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Fishing in the upper Arkansas Valley is getting better every day and summer is here.

The Arkansas River is still running high, but it has cleared up in the Buena Vista area and the fishing has greatly improved. The caddis hatch was a bust this year because of the weather, but there have been small groups of Caddis hatching up and down the river this week and the fish are hitting dry flies with vigor. Large streamers and panther martin lures are also working very well and the fishing will just get better as the summer progresses.

Twin lakes and the Mt. Elbert forebay have both been good fishing this spring. The Mt. Elbert forebay has been very good for rainbow using montera marvels and was stocked this week. Twin lakes is still good for lake trout, they have gone a little deeper and tube jigs tipped with suckermeat is working best now. The rainbows and cutthroats are still hitting small flies on the surface, but salmon eggs and nightcrawlers fished from shore are also working well.

Cottonwood lake is one of the best fishing spots in the valley and has been very good with small lures and flies. Night crawlers, rainbow power bait and salmon eggs have also been working very well. It was recently stocked and has been very good fishing. The fish are hitting flies on the surface and montera marvels.

Turquoise lake is free if ice, and is very good fishing especially for lake trout near the dam and along the south shore. The upper end is good for rainbows and cutthroats using night crawlers. Some very nice rainbows are being caught trolling in deeper water at this time.

North fork reservoir is open and the road to the lake is open all the way now. Fishing has been good for carryover rainbows and the lake is coming up.

Clear creek reservoir fishing has improved over the last few weeks and fishermen are catching some really nice fish at the inlet using kastmasters cast into the moving water going into the lake.

Chalk lake and wrights lake are both good fishing. The best bet for both of these is small lures like panther martins and mepps. Night crawlers and salmon eggs are working good in Chalk lake. Wrights lake is flies and lures only and some nice rainbows are being caught on montera marvels and dead chickens.

The Hi Mountains lakes are still difficult to get to because of snow, some of the lakes are starting to open up and that early ice off fishing is the best time to be there if you can get there.

Hayden meadow has been stocked and there is a caddis hatch going on up there and along the River above Granite. This weekend will be a great fishing weekend all around. Emerald lake has also been stocked and this is a great lake to fish. It is has a wonderful setting in the trees and up in a nice mountain valley.

This time of year some of the smaller streams are a better bet for fishing because they are running a little lower and clearer than the river. All three cottonwood creeks are really great places to fish and you can catch brook trout, brown trout and cutthroat trout. Small flies are the best bet, but nights crawlers drifted down stream also work great.