Share your catch
US

Arkansas River Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

The upper Arkansas: 152 miles of river in CPW's Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area, 102 of them Gold Medal water, mostly wild brown trout.

2/5
Slow. The wind owns today.25 mph gusts make boat control the real battle.
Water temp
~47 F est.
Air / High
51 / 60 F
Wind
S 12 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 07091200, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

2/5Slow. The wind owns today.25 mph gusts make boat control the real battle.

Arkansas River fishes cold and honest: earn your bites in the deep stuff. The river is running 317 cfs. Today brings clear skies, wind S around 12 mph, falling pressure near 1011 hPa and a high of 60. Water sits around 47 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:42 AM-11:42 AM and 10:10 PM-12:10 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Rainbow troutExcellent

In cold water rainbows use the deepest pools in rivers (Vermont), so slow, deep drifts there are the usual approach; Michigan DNR notes lake rainbows are also taken with bait or by jigging through the ice.

Brown troutExcellent

Below 50Β°F, fish slowly through the deeper pools; in early spring on the Great Lakes, Michigan DNR notes browns are often caught inshore before other species start biting.

Tomorrow: Cooler at 42 F with likely rain: fish ahead of the front. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

Colorado requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $57.63 for residents. What a Colorado licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing rainbow trout here? Check the size and bag limits with CPW before you keep anything. The season dates for Colorado, read off the agency, are on the Colorado seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings from Arkansas River near Nathrop, CO.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 07091200.

226262298317 cfs09/2309/2509/2809/30

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp51 F
High / Low60 / 42 F
WindS 12-20 mph
Pressure1011.4 hPa, falling
Sky / Rain13% cloud, 70%
Sunrise / Sunset07:21 / 18:14
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~47 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Which day to fish Arkansas River this week

The best day on Arkansas River this week looks like Monday Oct 26, at 4 out of 5, against 2 today.

Best day this week: Monday, Oct 26 β€” good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Tough

25 mph gusts make boat control the real battle.

Solunar majors
9:42 AM-11:42 AM and 10:10 PM-12:10 AM
Minor period
4:05 AM-5:05 AM
Sun
07:21 to 18:14
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Showers, 25 mph
Rain chance
70%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Arkansas River: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Rainbow trout illustration

Rainbow trout

Spring and fall in most lakes; rivers fish year-round while the water stays cool

A cold-water trout native to Pacific drainages from Alaska to Baja California, now stocked in most states and fished in rivers, tailwaters and lakes. In cold water rainbows use the deepest pools in rivers (Vermont), so slow, deep drifts there are the usual approach; Michigan DNR notes lake rainbows are also taken with bait or by jigging through the ice.

Brown trout illustration

Brown trout

Spring along Great Lakes shorelines; low light and overcast days in rivers; fall spawning runs

A European trout first stocked in the US in 1883 and now fished in rivers and lakes nationwide; it tolerates warmer water than other trout, and mature stream fish feed mostly at night. Below 50Β°F, fish slowly through the deeper pools; in early spring on the Great Lakes, Michigan DNR notes browns are often caught inshore before other species start biting.

When to come: the Arkansas River calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Rainbow trout
Brown trout
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 47 F (estimated, not a reading).

30405060JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~47 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Arkansas River today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 56 F, wind to 12 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 64 F, wind to 9 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 65 F, wind to 9 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used if we need to ask you about your report. No mailing list, no spam.

Before you go

License

Colorado requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Colorado fishing license; statewide limits through the Gold Medal reach (W-1 special rules only near Pueblo). Parks pass at recreation-area fee sites.

Access

Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area sites from Leadville to Lake Pueblo; park office and visitor center at 307 W. Sackett Ave., Salida (weekdays). Parkdale Recreation Site is the last public access above the Royal Gorge.

About this water

152 miles of river in the AHRA, with Gold Medal trout water from the Lake Fork to Parkdale (CPW); Chaffee, Fremont and Lake counties in the trout reach, CO. The USGS gauge near Nathrop is seasonal and does not report from about December to March.

Fishing Arkansas River: the full guide

Headwaters Recreation Area

CPW runs the Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area along 152 miles of the river, from Leadville to Lake Pueblo, as one park split into six sections; the river drops 4,650 feet over that course. CPW counts 102 of those miles as Gold Medal trout water, which its Gold Medal map places from the Lake Fork of the Arkansas to Parkdale.

The trout

CPW says the river's trout are about 90 percent self-reproducing brown trout and 10 percent Colorado River rainbows introduced as fingerlings. Fishing is best when flows are low and the water is clear, and even calm-looking reaches have strong currents, so wade with care. CPW singles out the Salida-to-Vallie Bridge section through Bighorn Sheep Canyon for some of the park's best walk-and-wade and float fishing.

Flows and boating

CPW calls the Arkansas the most commercially rafted river in the United States. A Voluntary Flow Program adds water in summer, measured at the Wellsville gauge near Salida, and snowmelt usually peaks in late May and early June. Motorized boats are not allowed on the river within the recreation area.

Rules and passes

CPW's Chapter W-1 has special rules for the Arkansas only near Pueblo, in the Pueblo Reservoir State Wildlife Area and from Valco Ponds to Pueblo Boulevard, so statewide limits apply through the Gold Medal water. Recreation area sites charge daily vehicle or individual passes, sold at fee kiosks and at the Salida visitor center.

Common questions

Where is the Gold Medal water on the Arkansas?

CPW's Gold Medal map runs it from the Lake Fork of the Arkansas to Parkdale, above the Royal Gorge; the recreation area counts 102 Gold Medal miles.

Are the Arkansas River trout stocked?

Mostly not: CPW says about 90 percent are self-reproducing brown trout, and the rainbows are introduced as fingerlings.

Do I need a pass to fish from the recreation area sites?

Yes: CPW sells daily vehicle and individual passes at the site kiosks and the Salida visitor center.

Is fishing good at Arkansas River right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. The wind owns today. 25 mph gusts make boat control the real battle.

Nearby waters

Antero Reservoir24 miSpinney Mountain Reservoir30 miTwin Lakes34 miElevenmile Canyon Reservoir34 miTaylor River43 miTarryall Reservoir45 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 07091200 β€” Arkansas River near Nathrop, CO
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Timestamp comes with each value on the gauge page.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 38.6522, -106.0511 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 8, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 8, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.