rather than matching a particular hatch we can often get away with more generic, buggy patterns that stand out in the faster flows. The prince nymph is a great example, with a dark body and contrasting white wings. Rubberlegs stoneflies are also a good bet as their large, dark silhouettes present an easy, obvious, worthy meal. Heavy bullet and perdigon style flies that loosely imitate pale morning duns and yellow sallies are also deadly right now. We confidently size up on leader material to 4x or larger through the summer because the fish are not particularly leader shy and there's enough flow to make you appreciate the extra strength in your line to help land fish more quickly. The river is very wadeable, but don't try to cross.
Always be prepared to take time carefully releasing fish. Wet your hands thoroughly before handling and try to minimize trout's time out of the water while releasing. Please do your due diligence giving them adequate revival time before moving on.
We sell fishing and hunting licenses at both our locations.
Follow us on instagram at @ArkAnglers!
Salida Location - 7500 W. Highway 50, Salida, CO 81201. (719) 539-3474.
Open Monday-Saturday, 8:00am-6:00pm. Sunday 8:00am-5:00pm.
Buena Vista Location - 517 S. Highway 24, Buena Vista, CO 81211. (719) 395-1796.
Open Monday-Saturday, 8:00am-6:00pm. Sunday 8:00am-5:00pm.
Please call us at 719-539-4223 with questions or to make your reservation.
Flow at Wellsville: 712 cfs
Water Temp.: 50s-60s
Clarity: Dirty in the very upper reaches of Bighorn Sheep Canyon. Clear at the moment from Wellsville down, but the dirty water is headed down.
Friday Report - Braden Baker
Fishing is now excellent on the Arkansas River. The lower basin is clear this morning but there's a short bubble of dirty water moving down from the middle basin that will pass downstream throughout the day. Flows have dropped significantly over the past three weeks, increasing productive fish habitat along the edges and really ramping up the dry-dropper and streamer fishing. NOW is the time to be here for high octane, productive summer fly fishing. Floats and wade trips are all reporting happy fish and lots of trout willing to take dry flies off the surface. Size up on leader and tippet and work the edges with a shallow dry-dropper combination or with streamers. You're looking for any structure that slows the velocity of the river and gives the fish shelter from the fast flows. Anglers should stock up for hatches of yellow sallies, golden stoneflies, various caddis, pale morning duns, and other terrestrial food. That said, fish are also very opportunistic so rather than matching a particular hatch we can often get away with more generic, buggy patterns that stand out in the faster flows. The prince nymph is a great example, with a dark body and contrasting white wings. Rubberlegs stoneflies are also a good bet as their large, dark silhouettes present an easy, obvious, worthy meal. Heavy bullet and perdigon style flies that loosely imitate pale morning duns and yellow sallies are also deadly right now. We confidently size up on leader material to 4x or larger through the summer because the fish are not particularly leader shy and there's enough flow to make you appreciate the extra strength in your line to help land fish more quickly. The river is very wadeable, but don't try to cross.
Always be prepared to take time carefully releasing fish. Wet your hands thoroughly before handling and try to minimize trout's time out of the water while releasing. Please do your due diligence giving them adequate revival time before moving on.
We sell fishing and hunting licenses at both our locations.
Follow us on instagram at @ArkAnglers!
Salida Location - 7500 W. Highway 50, Salida, CO 81201. (719) 539-3474.
Open Monday-Saturday, 8:00am-6:00pm. Sunday 8:00am-5:00pm.
Buena Vista Location - 517 S. Highway 24, Buena Vista, CO 81211. (719) 395-1796.
Open Monday-Saturday, 8:00am-6:00pm. Sunday 8:00am-5:00pm.
Please call us at 719-539-4223 with questions or to make your reservation.
