Warm weather and longer days have brought snowmelt into the Arkansas River, raising the water levels and increasing the turbidity. Conditions are poor from Salida down but we are still fishing the river from Browns Canyon on up. Caddis continue to hatch in Browns Canyon and the section between the canyon and Buena Vista, and blue wing olives continue to emerge on cloudy days as well. While we continue to float and wade the river, this time of year our attention is diverted by other options:
Antero Reservoir – Our boat-based trips on Antero have been incredibly productive recently. Many fish caught and some of excellent size, as the photo below demonstrates.
These trips depart daily early – 5:30-6:00 am – and the wind can bring them to an end by early afternoon. But the fishing is incredible right now and we highly recommend this trip. Larry Friedrichs and Larry Stiefel both have custom fishing boats so we have four person per day capacity. This trip is a great alternative to the river from now through the end of June.
Mid-Elevation Lakes – There are many options opening up in the valley right now that offer the peace of a lake in the mountains coupled with hungry feeding fish. On some of these lakes, we are able to launch our float fishing rafts for better access. On others, we work the shoreline.
Tributary Streams – Some of the tributaries are raging, but many are fishing well already. Fish are hungry in these streams and a dry-dropper rig works fantastic. While the pressure can be significant in the summer, early season fishing there is excellent.
We have been keeping close tabs on the river conditions. Visit our conditions page at www.arkanglers.com for the latest updates. If these trips are of interest, or if you want to plan ahead for stonefly fishing in the second half of June, call us at 719-539-4223 or email us at info@arkanglers.com.
We look forward to fishing with you!
