Personal Watercraft for Sale

With the high river flows around the state, many anglers are looking to our stillwaters for fishing opportunities. Personal watercraft, both float tubes and individual catarafts, offer the fly-fisherman the ability to cover stillwater situations more completely and provide a level of independence that corresponds well with the solitude many seek in our sport. As an Outcast dealer, ArkAnglers has access to a wide range of personal watercraft options and we are glad to help find the one that is right for you. Currently, we have the following models in stock:

 

Discovery 9-IR     9-foot tube cataraft designed for whitewater or stillwater

                             MSRP $750.00              Sale Price $650.00

 

Fish Cat 10-IR     10-foot tubes with a larger diameter, this boat has a higher payload and is designed for more stability on the water.

                             MSRP $650.00              Sale Price $550.00

 

Fish Cat 9-IR       9 foot tubes and a 375 lb payload make this good for day trips or backpacker style overnights.

                             MSRP $599.00              Sale Price $499.00

 

Fish Cat 4LCS     Float tube with foam seat for warmth and better fin kick position/field of vision. Adjustable height stripping basket with easy entry/exit. Two air cells and large bellow pockets.

                             MSRP $169.00              Sale Price $139.00

 

Outcast Trinity     The ultimate lightweight/packable float tube. Includes pump and backpack for a total weight of 8 lbs. Five air chambers, 2 cargo pockets, stripping basket and cargo deck.

                             MSRP $330.00              Sale Price $280.00

 

 

 

Call us at 719-539-4223 or email to info@arkanglers.com if you have

questions or would like to order one of these boats.

 

What Now?

If you have monitored our fishing conditions page or the flow gauges lately you are aware that runoff has begun on the Arkansas. As of today (5/21) we have 672 cfs in Hayden Meadows, 1120 at Granite, 1700 in Browns Canyon and 1710 at Wellsville. The releases from Twin Lakes have been reduced to native flow so what we are seeing is all natural runoff generated by the hot weather over the last five days. The visibility is compromised and unpredictable. Still, fish continue to feed between the cells of murkier water, working the edges for caddis, stonefly nymphs, and anything that happens to tumble into its window. It is a difficult fishing experience to market – I hesitate at encouraging anyone to drive three hours for a chance to roll the dice on the Arkansas, but we are still catching fish here and learning more along the way.

 

More often then fishing the Arkansas right now, we are diverting our trips to other resources. Our boat-based trips to Spinney Mountain Reservoir are catching good numbers of 16-20 inch trout. Our wiper trips to Pueblo Reservoir have enjoyed some drag-scorching success. And here in the valley we are hitting the clearer tributaries and mid-elevation lakes, enjoying the alpine views and good catch rates.

 

Things are quiet in the shops for the most part. We have a tremendous inventory, in part due to below average sales during the difficult spring season. We currently have over 200 rods in stock, as well as a wide range of waders and boots. If there is anything you need, please call us at 719-539-4223 or email to info@arkanglers.com and we will be glad to same-day ship any items directly to your door.

 

If you are coming this way, feel free to call or email for an update. There is almost always some good fishing going on somewhere in the valley!

 

How high’s the water, Papa?

Our brief reprieve from elevated flows ended Thursday as increased releases from Twin Lakes combined with snowmelt from Tuesday/Wednesday and rain Wednesday night to raise the river significantly. The rain had the greatest impact, raising flows from Leadville on down and contributing a significant amount of soil/sediment to the flow. And while the inflows from rain have receded somewhat, the releases remain high. As of Saturday morning (5/10), we have 227 cfs in Hayden Meadows, 871 at Granite, 1040 above Buena Vista, 1260 in Browns Canyon, 1200 at Wellsville and 1090 at Parkdale. Visibility varies with location and time of day. Above Pine Creek near Gold Camp, visibility has been good. The release of 600 cfs from Twin Lakes, all clear water, has a diluting effect not unlike a tailwater. Further down, there is a daily “bubble” of murkier water reflecting the snowmelt of the afternoon before and a daily “divot” representing the colder hours of the night up on the snowfields. Following the daily divot down the river is the best way to find clearer and more stable edgewater. Currently, that would mean fishing above Browns Canyon early in the day, from Stone Bridge to Salida during the middle of the day, and in the upper Bighorn Sheep Canyon later in the afternoon.

 

For those who are still keen to venture out, a key concept is to study the structure of the river bed and look for those areas where changes in flow do not necessarily change the dynamics of the spot from a fish’s perspective. Deep eddies downstream of large outcrops of rock, inside corners with depth, major shelf lines – all of these will be places that fish migrate to for stability and low impact feeding. Focusing on these places and getting big nymphs/streamers right on the bottom is key. If you see improved clarity on the edges, dry-dropper rigs tight against the bank can be very effective too. Fish bigger dries with tungsten beadhead nymphs that will cut quickly through the turbulence and get down to the bottom.

 

Runoff is not a straight-forward, well-defined event. It typically happens like most things in nature – a quick jump in flows followed by days of stability or even receding flows followed by another jump. The multi-year averages show a nice bell curve to the flow levels in runoff. But averages are a mathematical fiction – they have predictive value but are rarely imitated in the natural world. I mention this because the common phrase “the river is blown out” is misleading. The river, and the fish, don’t have an on-off switch. Rather, the river continues to modulate between periods of stability and change, and the fish continue to feed whenever it is possible for them. I have a hard time marketing high, murky water but I am dealing with fishermen. Brown trout obviously take what they get every day and look for opportunities to make the most of it. In a twisted way, figuring out what that is in times of adversity can be more rewarding than applying cookie cutter tactics in those times when fish are jumping into the boat.

 

Important Flow Update

Due to an unforeseen dam safety inspection, the Twin Lakes release will be ramped down from this morning’s flow of 375 to zero over the next four days. Following Monday, the release will be ramped back up over four days to 375 on next Friday. This means that Saturday through Wednesday will present the best fishing flows we have had all spring and will be more apt to generate caddis activity and feeding behavior among fish. Hope you can make it!