Time: 11:00AM – 3:15PM

Location: Between Granite and Buena Vista

Arkansas River 03/31/2026 Photo Album

After a productive day on the South Platte River, I stayed in a motel in Salida rather than make the drive back to Denver and then return on Tuesday. My plan included another day on the Arkansas River, but rather than detour around the 24 Fire through Pueblo again, I decided to fish the upper Arkansas.

The Scene at the Start

I stayed at the Woodland Motel in Salida on Monday night. This little motel has been a favorite of mine over the years, and it changed ownership since my last visit. Apparently a family now owns and manages the enterprise, and I noted many nice improvements to the room. The Woodland Motel remains my preferred option, should I wish to stay over in Salida to fish the Arkansas River on back to back days.

A Bit More Chunk

On Tuesday morning the temperature hovered in the upper thirties, so I took my time getting prepared to fish. I departed the motel at 9:00AM, and after a thirty minute drive I arrived at my intended destination. Well, actually I did not, as the road to the river had a sign informing the reader of seasonal closure until April 15. This forced a revision in my plan, and I circled around and crossed the river and visited another favorite spot. By the time I began my preparation the temperature was 46 degrees. I was wearing my Under Armour insulated undershirt, and I added my fleece hoodie and raincoat for wind protection. Because the river was running low and clear, and I knew from previous experience that the fish were not as large as farther downriver, so I elected to use my Loomis two piece five weight.

Side Channel

I hiked along the trail from the parking lot for .7 mile, and then I slid down a long steep bank to the river. I launched my day on the river with a gray chubby Chernobyl, 20 incher and olive perdigon. Between 11:00AM and noon I managed to land three brown trout in the eleven to twelve inch range. All three grabbed the olive perdigon. I was feeling rather toasty sitting in the newly arrived sun while eating my lunch, so I removed my fleece and tied it around my waist under my waders. It was a tight fight, but I made it work. I maintained the rain shell to block the wind and provide an element of warmth during overcast periods.

This Area Yielded Quite a Few

Between lunch and 2:30 I worked my way along the right bank of the river, and the action was extremely slow. In fact all three landed fish during this time period came from one area. The river widened, and a nice long and slow moving area was directly across from me. The main center current split the river, and after I fished the right shelf pool with no luck, I turned my attention to the slow area of moderate depth across from me. In order to get drifts through the target section, I needed to execute long casts, but trees obstructed my back cast. I resorted to an array of roll casts with a large quick mend to combat the swift run in the middle of the river. It was a lot of work and a strain on my shoulder, but I landed three nice brown trout, and had two additional escapees. I used the snap-T cast with some effectiveness, but I also allowed the line to straighten below me and then did a back hand sweep. All the trout that I connected with snatched the olive perdigon, as it began to swing toward the bottom of the pool.

One of the Perdigon Chasers

The fish count was mired on six for quite awhile, so at 2:30PM, I decided to deploy a new tactic. I removed the dry/dropper set up and replaced it with a double dry. The reliable peacock hippie stomper was the lead fly, and I trailed a size 14 olive deer hair caddis. I was skeptical that dries would entice the fish to the surface, but I was stationed at the base of a nice pool and riffle section. I was shocked, when I duped four brown trout in this area. Three attacked the caddis, and one smacked the hippie stomper. Needless to say I was quite pleased with this turn of events. I also noticed a couple refusals, and I added a couple momentary hook ups.

Long Middle Pocket

Of course, this proved to be the end of the dry fly action. Toward the end of my fly fishing day, some dark clouds slid across the sky, and this prompted a sudden flurry of surface feeding. At least four fish slashed at the surface across from me, as the wind kicked up. I swapped the caddis for my new friend, the mole fly, and almost immediately I connected, but the fish quickly escaped. I inspected my line and discovered the telltale curly pigtail suggesting a poorly tied knot. By the time I tied on a new fly, the rising action slowed to a sporadic cadence, and then I lost another mole fly. I am not sure what caused the loss of the second fly, but the surface action only lasted for ten minutes and then ended. I spent most of the time tinkering with my flies.

Caddis Worked Along the Bank

At a bit after 3:00PM I called it quits and hiked back to the car. The temperature chilled significantly, as the wind exploded, and I could see some menacing dark clouds moving across the Collegiate Peaks.

Tuesday was a so-so day, as I landed ten fish in four hours of fishing. Three periods of decent results saved my day, and these time frames were bracketed by a lot of futility. Nearly all the trout were browns in the eleven to twelve inch range with a couple that stretched the tape to thirteen. I am spoiled by all the great days that I enjoyed earlier in March.

Fish Landed: 10