Best Flies for Arkansas River (Colorado) (Colorado)

What's hatching now

Month, insect, size, and pattern from the Arkansas River (Colorado) hatch chart. August is highlighted when that month exists in the chart. We do not invent a hatch that is not on the chart.

Nymphs

Subsurface patterns matched to this river's chart and catalog. Fish them at the size the chart lists, not the size that looks good in the bin.

Nymph

Pat's Rubber Legs

Pat's Rubber Legs is a large, heavily weighted stonefly nymph pattern with rubber legs that pulse and wiggle i

Sizes #4–#10

Nymph

Beadhead Caddis Pupa

This simple caddis pupa imitation features a dubbed body with a contrasting thorax and a soft hackle collar su

Sizes #12–#18

Egan's GTi Caddis

A weighted Hydropsychidae (net-builder) caddis larva with a contrasting shellback, designed around Hare-Tron d

Sizes #10–#14

Nymph

Emerger

Emerging Caddis Pupa

This pattern captures the explosive moment when a caddis pupa ascends through the water column and breaks thro

Size #12

Pheasant Tail

Sawyer style, copper wire. Works everywhere, every time.

Sizes #14–#18

Nymph

Nymph

Super Simple Pheasant Tail

Devin Olsen's stripped-down pheasant tail jig — hook, bead, thread, tail, body. No rib, no thorax, no wingcase

Sizes #16–#18

Nymph

Jig Pheasant Tail

The jig-hook version of the Pheasant Tail Nymph rides point-up to reduce snags and fishes perfectly in a tight

Sizes #14–#20

Nymph

CDC Pheasant Tail

A refined variation of the Pheasant Tail Nymph that replaces the wing case with a CDC feather puff for enhance

Sizes #16–#20

CDC Pheasant Tail Pink

Variation of Roza’s Pink PT

Size #14

Nymph

Dries

Dries and terrestrials for the Arkansas River (Colorado). If the chart says a size 18 PMD, do not start with a 12.

Dry

Stimulator

Randall Kaufmann's Stimulator is a large, buoyant attractor dry fly that suggests adult stoneflies, caddis, an

Size #8

Dry

Goddard Caddis

John Goddard and Cliff Henry's spun deer hair caddis is the most buoyant caddis imitation ever conceived. The

Size #10

Egan's Corn-Fed Caddis

A heavy-winged CDC caddis dry with a Super Fine dubbed body, Antron shuck, Trigger Point overwing, and a CDC h

Size #12

Dry

Front End Loader Caddis

A hackle-stacker elk hair caddis with a Callibaetis Super Fine body, Glo Brite tag, and grizzly hackle wrapped

Size #10

Dry

Dry

Elk Hair Caddis

Al Troth's Elk Hair Caddis is the definitive adult caddis imitation. The palmered hackle body and tent-shaped

Sizes #12–#18

Dry

X-Caddis

Craig Mathews' X-Caddis omits the hackle of an Elk Hair Caddis, creating a lower-riding fly that hangs in the

Size #14

BWO Sparkle Dun

Craig Mathews design. Z-lon shuck, deer hair wing. Size 18-20 for spring BWOs.

Size #14

Dry

Dry

Sparkle Dun

Craig Mathews' Sparkle Dun combines a deer hair fan wing with a Z-lon trailing shuck, bridging the gap between

Size #14

Streamers

Streamers and wets for stained water, banks, and low light. This is not a claim that streamers are "on" today.

Wet

Soft Hackle Pheasant Tail

A marriage of the Pheasant Tail Nymph and soft hackle tradition, this pattern fishes brilliantly on the swing.

Size #14

Setup

4X and 5X cover most nymphing. 4X on dries until the fish get picky, then 5X. A 3.0–3.8mm tungsten on the point and a lighter dropper is a default until you see the water. Tight-line the near bank and the heads of pockets. Use an indicator only when you need to search water you cannot euro.

FAQ

What flies work on the Arkansas River (Colorado)?

Start with Pat's Rubber Legs and Stimulator, then match size to the hatch chart for the month you are standing in. The Arkansas River (Colorado) does not need a 40-pattern box. It needs the right size on the insect that is actually in the drift.

When is the best time to fly fish the Arkansas River (Colorado)?

The editorial window we list is May, June, July, August, September, October. That is a planning month range, not a guarantee. Shoulder months can fish well if flows and water temperature cooperate.

Do I need a guide on the Arkansas River (Colorado)?

Colorado has walk-up wade water and, on some sections, float water. A guide is worth it for a first float or a technical tailwater. A hatch chart and a gauge are enough for a first wade if you already nymph. We list local guides and shops on this page when we have them.

Where can I see live flow for the Arkansas River (Colorado)?

Open the Arkansas River (Colorado) river page for the USGS gauge, access notes, and the same hatch chart this fly list is built from. We do not publish other people's spots or fish counts.

Is this a report of what's working now on the Arkansas River (Colorado)?

No. Executive Angler does not publish other anglers' catches, GPS, or a crowdsourced hot fly. This page is hatch-chart patterns plus catalog flies. Presence on the river page is gauge and weather only.

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