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Dentry: Caddis hatch leads spring fling on Arkansas

Published April 20, 2007 at midnight

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Rumblings from the Arkansas River hint that official spring, as many fly fishers see it, could arrive as early as this weekend.

Caddis. There are no guarantees when it comes to April mood swings. But the bugs - millions of free-swimming larvae and a few emerging pupae - have been restless, especially from Texas Creek to Cañon City.

Wednesday, in the early afternoon, the currents at Cañon City warmed to 55 degrees and the celebrated mothlike creatures took wing briefly, trout rising to them.

"Here we go . . . " Bill Edrington typed into the Royal Gorge Anglers Web site. The fly shop owner, angler and entomologist said the famous hatch could begin at Parkdale this weekend, weather permitting.

From there, the leading edge of the hatch will step upstream a few miles at a time. For about three weeks, depending on the arrival of murky runoff, the bugs will swarm daily from Cañon City to Buena Vista.

Wild brown trout will feed up. Fly fishers will emerge from the woodwork, and shop owners will have precious little time for fishing.

Three more degrees, and the fiesta begins.

"Fifty-eight degrees (water temperature) is perfect," said Jan Carson, at the shop Thursday. "Bill's upstream, checking things out now."

Edrington has sampled the free- swimming olive caddis larvae in prolific numbers in the lower reaches. Anglers have fared well drifting larvae imitations and swinging fake pupae underwater.

"We're supposed to have nice weather through the weekend," Carson said.

Fishing pressure has been low, but that will change when the blizzard hatch appears, accompanied by the rings of rising trout.

JUMBO RETURNS: Jumbo Reservoir is back in the swim again thanks to an infusion of 17,000 catchable rainbow and cutbow trout. The 1,800-acre reservoir near Julesburg in Colorado's northeastern corner is full and recovering.

Irrigation demands reduced Jumbo to a simmering bowl last summer. Water temperatures rose to 91 degrees, killing all the fish.

Division of Wildlife biologist Ben Swigle stocked the 10-inch trout several months ago and says they've already grown to a foot long or more.

Two weeks ago, Swigle added 3.5 million walleye fry to the pot, but it will be three years before they grow to legal keeping size.

Keeping water in Jumbo, not always an easy task, will be the key to rebuilding its fishery. Last year, the reservoir was full, but farming demands quickly sucked it dry.

MERCURY ADVISORY: The state health department has added two popular southern Colorado reservoirs to the growing list of waters where fish contain elevated mercury levels.

Health officials issued fish-consumption advisories for Trinidad Lake, in Trinidad, and Horseshoe Reservoir, in Lathrop State Park in Huerfano County.

The Trinidad advisory recommends that pregnant or nursing women, or women planning on becoming pregnant, and children 6 and younger, eat no walleyes or saugeyes larger than 18 inches.

A similar advisory at Horseshoe Reservoir includes sauger and smallmouth bass.

Others should eat no more than one meal per month of the 18-inch or longer fish. Details are on the agency's Web site, .CO.US/wq/. Under Programs, click on Fish Consumption Advisories.

Front Range waters also on the list are Rocky Mountain Lake (46th Avenue, in Denver) and Brush Hollow, Horsetooth and Sanchez reservoirs.