Time: 11:00AM – 2:00PM

Location: Buena Vista area

Arkansas River 05/11/2026 Photo Album

If one fly fishes as much as I do, one is bound to experience disappointing days every now and then. Today, May 11, 2026 was one of those days. After a spectacular day on Friday on the Eagle River, I ached to return on Monday; and, in fact, it was my intention to make the drive until Monday morning. That is when I reviewed all my data points, and the stream flow graph depicted an increase in flows from 200 CFS on Friday to the 300 CFS range on Monday morning. 300 CFS on the Eagle River is a manageable level; however, the trend line is what spooked me. Most of the increase occurred within the last two days, and the normal trough in the evening was minimal with the curve bending upward. I decided to not make the two hour drive and instead pivoted to the Arkansas River.

The DWR chart for the Arkansas River at Wellsville and Nathrop presented relatively flat volume in the mid 200 CFS range. The flows remained low and the trend line was stable, thus suggesting nice clear conditions. I made the drive to the Arkansas River in the Buena Vista area, where I experienced decent success in past years.

I arrived by 10:30 and geared up with my Sage One five weight. I always prefer my five weight on the larger rivers in Colorado. The temperature was in the upper 50’s, so I avoided extra layers and stuffed my raincoat in my backpack just in case. I hiked for approximately .2 mile to the river, and I was prepared to cast a bit before 11:00AM. I began with my workhorse lineup of an amber ice dub chubby Chernobyl, 20 incher and olive perdigon. The nymphs extended three and a half feet below the surface offering.

First Fish

I spent forty-five minutes before my lunch break working my way upstream through some very attractive deep pockets and pools around large exposed boulders, and I managed  to land one small brown trout. I exchanged the perdigon for a sparkle wing RS2 and a bright green caddis pupa, but the only fly that produced was the 20 incher. I did, however, notice three fish that elevated to look at the chubby Chernobyl, before they rejected my fly and returned to their holding lie.

One of Two

The looks and refusals prompted me to move to a double dry fly arrangement that included a peacock hippie stomper and size 14 olive-brown deer hair caddis. I concentrated on the edge of the river in slow moving shelf pools and riffles that bordered large exposed rocks. I assumed that the bright and sunny conditions forced the trout to seek protection from the bankside structure. I landed one additional small brown trout on the trailing caddis, but then a long period of refusals and momentary nips ensued.

Home to a Trout

The trout were mostly refusing both flies, so I implemented a series of changes that included a smaller size 16 caddis, a gray body caddis, a Jake’s gulp beetle, and an olive body size 14 stimulator. Most of these flies induced a refusal or two. Another long period of inactivity caused my confidence to plummet, and I was bored with the situation. There were virtually no insects to spur feeding, and my mind drifted to thoughts other than fly fishing. I decided to cut my losses and ended my day by 2:00PM.

I hiked back to the car and packed my gear and headed to a new spot that I pass every time I journey to the Arkansas River. Monday on the Arkansas River was dead, in spite of what appeared to be ideal spring conditions. The negative was the bright cloudless sky and the absence of insects. I was surprised to see minimal adult caddis activity in the area. I know from past experience that the section contains plenty of trout, but they were not hungry on Monday, or at least they did not like what I placed on the menu.

Fish Landed: 2