Allegheny Fishing Forecast

A regional note specific to this water: the river's most productive anglers are the ones who know the water, and knowing the water is harder than knowing the flies, and the anglers who know the water are the anglers who catch the most fish, and the most fish are the fish the river gives back, and the river gives back what you put in. the river's fish are not the fish you read about in the magazines, and the flies you read about in the magazines are not the flies you need here, and the only way to learn the river is to fish it, and the only way to fish it is to be here. The Arkansas River in central Colorado is the most commercially rafted river in the United States, and one of the most productive tailwater trout fisheries in the state. The river drains a series of snowmelt-fed streams on the Sawatch Range, runs for about 145 miles through the Arkansas River valley, and finally crosses the Colorado-Kansas border. A regular's confession: The most popular trout water is the upper river between the town of Leadville and the town of Buena Vista, and that water is managed as a wild trout fishery by the Colorado Parks and Wildlife. The most popular access is the public water at the town of Buena Vista, where the Pike-San Isabel National Forest maintains a series of campgrounds and walk-in access to the upper river. The upper river is classic freestone water and the lower river is tailwater. The most famous hatch is the PMD of mid-summer, which is the hatch the river is most famous for. Every angler has a story about a fish they lost on this river; the trick is to keep coming back until the story ends well. The most famous local fly shop is the Ark Anglers in Buena Vista, and the owner's advice is consistent: fish the upper river, fish the caddis hatch, and stay out of the water. The most productive flies are 8-10 Elk Hair Caddis for the summer hopper rig, 16-18 Parachute Adams for the fall emergences, and a WD-40 20-22 a Woolly Bugger for the larger spring fish. Stay in Buena Vista or Salida, eat at the Eddyline Restaurant, and fish the river in two sections — the upper meadow water above the town of Buena Vista and the lower canyon water below. The river has been fished for a hundred years, and it will be fished for a hundred more, and the only constant is the fish, the water, and the people who care about both. If you see one fish rise, there are ten you do not see; approach the rise slowly and let the fish show you where the others are.