Oh Caddis, Where Art Thou?

The last few weeks have been challenging on the Arkansas River. Sustained elevated flows of 750-850 cfs have kept the river from warming up as quickly as usual, stalling the caddis hatch below Texas Creek. And while we have enjoyed some blue wing olive hatches and caddis larval drift, the higher flows have also made it hard for fish to feed effectively. Most days have seen a mixture of fish behavior best described as “indecision” as they seek to balance the intake of calories against the energy expense of fighting the current for food. Our trip results have been fair to good but for the itinerant anglers here for caddis dry fly fishing, the action thus far has been disappointing.

 

As many Arkansas River fans are aware, the Bureau of Reclamation cut back their release of Fry-Ark project water from Twin Lakes by 125 cfs about two weeks ago. That release was scheduled to resume today. Thanks to input from DOW, State Parks, and the Southeastern and Upper Arkansas Water Conservancy District managers, the Bureau has agreed to maintain the current release (375 cfs) until the full-blown runoff takes over. While this is still more water in the river than is best for fish and fishermen at this time of year, it is nevertheless a victory and will hopefully lead to a decent, if tardy, caddis hatch over the next two weeks.

 

With cool weather in the forecast from Thursday through the weekend, we expect the river to remain in a similar condition until next week. Then, with a little heat, we can hopefully see the river temperature approach the magic 54 degrees and get some caddis popping. If it doesn’t get too hot, runoff ought to be mild to minimal until the weekend of the 17^th or so, allowing a nice feeding window for the fish prior to the big flush.

 

This has been new territory for us, as guides, prognosticators, and political animals. But we continue to hold out hope that this spring hatch will be saved, the fish strengthened for the flows ahead, and many an angler’s smile brightened with a brown trout on the line. The best spring fishing is hopefully still ahead and we look forward to assisting you in making the most of your time on the Arkansas.

 

River flows to drop

Snowpack and river flows have been a constant topic of discussion in the fly shop and around the state. With every basin reporting above-average snow-water equivalents in their snowpack, this looks to be a big water year in Colorado. How and when it comes down will be a function of weather – will we get more snow before runoff or hot dry winds? Will the days be hot or cold once runoff starts? There are too many variables at play but we can make some projections:

 

-          The snowpack in the upper Arkansas River basin is about 140% of average. One way or another, more water is going to flow through Salida this summer than normal.

-          The projections for imports of west-slope water to our basin are also very high. This will add to the total flow through the summer.

-          The Bureau of Reclamation plans to cut the release from Twin Lakes on Monday (4/14) by 125 cfs. They plan to maintain this reduction for two weeks, at which point they will reevaluate. This provides strong impetus to get out and fish the Arkansas between now and the 28^th.

-          I don’t think that in-basin runoff will begin much earlier than usual, probably around May 15^th. Flows may be higher than normal before then, though, as water is released from Twin Lakes to make room for runoff.

-          Once it begins, runoff will probably affect the fishing for a considerable period of time. While we have pulled through some recent melts with only 3 weeks of major impact, this year could see twice that.

 

The river has continued to serve up some great fishing, though it has that typical unpredictable quality one associates with spring. As always, our guide staff continues to adapt to the changing conditions, moving from stonefly nymphs to caddis larva to blue wing olive nymphs or adults as the focus of the fish changes. We expect caddis to begin hatching on the lower river by late this week and hope to see them in Salida by the end of the month. Our fish are hungry after the long winter; the upcoming hatch will be of more importance than ever in helping them gain strength for the high water ahead.