Flows are down to winter levels on the Arkansas, and should stay stable with only minimal fluctuations for the next several months. From Leadville downstream to the outlet of Twin Lakes Reservoir the river is iced over, and won't open up till late March. Flows stay a little warmer below the lake outlets, but the sun in the open valley around Salida is usually where the better winter fishing is on the Arkansas. Nymphing stones and copper johns is always a good bet this time of year, and caddis larva will catch fish all year on the Ark. Nymphing the deeper pools of the Ark during the winter months will put you on pods of fish that stack up for winter. Look for fish to be hanging in slower water and the tailouts of pools, moving up to the riffles during only the thickest of bug activity to feed. Keep your nymphs close to the bottom during the winter as the fish don't like to move too much to feed when water temps are low. This is when the Pueblo tail water starts to take off with great dry fly fishing through January and February. Flows are down on this section and the fishing here can be excellent with dries during winter. The waters here stay warmer through winter and the BWO and midge hatches can be thick bringing pods of nice browns to the surface to feed. Dry fly fishing will be best when water temperatures are in the forties and spiking two degrees daily. Recent temps have ranged from 35 to 41 degrees. Warming trends will have the bugs the most active and warmer overnight lows in the upper 20's or 30's will be better for the next days fishing. There have been some bigger rainbows taken to net, as large as 24 inches. Mostly browns, but the rainbows tend to be larger. Simple flies like copper johns, hares ears, pheasant tails, and parachute adams are all you need to beat them up at the Pueblo tail water. The structure in place for the kayakers during high flows provides good habitat for the local browns and rainbows that can be up to 20+ inches. Try slow stripped crawdads around snags and structure for some of the bigger browns that live between the hatchery and town. Downstream is your best chance at the 7 pound brown the DOW found during a shock test. Crowds are heavy on holidays and weekennds.