Best month to fish the Arkansas River

Month-by-month fishing quality

Why these months?

Two things decide your odds on the Arkansas River: flow and season. You need the river in its fishable-flow band — so a freestone in spring runoff is out no matter how good the hatch would be, while a dam-fed tailwater holds shape year-round. On top of that, the hatches and water temperatures line up best in September and October and August and April, which is why those months edge out the rest. The Arkansas River's season runs year-round; prime august–october once runoff and raft traffic drop.

The Arkansas is the longest stretch of Gold Medal trout water in Colorado — over 100 miles from Leadville down through Browns Canyon and Salida, holding a dense wild brown trout population in classic pocket water and riffles beneath the Collegiate Peaks. It carries the state's most famous caddis emergence up the valley each spring, and once the summer raft traffic thins after mid-August it becomes one of the most pleasant wade rivers in the Rockies.

Where to fish the Arkansas River

Browns Canyon between Nathrop and Salida is the signature stretch — Class III whitewater that floats well at summer flows and wades beautifully in autumn. The pocket water along US-285 and US-50 gives easy roadside access. Time it for after mid-August: the flows drop, the rafts leave, and the clarity is excellent.

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