Arkansas River Fishing Report | Early October, 2025

Michael Atwood
Oct 8
3 min read

October 8, 2025

Arkansas River Flows

Many of our flow gauges stop reporting though the colder months, so we will report on 2 stations...

Granite : ~102 cfs

Wellsville: ~290 cfs

Shop Manager, Michael, with a lovely male brown trout from the S. Platte River this week.

Arkansas River Fishing Report:

The Latest:

Check out this week's fishing report video on youtube!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZKJTOK6nQs&feature=youtu.be

Fall has really set in here on the Upper Arkansas River! Most of the aspen leaves have now fallen to the ground, and its time for the cottonwood trees to show off their vibrance along the river corridor. Colder overnight temperatures mean that the water needs a little time to warm up to really get the fish moving. Great insect hatches and fishing opportunities now take place in the middle of the day. Midges and blue winged olives are the primary hatches this time of year, but look for some caddis and other larger mayflies as well. Nymphing or streamer fishing when there isn't a hatch is a great way to fish this time of year. When fish are looking up, tie on dries in the #18-20 size to fool them.

General Arkansas River Fishing Report and Tactics:

It might be time to start getting familiar with your nymph rig again. Nymphing will certainly bring more fish to the net this time of year, outside of any prolific hatches (bwos). I like to pair two nymphs together, separated by about 2 feet. The first fly will be a larger tungsten beaded (sz 16-18) CDC style nymph, and trailing behind that a smaller tungsten beaded (sz. 18-20) perdigon style nymph. My favorite colors for flies right now are olive and any natural tan/brown.

When fish are looking up and rising, I'll usually reach for a parachute adams, comparadun, or midge cluster type of dry fly, in smaller sizes like #18-#22. Put a good drift right in the feeding lane, and you should be having success!

Trout can be a bit more selective, and your presentation will matter much more than the specific fly pattern that you have tied on. Start to think about using fluorocarbon tippet when fishing subsurface, in the 5X to 6X size range. Finer tippet, and longer sections of that fine tippet, will improve your presentation. Presentation matters (usually more than specific fly pattern)! Master your drift and your mending to get the best results out there.

Alpine Lakes and Streams:

Things are starting to wind down in the high country! We are still having good reports out of our nearby alpine options, but there can be some real sluggish fish out there! You better get it while you can, or we will have to wait until next July!

Spinney Mtn and Antero Reservoir Fishing Report:

It is starting to feel like Fall out on the stillwaters in S. Park. We are starting to see some early signs of staging/spawning behavior from the brown trout. Trout have begun moving into the shallows, and are easily in range of the wade angler. The hard part is finding where fish are congregated, and getting your depth just right. If you can find a hot spot, you might just have an exceptional outing. If all else fails, this is a good time to year to strip streamers as well. Predatory and territorial behaviors are kicking in, and you can get some explosive takes on streamer patterns.

Stillwater in the Fall is not easy, but it can be rewarding with opportunities for real trophy colored-up trout!