Snowmelt run-off begins about the first of May on the Arkansas River and surrounding streams, says Doug Krieger, Colorado DOW biologist for southeast Colorado. Run-off continues through June. Wading and fly-fishing become possible around mid- July.

"In the peak of the run-off, the fish are just hanging out," said Krieger. "You can find locations where you can do a little worm dunking, but rivers like the Arkansas are fairly ferocious. You have to be darn careful. One slip while wading, and you will be downstream real fast. Very few people fish the Arkansas during the run-off. Once it gets below 1,000 (cubic feet per second), then it becomes fishable around the edges."

The Arkansas has more of a natural run-off; other rivers are more controlled. The Arkansas is almost all wild brown trout with an occasional rainbow. The Colorado DOW stocks some small rainbows to keep the rainbow population up.

"One of the big deals on the Arkansas is what they call the Mother's Day caddis hatch, and usually that starts probably before Mother's Day, typically by the third week in April."

Some of the better feeder streams leading into the Arkansas are Clear Creek, Texas Creek and the South Fork of the Arkansas. Clear Creek Reservoir produces excellent year-round catches of nice-sized brown, rainbow and cutthroat trout.

"Most people fish the Arkansas with both flies and lures," said Krieger. "Panther Martin is always a real good spinner to have. As far as fly-fishing, it depends on what's hatching at the time. In the springtime, very early, that's going to be probably small mayflies, then moving to stoneflies and then caddis, getting closer into the run-off period."

The Rio Grande is a lot like the Arkansas, in that brown trout dominate its waters, and the season is about the same. Usually by mid-May snowmelt races downhill, causing conditions too high and muddy for fishing. However, run-off tapers more quickly on the Rio Grande than the Arkansas. The end of May or sometime near the first of June marks its return to fishability.

Look for good brown and rainbow trout fishing from Rio Grande Reservoir downstream to Del Norte. Fly-fishing is best in June through July, when stonefly and mayfly hatches dominate fish's diets. The Gold Medal section from South Fork to Del Norte provides trophy brown trout.

Instead of trying to find some place to fish streams during the run-off, some anglers simply target reservoirs. "About the time the rivers get a little muddy, there are definitely reservoirs to go to," said Krieger. "Most of our higher reservoirs are opening up by the middle of May, first of June."

Some of the more popular reservoirs on the Arkansas are Clear Creek, near Buena Vista; Twin Lakes and Turquoise Lake, both near Leadville; and other reservoirs, such as Brush Hollow. "That's a good spring destination that opens fairly early, in March," continued Krieger. "We stock Brush Hollow with rainbow trout. It also has warmwater fish species and is located near Canon City."

Turquoise Lake, on the base of the Continental Divide, is one of Colorado's most scenic reservoirs, offering rainbow, brown, cutthroat and lake trout fishing. The lake is four miles west of Leadville.

One of the best places to try in May or June is Rampart Reservoir outside of Colorado Springs. It rates a try as soon as the ice goes off, because it has carryover trout from the previous year and provides great fishing fairly close to home.