Shop manager Michael took these photos from the Granite area on Oct 1st. The river corridor is becoming more and more dominated by yellow colors. The nymphing action was outstanding.
Date: 10/05/2024 @ 9:00am
Arkansas River Flows
Leadville (Empire Gulch): 110 cfs
Browns Canyon/Nathrop: 370 cfs
Wellsville: 350 cfs
Twin Lakes Release: 72 cfs
Turquoise Res. Release: 3 cfs
Clear Creek Res. Release: 32 cfs
Arkansas River Fishing Report:
The Latest: A couple of weeks ago we had a cold snap which brought some snow to our peaks, but since 9/23 the weather has been nothing short of perfect. Sunny days with highs in the low to mid 70's, with more on the horizon. When we start to get some cloudy and cooler days, we will see the return of some prolific blue-winged olive mayfly hatches. Nymphing is probably the way to go for catching the most fish, but Dry-dropper setups are also still effective. It really depends on how you prefer to fish the river. If you are into covering water, then streamer fishing should also be producing a lot of action right now.
For now, the river has been stable and clear and fishing well, with the flows hovering around 350cfs at Nathrop. We expect the flows to very slowly decrease throughout October. Beginning in November, the BOR reports that we should expect an extra 150cfs (on top of native) in the river through April.
General Fishing Report/Tactics: Fall conditions are setting in on the upper Ark. Low, clear water full of lurking, hungry trout. Dry-dropper fishing is still very effective in most situations, but nymphing might bring more fish to the net throughout the day. The benefit of an indicator nymph rig is the ability to adjust your depth more frequently as you move through differing water types.
5x and 6x leader/tippets will help with your presentation this time of year. Especially if you are tossing small dry flies in the #18-#22 sizes.
Streamer fishing is good right now. Try a slump buster in black or olive, or try your favorite smaller articulated streamer.
Suggested nymph patterns: sz. 16-20 spanish bullets, flashy perdigons, CDC pheasant tails, coppertop duracells, soft hackle caddis, and so on! Do you have a favorite nymph that has worked for you in the past? Give it a go right now, and those Ark River browns probably won't refuse it.
Lake County: Fishing well, but technical at these low flows. Be stealthy!
Buena Vista/Browns Canyon: Fishing very well!
Salida and Downstream: Fishing very well!
Stillwaters:
Brown Trout are beginning to pod up and display some pre spawn behavior at Antero. Egg patterns are fooling some really nice fish right now. The catch rate can be quite slow if you aren't in the areas where fish are congregating. Wade fishing is back in play, as many fish are coming in pretty shallow.
High Alpine Lakes and Streams:
The alpine lakes remain open and fishable, but that won't be the case for much longer. Alpine trout are looking to feed before winter conditions set in again. Try larger terrestrial dries, trailed by a smaller midge dry imitation or a small nymph such as a zebra midge. If all else fails, you can always strip a streamer or leech imitation and try to get a take that way.