Jul 23
ArkAnglers
Tuesday, 7/23 2024
Flow at Wellsville: 880 cfs
Water Temp.: 50s-60s
Clarity: Clear
Tuesday Report - Braden Baker
Fishing is now excellent on the Arkansas River. Flows have dropped significantly over the past three weeks, increasing productive fish habitat along the edges and really ramping up the dry-dropper and streamer fishing. NOW is the time to be here for high octane, productive summer fly fishing. Floats and wade trips are all reporting happy fish and lots of trout willing to take dry flies off the surface. Size up on leader and tippet and work the edges with a shallow dry-dropper combination or with streamers. You're looking for any structure that slows the velocity of the river and gives the fish shelter from the fast flows. Anglers should stock up for hatches of yellow sallies, golden stoneflies, various caddis, pale morning duns, and other terrestrial food. That said, fish are also very opportunistic so rather than matching a particular hatch we can often get away with more generic, buggy patterns that stand out in the faster flows. The prince nymph is a great example, with a dark body and contrasting white wings. Rubberlegs stoneflies are also a good bet as their large, dark silhouettes present an easy, obvious, worthy meal. Heavy bullet and perdigon style flies that loosely imitate pale morning duns and yellow sallies are also deadly right now. We confidently size up on leader material to 4x or larger through the summer because the fish are not particularly leader shy and there's enough flow to make you appreciate the extra strength in your line to help land fish more quickly. The river is very wadeable, but don't try to cross.
Always be prepared to take time carefully releasing fish. Wet your hands thoroughly before handling and try to minimize trout's time out of the water while releasing. Please do your due diligence giving them adequate revival time before moving on.
We sell fishing and hunting licenses at both our locations.
Follow us on instagram at @ArkAnglers!
Salida Location - 7500 W. Highway 50, Salida, CO 81201. (719) 539-3474.
Open Monday-Saturday, 8:00am-6:00pm. Sunday 8:00am-5:00pm.
Buena Vista Location - 517 S. Highway 24, Buena Vista, CO 81211. (719) 395-1796.
Open Monday-Saturday, 8:00am-6:00pm. Sunday 8:00am-5:00pm.
Please call us at 719-539-4223 with questions or to make your reservation.
Flow at Wellsville: 880 cfs
Water Temp.: 50s-60s
Clarity: Clear
Tuesday Report - Braden Baker
Fishing is now excellent on the Arkansas River. Flows have dropped significantly over the past three weeks, increasing productive fish habitat along the edges and really ramping up the dry-dropper and streamer fishing. NOW is the time to be here for high octane, productive summer fly fishing. Floats and wade trips are all reporting happy fish and lots of trout willing to take dry flies off the surface. Size up on leader and tippet and work the edges with a shallow dry-dropper combination or with streamers. You're looking for any structure that slows the velocity of the river and gives the fish shelter from the fast flows. Anglers should stock up for hatches of yellow sallies, golden stoneflies, various caddis, pale morning duns, and other terrestrial food. That said, fish are also very opportunistic so rather than matching a particular hatch we can often get away with more generic, buggy patterns that stand out in the faster flows. The prince nymph is a great example, with a dark body and contrasting white wings. Rubberlegs stoneflies are also a good bet as their large, dark silhouettes present an easy, obvious, worthy meal. Heavy bullet and perdigon style flies that loosely imitate pale morning duns and yellow sallies are also deadly right now. We confidently size up on leader material to 4x or larger through the summer because the fish are not particularly leader shy and there's enough flow to make you appreciate the extra strength in your line to help land fish more quickly. The river is very wadeable, but don't try to cross.
Always be prepared to take time carefully releasing fish. Wet your hands thoroughly before handling and try to minimize trout's time out of the water while releasing. Please do your due diligence giving them adequate revival time before moving on.
We sell fishing and hunting licenses at both our locations.
Follow us on instagram at @ArkAnglers!
Salida Location - 7500 W. Highway 50, Salida, CO 81201. (719) 539-3474.
Open Monday-Saturday, 8:00am-6:00pm. Sunday 8:00am-5:00pm.
Buena Vista Location - 517 S. Highway 24, Buena Vista, CO 81211. (719) 395-1796.
Open Monday-Saturday, 8:00am-6:00pm. Sunday 8:00am-5:00pm.
Please call us at 719-539-4223 with questions or to make your reservation.
Jul 19
ArkAnglers
Friday, 7/19 2024
Flow at Wellsville: 968 cfs
Water Temp.: 50s-60s
Clarity: Dirty, less than a foot of clarity from Trading Post up to salida.
Friday Report - Braden Baker
Chalk Creek near Nathrop was hit by serious rain yesterday and blew out eystterday afternoon, leaving the river below the confluence in various stages of muck this AM. There's about 1' of clarity up around Big Bend and it's even less as you head dowstream into the heart of the dirty bubble. We're hopeful this will clear through the day and present far more fishable conditions tomorrow, weather permitting. Today, head upstream and get up above the Chalk Creek confluence to find clear water.
