October 9 & 10, 2024
The Arkansas River - October 9: Fisherman’s Bridge, Stone Bridge & Big Bend Park, October 10: Rincon, Lone Pine & Texas Creek
Looking upstream from the middle of the Texas Creek access site.
Flows: Between 300 cfs.
Moon Phase: Waxing Crescent (39% illumination).
Water Temp: 58F @ 8:45a.
Water clarity: Gin clear.
Air Temp: Mornings in the 40sF – afternoons in the high 70sF.
Hatches: Midge: 8:45a to early afternoon. Caddis – a smattering throughout the day. Heavier after noon. BWO: Some starting at 12N.
Spawning: N/A.
Flies: #12 Chubby Chernobyl, #14 Bead Reddish Head Pheasant Tail, #18 Stalcup Baetis, #16 Guide’s Choice Hare’s Ear, #16 Tabou Caddis, #14 Graphic Caddis, #20 Grey Sparkle Wing RS2, #18 Mercury Flashback Pheasant Tail, #18 Pheasant Tail, #20 Mercury Flashback Black Beauty.
Top producers: Tabou Caddis, Reddish Pheasant Tail (imitates a Red Quill nymph), Pheasant Tail, Flashback Pheasant Tail.
Fisherman’s Bridge access site.
Over the past several years Brian has traveled along US 50 to visit family in Salida. It just happens that US 50 parallels US 50 the whole way. On his many trips Brian saw fly fishers out on the river at various access points and often talked about Texas Creek. He had heard about it but had never had the chance to stop and try it for himself. He mentioned it many times over the years while going or coming back from our fishing outings.
The other day we were standing in the Arkansas River at Texas Creek and for an hour or so, Brian was hooking up on every third or fourth cast. Nice size brownies and rainbows. But he wasn’t entirely sure he was at Texas Creek!
There are about four or five pull outs and parking lots along a one- or two-mile stretch of the river at Texas Creek. The “real” Texas Creek is an unincorporated community at the junction of US 50 and highway 69. It has a café, a gas station, and a pull-out/put-in for drift boats and rafts - and that’s about it.
Another view from Fisherman’s Bridge. (The Collegiate Peaks in the background.)
Brian was thinking “is this pull out Texas Creek or is it one of the others”, but I’m pretty sure that all the pull outs and spots to fish along this section of the river are referred to as Texas Creek.
It was the second day of our two-day venture to fish the “middle” section of the Arkansas River. We have fished the headwaters near Leadville and we’ve fished the tailwater below the Pueblo Reservoir but we haven’t fished this part of the river. Actually, I had fished it between Buena Vista and Salida once with the my sons on one our trips – but not with Brian. We’ve talked about it and finally decided to try it.
It’s a big river and often referred to as the hundred-mile-long riffle and flows unobstructed from its headwaters in Sawatch and Mosquito Mountain ranges near Leadville all the way to the dam that forms the reservoir in Pueblo. From there it flows into Kansas, Oklahoma and then into Arkansas where meets the Mississippi River. It’s the sixth-longest river in the US. It’s steep and fast too - falling 6,750 feet from its headwaters to Canyon City – then leveling off a bit as continues its journey.
Brian got this brownie at the Texas Creek access site.
Brian Kenney.
And it’s a big river to fish. The middle channel is deep and in a lot of places it drops off quickly from the banks. From the road and parking areas the “fishy” spots look accessible but often are hard to reach while wading. Most spots along the bank seemed to hold one fish and if you were lucky enough to get it before spooking it you then had to climb out of that spot and find another.
It’s hard fishing.
Wading is difficult with all the slippery boulders that line the riverbed. In fact I found it difficult just to stand in the current because of the slippery rocks under foot – often losing my balance. Making it even tougher to wade is the abundance of various size boulders and the crystal clear water. You’d think the clear water would make it easier, but I found it hard to judge the depth, and at times found myself in deeper water than I was comfortable with.
Brian got this brownie on his Mercury Flashback Pheasant Tail.
Brian Kenney.
Our first stop was the Ark Anglers Fly Shop in Buena Vista. Being unfamiliar with the river we wanted to get the lay of the land. The attendant was very helpful – using a map to point out various pull offs that provide river access. It also showed where the boundaries of public and private waters. If a private section was on one side of the river and it was public on the other, you could only wade into the middle of the river.
He also explained that upstream of Buena Vista the river is much steeper and harder to navigate, and it gets much easier the farther downriver you go. With that we picked Fisherman’s Bridge - a spot downriver to start. Like all other access points that we came across this one had boat put-ins/take-out. Some of them are state parks too.
Brian with the first fish of the trip in the net.
Structurally, Fisherman’s Bridge was very similar to the other access points north of Salida consisting of riffle, run, pool sections and pocket water, but there was not a lot of water to cover. The river was running at 300 cfs which seemed a little slow and even with the crystal-clear water we didn’t spot any fish – even behind the many big boulders. In fact, I found that sight fishing was not the best tactic on this river.
