Time: 12:00PM – 3:30PM

Location: Pridemore State Wildlife Area

Arkansas River 10/15/2025 Photo Album

Wednesday was projected to be the nicest day of the week, so I cleared my calendar for another day of fly fishing. A high in the seventies in Denver translated to a high in the upper sixties near Salida, so I made the Arkansas River my destination. The flows were in the 300 CFS range, and this meant I could probably cross the river and fish the bank away from the highway in one of my favorite hangouts below Salida.

Salvation Nymph Eater

I departed Denver at 8:00AM, and heavy traffic on Interstate 70 prompted me to use the Express Toll lane for $5.50. The move saved me fifteen minutes, as my estimated arrival time moved up from 11:00AM to 10:45AM. Unfortunately that was the one piece of good news that preceded a series of unlucky events. When I merged on to CO 470 on the western side of Denver, I passed two gravel trucks, and I heard a loud thwack on the windshield. I immediately cursed my misfortune, and when I stopped for gas on the way home, I inspected the windshield and discovered three chips that joined the curved crack already in place. It is impossible to keep a windshield free of cracks and chips in the state of Colorado.

Deep Seam Produced

As I drove southwest on US 285, I found myself creeping along at 25 miles per hour behind a row of vehicles in a 50 MPH speed limit zone. I stared ahead, and there was a huge road construction vehicle with flashing amber lights, and the slow moving caravan crept along for a mile, before we stopped, where a flagman was displaying a stop sign. Fortunately the delay only lasted a few minutes, and the westbound traffic that included me was allowed to proceed. This little stoppage slipped my estimated arrival time by five minutes.

Decent

Bubble Line

I finally arrived at my chosen destination along the river below Salida, and I quickly jumped out of the car to inspect the river. Imagine my disappointment, when I observed murky flows in the river below me. I immediately returned to my car and dialed the ArkAnglers Fly Shop, and the helpful young man who answered informed me that rain and snow were causing the turbity. He said that a couple feet of visibility existed along the edges, and fishing was still a possibility. He also volunteered that most of the murkiness was generated by the South Fork of the Arkansas River, and he suggested that I could leap frog that tributary to find clearer conditions. I thanked him for his useful information, and I decided to move upriver above the South Arkansas River.

Olive Perdigon

Of course, there was construction in progress in Salida, so I was forced to detour, but this delay was minor, and I arrived at the Arkansas Headwaters Stone Bridge access area by 11:30AM. I geared up and rigged my Sage One five weight, and then I ate my lunch. The temperature was 65 degrees, but it felt colder because of the gusting wind, so I pulled on my light raincoat as a windbreaker.

Chunk

I was finally ready to fly fish, so I hiked along the top of the bank for .4 mile, until I reached the downstream boundary of the public water, and then I cut down a steep bank to the river. For my opening act, I chose a size 8 amber ice dub chubby Chernobyl, an olive perdigon, and a salvation nymph.

Model Brown Trout

I began migrating upstream, and I was very particular about my casting targets. I skipped wide areas, as they presented relatively shallow riffles and pockets, and the probability of landing fish was low. Instead I focused on deep seams and pockets next to structure. The approach paid dividends, as I landed eight brown trout between 12:00PM and 3:30PM, when I quit for the day. I covered a significant amount of river real estate and ended my day on the north side of CO 291 at the Stone Bridge boat launch ramps.

Bubbles and Rock Bottom

The first four trout grabbed the nymphs, with one nabbing the olive perdigon, and the others were attracted to the salvation nymph. Once I hit four, the action stalled for thirty minutes, so I changed out the olive perdigon for a 20 incher, and the chubby/20 incher/salvation remained my lineup for the remainder of the afternoon. During this time I boosted the fish count from four to eight, and the final four were wild browns in the thirteen inch range. My success accrued from swinging and lifting the nymphs as has been the case on my recent fall outings. All the fish that I landed grabbed the salvation nymph, but it seemed like the 20 incher was a more effective partner to the salvation than the olive perdigon.

Pocket and Exposed Rock

Wednesday was a nice October day aside from the annoying wind. I overcame quite a few obstacles to fly fish for 3.5 hours on Wednesday, but I managed to land eight wild fish including five brown trout in the twelve to thirteen inch range. Quite a few attractive places failed to produce, and I worked hard for my catch, but I was satisfied with the results. I suspect that spawning activities are in progress, and this perhaps explained the relatively slow action. This may have been my last visit to the Arkansas for the year, and it was a solid day of fishing on the big river.

Fish Landed: 8