Tag blue wing olive

It started snowing on Friday, April 18, and lasted for 24 hours...The warm weather over recent weeks hasn’t helped the snowpack but it has worked its magic on the fishery. With water temperatures climbing and days getting longer we are seeing strong hatches of midges and blue-wing olive mayflies. The midges are a morning emergence and the mayflies are active in the afternoon. Also just getting underway is our annual brachycentrus caddis fly hatch. The next 3-4 weeks are when the Arkansas River trout population really puts on weight to sustain itself through the rigors of the coming snowmelt. It’s a great time to get on the river!

They were met with a river that is low and clear and that warms up quickly in this kind of weather. Fish were actively feeding on midge and caddis larvae, as well as random stonefly and mayfly nymphs. It was a wonderful reminder of all that is to come. I thought we better share that reminder with you.