Brian picked out a fishy spot at the tail end of a run and landed the first fish of the trip. It was a brownie in the 12” to 13” range – which is typical size for this part of the river. He got it on a #20 Walt’s Worm. This fly has many variations with a lot looking very similar to a Euro Jig and it’s a very effective fly pattern. Brian’s variation looked more like a Cased Caddis and is equally effective. It was created in Central Pennsylvania by Walt Young in the 1980s.
Lone Pine access site.
While Brian was covering the tail out of that run, I waded across the river - VERY CAREFULLY. And even so I almost took a swim a couple of times. Before crossing I surveyed the river and saw a spot in the far side of the run that Brian was covering that looked very fishy from my vantage point. I was disappointed when I finally made it across the river and found that it was very shallow. With that spot a non-starter, I fished the middle of the fast run on the other side, and just upstream of Brian - and had no action.
We had decided that we’d cover at least a few of the access points during the day and after about an hour – maybe an hour and half- we picked up and drove farther downstream to the Stone Bridge. We found more river to cover at this location. It was a beautiful day weather wise, and this section was particularly scenic with the leaves changing, crystal clear water and bright blue sky.
Pocket water upstream of the Stone Bridge.
The river was shallow along our side of the river and I decided to fish a Hopper/Dropper rig tying on a #12 Chubby Chernobyl and following it with a #16 Pheasant Tail and a #18 Stalcup Baetis. In general, the bugs are bigger on free-stone rivers such as this one. I’ve read where the constant fluctuation of the current causes the insects to work harder to survive and in order to survive, they have to grow bigger.
I was fishing a small seam next to the shore and was surprised when on my second cast a brownie appeared out of no where and smacked one of my droppers. I’m not sure which because I only had him briefly before he broke off. That was very enlightening. Before covering that seam I looked into it and had not seen a fish – and decided to cover it just because. In fact up to that point – I hadn’t spotted a fish anywhere.
Looking upstream into more pocket water.
I then moved upstream of the bridge to some very treacherous terrain to cover a bunch of pocket water. In between the pockets were small seams that I thought would hold fish. My tactic was to cast my Hopper/Dropper as far up the seam as possible and strip line in as my flies floated back toward me. The casts were in the 20’ to 30’ range and I foundt the casting and traversing of the terrain very tiring!
I’m one of those guys that think “if it’s harder, it must be better”. Brian on the other hand is not. He looks for fishy spots that are easier to reach and more often than not, finds fish! And he did this time. While I was upstream working the seams and pockets, Brian was in a less adventurous spot and landed three more brownies. They were all in the 12” to 13” range and hit his #20 Flashback Pheasant Tail.
While upstream I did get a nice brownie to take one of my droppers, but again he was able to break off. This time I had a lot of line out and he hit about 15’ upstream of me – and I found the set and line control were a challenge – probably leading to him breaking off.
Releasing a rainbow at the Texas Creek access site.
After about two hours there we moved downstream to the Big Bend pull off. It’s actually a state park, campground, boat launch/take out, and a fishing spot all in one. I fished it years ago with my sons and our guides but the spot we were in didn’t seem at all familiar. There is a lot of river access here and I think we must have been in another area of the park.
We stopped at the first parking area on the north-east side of the park and found it very hard to navigate. And again, there were only a couple of fishy spots – both hard to get to. It was now later in the afternoon and a storm quickly picked up and blew us off the water. Literally! It was like a micro-burst with the wind blowing in every direction. I had lifted my flies out of the water to clean them and before I could grab them, the wind blew them into a tree behind me. I couldn’t reach them and had to break them all off. Ugh!
That was the end of the day for us. Just after we geared down in the wind and rain – it stopped. Just like that it was gone, and the sun was shining. No matter – we were done and ready to relax with a beer!
Brian tying flies on at the Big Bend access site.
We were greeted with another beautiful fall morning on day two. Our plan was the same as the day before – pick a public access point, give a try then move on to the next one. The only definite was to end the day at the Texas Creek site.
Rincon was our first stop. It’s just north and upstream from Howard where we overnighted. We arrived about 8:30a in time for the morning midge hatch. It was well underway – lots of them in the air.
I covered this small pool and run at the Rincon access site. (The sheer granite walls of the bank leading into the river.)
This location is not much different from the others but is maybe even more restrictive on where we could fish. The sides of the bank are mostly sheer granite that angles steeply into the river. Navigating on it is very difficult to say the least.
Brian started at the tail out of some fast riffles. It looked to be one of the fishiest spots – but he had no action. I was just upstream of him casting into a pool that was fed by fast water moving over huge boulders. There was much room to move but I was able to get good drifts into the pool and the eddy that swirled back against the fast seam of water that flowed to the far side of the pool.
I began by covering the inside part of the pool and then gradually moved farther out. When I casted into the top of the pool just inside the eddy I had a hit and I set the hook. Just like that – BAM - fish on. No excuses on this one. Not a bunch line out or anything else – but nothing is guaranteed in fishing.