When the river clears, this report applies:
Fishing is now excellent on the Arkansas River. Flows have dropped significantly over the past three weeks, increasing productive fish habitat along the edges and really ramping up the dry-dropper and streamer fishing. NOW is the time to be here for high octane, productive summer fly fishing. Floats and wade trips are all reporting happy fish and lots of trout willing to take dry flies off the surface. Size up on leader and tippet and work the edges with a shallow dry-dropper combination or with streamers. You're looking for any structure that slows the velocity of the river and gives the fish shelter from the fast flows. Anglers should stock up for hatches of yellow sallies, golden stoneflies, various caddis, pale morning duns, and other terrestrial food. That said, fish are also very opportunistic so rather than matching a particular hatch we can often get away with more generic, buggy patterns that stand out in the faster flows. The prince nymph is a great example, with a dark body and contrasting white wings. Rubberlegs stoneflies are also a good bet as their large, dark silhouettes present an easy, obvious, worthy meal. Heavy bullet and perdigon style flies that loosely imitate pale morning duns and yellow sallies are also deadly right now. We confidently size up on leader material to 4x or larger through the summer because the fish are not particularly leader shy and there's enough flow to make you appreciate the extra strength in your line to help land fish more quickly. The river is very wadeable, but don't try to cross.
Always be prepared to take time carefully releasing fish. Wet your hands thoroughly before handling and try to minimize trout's time out of the water while releasing. Please do your due diligence giving them adequate revival time before moving on.
We sell fishing and hunting licenses at both our locations.
Follow us on instagram at @ArkAnglers!
Salida Location - 7500 W. Highway 50, Salida, CO 81201. (719) 539-3474.
Open Monday-Saturday, 8:00am-6:00pm. Sunday 8:00am-5:00pm.
Buena Vista Location - 517 S. Highway 24, Buena Vista, CO 81211. (719) 395-1796.
Open Monday-Saturday, 8:00am-6:00pm. Sunday 8:00am-5:00pm.
Please call us at 719-539-4223 with questions or to make your reservation.
Flow at Wellsville: 968 cfs
Water Temp.: 50s-60s
Clarity: Dirty, less than a foot of clarity from Trading Post up to salida.
Friday Report - Braden Baker
Chalk Creek near Nathrop was hit by serious rain yesterday and blew out eystterday afternoon, leaving the river below the confluence in various stages of muck this AM. There's about 1' of clarity up around Big Bend and it's even less as you head dowstream into the heart of the dirty bubble. We're hopeful this will clear through the day and present far more fishable conditions tomorrow, weather permitting. Today, head upstream and get up above the Chalk Creek confluence to find clear water.
When the river clears, this report applies:
Fishing is now excellent on the Arkansas River. Flows have dropped significantly over the past three weeks, increasing productive fish habitat along the edges and really ramping up the dry-dropper and streamer fishing. NOW is the time to be here for high octane, productive summer fly fishing. Floats and wade trips are all reporting happy fish and lots of trout willing to take dry flies off the surface. Size up on leader and tippet and work the edges with a shallow dry-dropper combination or with streamers. You're looking for any structure that slows the velocity of the river and gives the fish shelter from the fast flows. Anglers should stock up for hatches of yellow sallies, golden stoneflies, various caddis, pale morning duns, and other terrestrial food. That said, fish are also very opportunistic so rather than matching a particular hatch we can often get away with more generic, buggy patterns that stand out in the faster flows. The prince nymph is a great example, with a dark body and contrasting white wings. Rubberlegs stoneflies are also a good bet as their large, dark silhouettes present an easy, obvious, worthy meal. Heavy bullet and perdigon style flies that loosely imitate pale morning duns and yellow sallies are also deadly right now. We confidently size up on leader material to 4x or larger through the summer because the fish are not particularly leader shy and there's enough flow to make you appreciate the extra strength in your line to help land fish more quickly. The river is very wadeable, but don't try to cross.
Always be prepared to take time carefully releasing fish. Wet your hands thoroughly before handling and try to minimize trout's time out of the water while releasing. Please do your due diligence giving them adequate revival time before moving on.
We sell fishing and hunting licenses at both our locations.
Follow us on instagram at @ArkAnglers!
Salida Location - 7500 W. Highway 50, Salida, CO 81201. (719) 539-3474.
Open Monday-Saturday, 8:00am-6:00pm. Sunday 8:00am-5:00pm.
Buena Vista Location - 517 S. Highway 24, Buena Vista, CO 81211. (719) 395-1796.
Open Monday-Saturday, 8:00am-6:00pm. Sunday 8:00am-5:00pm.
