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Tennessee Creek of Arkansas River Fishing Information
Main Section - near Leadville, CO
Tennessee creek is an awesome little fishery near Leadville CO that can provide a day of seclusion when the larger rivers are busy. The creek flows from Tennessee pass toward Leadville before eventually merging with the East fork of the Arkansas forming the true headwaters of the Arkansas river. This scenic river is reminiscent of the dream stream section of the South Platte River, just without the myriad of people to fend off for a spot to fish. Slow meandering oxbows create large holes, undercut banks, and flats that hold eager trout.
Don’t let the size of the river deter you, while your average catch consists of either browns in the 14″ range or brookies ranging from 8-12″; there are larger fish to give a nice surprise. I have seen and caught many fish in the 18-22″ range and have seen photographic evidence of much larger trout. Many of the holes on Tennessee creek are deeper than they appear and provide more than enough structure to hold large hungry brown trout. Typically a hopper/dropper rig drifted along the grassy cut-banks or a streamer stripped through the deep troughs will bring fish to the net.
Fish: Some Medium-Sized Fish
Popularity: Low
Difficulty: Medium
Accessibility: Easy
Best Techniques: Dries & Nymphs
Best Seasons: Spring - Fall
River Type: Small Freestone
Fish Types: Brown Trout, Brook Trout
Dog Friendly: Yes
Located in the Arkansas River Basin near Leadville, CO
Exploration Images
Exploration Images
Exploration Images
Fishable Seasons & Current Weather
The best seasons to fish this river are Spring - Fall. See the current weather reports for the next 5-6 days listed below for the nearest city.
Leadville
15°
clear sky
humidity: 85%
wind: 3mph WSW
H 16 • L 15
30°
Fri
21°
Sat
30°
Sun
34°
Mon
Weather from OpenWeatherMap
Hatch Charts
Knowing what flies to use is only have the battle. You have to know when the insects are active on the water and when it's likely the trout are feeding on them. Refer to our hatch charts below to understand when the insect categories and some of the possible hatches on the river.
Midge Hatches
Midges hatch year round, but their importance is from September through winter into April. During the warmer months, the trout often focus on larger insects as they are more active on the water like mayflies, caddis and stoneflies.
Aside from Blue wing olives, mayflies are active most commonly from May to August in Colorado. There are many different mayfly hatches found on most rivers and the most common are listed below.
Blue Wing Olive: September throut winter to April
Colors: Green/Olive
Sizes: #16-24
Pale Morning Dun: June to Mid September
Colors: White, Yellow
Sizes: #14 - #20
Green Drakes: June to August
Colors: Olive/Green
Sizes: #8 - #14
Caddis Hatches
Caddis hatch starting early in May and continue to the end of October.
Colors: Olive, Green, Yellow, Tan, Orange, Brown and Black.
Sizes: #10 - #20
Stonefly Hatches
We have some great stonefly hatches in Colorado and while not all rivers carry all species of salmonflies, you can often fish stonefly adult patterns with confidence from May to September. Start off in bigger sizes and get smaller till September hits (size 8 - 16)
Little Black Stone: January to May during warm sunny days.
Colors: Black, Grey
Sizes: #16 - #20
Golden Stone: June to August
Colors: Yellow, Tan
Sizes: #8 - #14
Yellow Sally Stonefly: Mid June to August
Colors: Yellow, Tan
Sizes: #12 - #18
Terrestrial Activity
Terrestrials don't hatch since they are out of the water, but they can have importance starting in Mid April and ending in September.
These are the the top flies we sell for this river. Use the hatch chart above to know what flies you will want to have in your fly box during your adventure on the river and then select the flies here 30 days before your trip to get them at a great price. All of our flies are hand tied to each order to ensure quality and to keep our prices low for you.
Click on a fly below to select a size and color for purchase.
If you need an easier solution than selecting each fly and size, try out our top fly assortments for this river that will put all the flies you need in a single order for this river. We've already selected the flies we use in our fly box for this river including the sizes and colors and put them in these assortments so you can fish with the confidence that you have the right flies in your box.
Click on any of the pictures to see what flies, colors and sizes we recommend in each assortment.
Tennessee Creek of Arkansas River Tips & Resources
Use these epic resources to get ready for your adventure. Whether you're planning your trip, learning your insects, improving your fishing with expert tips or getting detailed resources from the USGS streamflows or DoW, we got you covered to help you find the river and find the success you want.