I got this guy in the small pool.
After fighting this bad boy for a bit I netted him. First fish of the trip for me. It was a 14” brownie who fought way above his weight. Brian and I would later agree that the fish fought more gamely than what we expected for their size. It took the #16 Pheasant Tail which was intended to imitate a Red Quill emerger. While reading some of the fishing reports they had mentioned that the fish were keying on this fly and I had tied four of them specifically for this trip.
We soon picked up and moved downstream. The next stop was Lone Pine pull off. As we moved downstream the terrain kept getting a little flatter and this place afforded us more room to move around. We didn’t stay long but found more than a few fishy spots. The wading was a little easier but it was still treacherous on the slippery, round rocks that lined the bottom of the river. I used my net as a wading staff on several occasions to help me navigate across the river.
One of Brian’s brownies.
Brian Kenney.
There was one section where shallow riffles flowed into a deep pool. The riffles extended almost across the whole river and there was room for both Brian and to fish it. It reminded me of several other drop offs that we’ve fished on the Tailwater and other rivers in the past.
My casts were into the riffles and I let my flies drift into the drop off and then into the tailout. In areas like this I usually find the fish right below the drop off. As I moved across the river I ended up at the drop off upstream of a boulder the size of a house. It really slowed the flow of the water and the pool in front of it was more still than the other spots below the riffles.
My flies drifted into the slow pool and as I picked up to recast I felt a strike and set the hook. BAM! Fish on and it felt like a really big fish! It was taking me anywhere it wanted to go and after a bit I began to wonder if I might of foul hooked this guy. I mean I got him on the lift and I couldn’t get any kind of control of him – so chances were pretty high that I did.
I sure enough when I finally got this guy up to the surface I could see that I got him on his underside fin. It was a 17” beauty of a rainbow.
A close up of one of Brian’s brownies.
Brian Kenney.
It was a little before noon when we gathered our stuff and headed to Texas Creek. Brian was very anxious to fish this spot and we planned to spend the rest of the afternoon there.
This spot was more to our liking. There was a lot of river to cover with a lot of pocket water, riffles, runs, and pools. As the day before, I began to cover the pocket water with my Hopper/Dropper rig. I used the same technique casting upstream and stripping my line in as my flies floated back toward me.
There was a lot of pocket water near the bank upstream of the bridge and I covered them about three times. I did spot a couple of fish in the likely spots below the boulders, but they quickly spooked. There was pocket water farther out and in the middle of the river to and after covering the ones near the bank I moved out coverer them. Then I attempted to get to the ones in the middle, but I found the footing too sketchy and the current too swift for my liking. Fighting the current and wading on the slippery rocks was tiering. I had no runs, no hits, and no errors and when it got to be about 1:30p I decided to move on.
I hadn’t seen Brian for a while and I was hoping that he found some easy to get to water and was getting into some fish. As I mentioned earlier, he’s pretty good at finding fish in areas that are not real difficult to get to. This is what I was hoping for because I was pretty worn out from covering the pocket water.
Texas Creek access site.
I walked back along the road to the boat put-in and looked downstream. There was Brian along the bank river right. He saw me and waved for me to come down. I took that as a good sign!
And yes - he found some fish! As I approached, he said “come join” and pointed out a spot for me to try. He had caught eight fish in the past hour and half – and as I got into position he hooked up another one! They were hitting his #16 Tabou Caddis and conveniently, I had one tied onto my nymphing rig.
Of the eight fish Brian netted – six were brownies in the 11” to 14” range and two were rainbows - one 14” and the other 16” to 17”. As we were fishing the run Brian said he was getting hooked up on about every fifth cast earlier. Things were slowing a bit, but we were still getting a fish here and there.
Brian’s Walt’s Worm.
We were upstream of the bridge and casting about ten to fifteen feet off the shore into deep riffled water. While I was there Brian netted a couple more brownies and I netted two rainbows. One of my rainbows was in the 16” range and the other was smaller in the 10’ range. I also hooked up another nice rainbow but lost him when he fought his way into the fast current.
This run pretty much made the trip. Brian said he watched a guide bring a couple of customers into the run. They fished it from the river left side of the river and didn’t get any takes, but he thought since a guide brought customers into the run it must hold some fish. So he decided to give it a try. Nice move!
It was about 3p and we had a least a two hour drive ahead of us – so we waded back upstream to the car to gear down.
This picture sums up the middle section of the Ark – a beautiful setting to fly fish and tough to navigate.
All in all, it was a pretty tough two days of fly fishing. As mentioned, this part of the river is a free stone and there are miles and miles of it to fish. The fish are usually smaller on the free stones. They work harder in the current and the insects aren’t as plentiful as in tailwater sections that we often fish, but it was a good experience.
We learned a lot about the river and the various spots to fish it. Our favorite spot being Texas Creek.
Ah yeah – Texas Creek.
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