Please call us at 719-539-4223 with questions or to make your reservation.
Jul 13
ArkAnglers
Saturday, 7/13 2024
Flow at Wellsville: 690 cfs
Water Temp.: 50s-60s
Clarity: Clear
Saturday Report - Braden Baker
Fishing is now excellent on the Arkansas River. Flows have dropped significantly over the past ten days, increasing productive fish habitat along the edges and really ramping up the dry-dropper and streamer fishing. NOW is the time to be here for high octane, productive summer fly fishing. Floats and wade trips are all reporting happy fish and lots of trout willing to take dry flies off the surface. Size up on leader and tippet and work the edges with a shallow dry-dropper combination or with streamers. You're looking for any structure that slows the velocity of the river and gives the fish shelter from the fast flows. Anglers should stock up for hatches of yellow sallies, golden stoneflies, various caddis, pale morning duns, and other terrestrial food. That said, fish are also very opportunistic so rather than matching a particular hatch we can often get away with more generic, buggy patterns that stand out in the faster flows. The prince nymph is a great example, with a dark body and contrasting white wings. Rubberlegs stoneflies are also a good bet as their large, dark silhouettes present an easy, obvious, worthy meal. Heavy bullet and perdigon style flies that loosely imitate pale morning duns and yellow sallies are aslo deadly right now. We confidently size up on leader material to 4x or larger through the summer because the fish are not particularly leader shy and there's enough flow to make you appreciate the extra strength in your line to help land fish more quickly. We recommend fishing from shore wherever possible while flows are still high.
Always be prepared to take time carefully releasing fish. Wet your hands thoroughly before handling and try to minimize trout's time out of the water while releasing. Please do your due diligence giving them adequate revival time before moving on.
We sell fishing and hunting licenses at both our locations.
Follow us on instagram at @ArkAnglers!
Salida Location - 7500 W. Highway 50, Salida, CO 81201. (719) 539-3474.
Open Monday-Saturday, 8:00am-6:00pm. Sunday 8:00am-5:00pm.
Buena Vista Location - 517 S. Highway 24, Buena Vista, CO 81211. (719) 395-1796.
Open Monday-Saturday, 8:00am-6:00pm. Sunday 8:00am-5:00pm.
Please call us at 719-539-4223 with questions or to make your reservation.
Flow at Wellsville: 690 cfs
Water Temp.: 50s-60s
Clarity: Clear
Saturday Report - Braden Baker
Fishing is now excellent on the Arkansas River. Flows have dropped significantly over the past ten days, increasing productive fish habitat along the edges and really ramping up the dry-dropper and streamer fishing. NOW is the time to be here for high octane, productive summer fly fishing. Floats and wade trips are all reporting happy fish and lots of trout willing to take dry flies off the surface. Size up on leader and tippet and work the edges with a shallow dry-dropper combination or with streamers. You're looking for any structure that slows the velocity of the river and gives the fish shelter from the fast flows. Anglers should stock up for hatches of yellow sallies, golden stoneflies, various caddis, pale morning duns, and other terrestrial food. That said, fish are also very opportunistic so rather than matching a particular hatch we can often get away with more generic, buggy patterns that stand out in the faster flows. The prince nymph is a great example, with a dark body and contrasting white wings. Rubberlegs stoneflies are also a good bet as their large, dark silhouettes present an easy, obvious, worthy meal. Heavy bullet and perdigon style flies that loosely imitate pale morning duns and yellow sallies are aslo deadly right now. We confidently size up on leader material to 4x or larger through the summer because the fish are not particularly leader shy and there's enough flow to make you appreciate the extra strength in your line to help land fish more quickly. We recommend fishing from shore wherever possible while flows are still high.
Always be prepared to take time carefully releasing fish. Wet your hands thoroughly before handling and try to minimize trout's time out of the water while releasing. Please do your due diligence giving them adequate revival time before moving on.
We sell fishing and hunting licenses at both our locations.
Follow us on instagram at @ArkAnglers!
Salida Location - 7500 W. Highway 50, Salida, CO 81201. (719) 539-3474.
Open Monday-Saturday, 8:00am-6:00pm. Sunday 8:00am-5:00pm.
Buena Vista Location - 517 S. Highway 24, Buena Vista, CO 81211. (719) 395-1796.
Open Monday-Saturday, 8:00am-6:00pm. Sunday 8:00am-5:00pm.
Please call us at 719-539-4223 with questions or to make your reservation.
