Call it a raging blizzard, call it the Mother’s Day hatch, the on-again, off-again caddis fly hatch on the Arkansas River is on again.
Early activity started around Cañon City 2 1/2 weeks ago, but rain and cooler weather raised river flows and dropped the water temperature. Though blue-wing olive mayflies still offered some potentially good fishing, the river’s signature hatch of caddis was delayed. That changed Monday and Tuesday, with the return of mild weather.
Greg Felt of the ArkAnglers shop in Salida expects the caddis hatch to be up to at least Howard by today and to continue moving upstream through the weekend.
Most of the low-lying snow that had discolored the river has melted, and the volume has been dropping. Earlier periods of high water have scoured the river, creating excellent conditions for accommodating flows that will gradually increase.
The high-country snowpack has diminished somewhat, but a period of runoff can be expected. That probably will begin in mid- to late May and continue about a month.
In the meantime, another week or two of good conditions is likely.
After several years of mild weather, anglers up and down the Arkansas are discovering that the Mother’s Day hatch was called the Mother’s Day hatch for a reason.
Last angler roundtable.
The angler roundtable phase of the Colorado Division of Wildlife’s review of fishing regulations for the next five years concludes tonight with a session at DOW headquarters, 6060 Broadway in Denver. The meeting is 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Topics likely to arise include reduced-kill regulations for Clear Creek and South Boulder Creek, extension of catch-and-release provisions approximately 1 mile in Elevenmile Canyon, a catch-and-release regulation for the Arkansas River below Pueblo Dam and size limits on walleyes. The Rocky Mountain Spearfishing Association has requested an opportunity to take gamefish in addition to rough fish on some bodies of water, in accordance with bag limits and all other regulations that apply to standard rod-and-line fishermen.
“I would anticipate a lively discussion,” said Ken Kehmeir, senior aquatics biologist for the DOW’s northeast region. “So far, we’ve heard from a lot of people with different fishing interests.”
After the roundtables, the DOW will evaluate all the input and prepare a preliminary presentation for review by the Colorado Wildlife Commission in July. A draft of new regulations will be presented at the commission’s September meeting, with final approval scheduled for its November session.
The public may participate at any point in the process.
Elevenmile opening today.
High winds and warm temperatures Tuesday broke up the ice cover remaining on Elevenmile Reservoir, prompting the state park office to open the lake to boating today. Boats will be permitted at the north ramp only, beginning at 5:30 a.m.
All trailered boats must be inspected for aquatic nuisance species before they can be launched. Boat owners with tags from last year are reminded they must have the yellow receipt they were given when the boat was tagged. Lacking that, the boat must again be inspected before launching.
Karl Licis, Special to The Denver Post
