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The Great Hatch
The mother of all Mother's Day Caddis hatches occurs on the Arkansas. The caddis (Brachycentrus) hatch when the water temperature reaches about 50 degrees F. The hatch begins in the Canon City area around April 15 and gradually moves upstream past Salida until runoff blows it away, usually around May 15. The irony is that by Mother's Day the fish have seen so many bugs that fooling them with an Elk-hair Caddis is impossible.

When people call me and want to know where the hatch is, I simply tell them to drive until they can't see out the windshield. Then stop, clean the glass, and drive three or four more miles upstream. The goal is to get above the blanket hatch so that fishing a dry fly can be more productive. Having bugs on the water is good, but during this hatch there can be too many. Picking out your fly on the water can be impossible, let alone picking the naturals out of your ears and nose. My friend Rod Patch in Salida calls this a "breathe-through-your-teeth kind of hatch."

You need to think your way through this hatch. As it begins, the larvae patterns are important. I usually drift them behind big stonefly nymphs, such as Larry Kingrey's Arkansas Rubber-leg Stone. Next comes a pupa fished as an emerger by swinging it downstream. Then comes the adult, and then the spent caddis.

During the waning days of the hatch, the spent patterns always take big fish late in the day. My favorite spent pattern is Mike Lawson's Spent Partridge Caddis in a #16. The best adult pattern is a #14 Elk-hair Caddis with a peacock body. Almost any larva works well. Kaufmann's Bead-head Metallic is a good choice, as well as the old latex standbys.

The most important pattern is the pupa. You can't go wrong with LaFontaine's Sparkle Emerger or Kingrey's Bubble Pupa. All of these flies are necessary to be successful through the entire hatch. There are days, however, when just fishing an Elk-hair Caddis can bring 75 fish to hand. These days occur around the third week of April, before the fish are "bugged" out. Other Hatches If you have a new dry-fly rod to break in, take it to the Arkansas and book a room for the entire month of April. The first hatch of spring is a Blue-winged Olive (Baetis), and the hatch can be spectacular on cloudy days in late March and early April. Light snowfall can generate hordes of the bugs and start a daily feeding frenzy.

The best time to fish the Arkansas is mid-April. It gives you intense Olive hatches, great caddis larva and stonefly nymphing, and the beginning of various caddis hatches along the lower corridor.

While April is the best dry-fly month, the time not to fish the Arkansas is from mid-May to mid-July. High water from runoff makes fishing difficult so the runoff months are better left to the whitewater enthusiasts. The only problem with this is that a heavy stonefly (Acroneuria) hatch occurs in June. If you dodge the rafts, you can use Stimulators to pick off fish along the edges.

August is hopper-and-dropper time. Small bead-heads hanging off a big parachute hopper or Stimulator can provide some of the best action of the year. This lasts well into September when fall Baetis and Red Quills take over.

From December to February, use big stonefly nymphs or CDC midges to break up winter doldrums. Try the tailwater stretch below Pueblo Reservoir.

Don't think the best way to fish this river is to always match the hatch. Impressionistic patterns and attractors are excellent producers, and even nontraditional bead-head patterns work well. Be innovative and use materials that trap air. In addition, always carry several sizes of Royal Wulffs, yellow Humpies, H & L Variants, and Royal Stimulators.

Which two flies would I use on the Arkansas if I were limited to just two? A #10 Orange Stimulator and a #12 Bead-head Prince. These flies can catch fish 365 days a year.

Bill edrington owns Royal Gorge Anglers in Canon City, Colorado.

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