Jul 06
ArkAnglers
Saturday, 7/6 2024
Flow at Wellsville: 1,500 cfs
Water Temp.: 50s
Clarity: Generally clear, 3' or better of visibility.
Saturday Report - Braden Baker
Fishing is now excellent on the Arkansas River. Flows are well below 2,000 cfs and are very fishable, increasing productive fish habitat along the edges and really ramping up the dry-dropper and streamer fishing. NOW is the time to be here for high octane, productive summer fly fishing. Floats and wade trips are all reporting happy fish and lots of trout willing to take dry flies off the surface. Size up on leader and tippet and work the edges with a shallow dry-dropper combination or with streamers. You're looking for any structure that slows the velocity of the river and gives the fish shelter from the fast flows. Anglers should stock up for hatches of yellow sallies, golden stoneflies, various caddis, pale morning duns, and other terrestrial food. Often fish are going to be more opportunistic than not so rather than matching a particular hatch we can often get away with more generic, buggy patterns that stand out in the faster flows. The prince nymph is a great example, with a dark body and contrasting white wings. Rubberlegs stoneflies are also a good bet as their large, dark silhouettes present an easy, obvious, worthy meal. During higher flows more stonefly nymphs are dislodged and vulnerable to predation prior to their hatch. We confidently size up on leader material to 3x or larger under these conditions because the fish are not spooky and there's enough flow to make you appreciate the extra strength in your line to help land fish more quickly. We recommend fishing from shore wherever possible while flows are still high.
Always be prepared to take time carefully releasing fish. Wet your hands thoroughly before handling and try to minimize trout's time out of the water while releasing. Please do your due diligence giving them adequate revival time before moving on.
We sell fishing and hunting licenses at both our locations.
Follow us on instagram at @ArkAnglers!
Salida Location - 7500 W. Highway 50, Salida, CO 81201. (719) 539-3474.
Open Monday-Saturday, 8:00am-6:00pm. Sunday 8:00am-5:00pm.
Buena Vista Location - 517 S. Highway 24, Buena Vista, CO 81211. (719) 395-1796.
Open Monday-Saturday, 8:00am-6:00pm. Sunday 8:00am-5:00pm.
Please call us at 719-539-4223 with questions or to make your reservation.
Flow at Wellsville: 1,500 cfs
Water Temp.: 50s
Clarity: Generally clear, 3' or better of visibility.
Saturday Report - Braden Baker
Fishing is now excellent on the Arkansas River. Flows are well below 2,000 cfs and are very fishable, increasing productive fish habitat along the edges and really ramping up the dry-dropper and streamer fishing. NOW is the time to be here for high octane, productive summer fly fishing. Floats and wade trips are all reporting happy fish and lots of trout willing to take dry flies off the surface. Size up on leader and tippet and work the edges with a shallow dry-dropper combination or with streamers. You're looking for any structure that slows the velocity of the river and gives the fish shelter from the fast flows. Anglers should stock up for hatches of yellow sallies, golden stoneflies, various caddis, pale morning duns, and other terrestrial food. Often fish are going to be more opportunistic than not so rather than matching a particular hatch we can often get away with more generic, buggy patterns that stand out in the faster flows. The prince nymph is a great example, with a dark body and contrasting white wings. Rubberlegs stoneflies are also a good bet as their large, dark silhouettes present an easy, obvious, worthy meal. During higher flows more stonefly nymphs are dislodged and vulnerable to predation prior to their hatch. We confidently size up on leader material to 3x or larger under these conditions because the fish are not spooky and there's enough flow to make you appreciate the extra strength in your line to help land fish more quickly. We recommend fishing from shore wherever possible while flows are still high.
Always be prepared to take time carefully releasing fish. Wet your hands thoroughly before handling and try to minimize trout's time out of the water while releasing. Please do your due diligence giving them adequate revival time before moving on.
We sell fishing and hunting licenses at both our locations.
Follow us on instagram at @ArkAnglers!
Salida Location - 7500 W. Highway 50, Salida, CO 81201. (719) 539-3474.
Open Monday-Saturday, 8:00am-6:00pm. Sunday 8:00am-5:00pm.
Buena Vista Location - 517 S. Highway 24, Buena Vista, CO 81211. (719) 395-1796.
Open Monday-Saturday, 8:00am-6:00pm. Sunday 8:00am-5:00pm.
Please call us at 719-539-4223 with questions or to make your reservation.