Live Big on the Little Red
The Little Red River titillated the angling world in 1992 when it coughed up the current world-record brown trout—a 40-pound, 4-ounce behemoth caught by local fisherman Howard “Rip” Collins on 4-pound-test line. This “mother of all brown trout” is the sort of thing any tourism department or chamber of commerce dreams about. It made the river’s reputation as a premier fishing destination and morphed Heber Springs into a bustling resort town filled with fly shops, guides, restaurants, and hotels.
But with 29 miles of prime fly-fishing water below Greers Ferry Dam, and estimates of thousands of fish per mile, there’s more than enough river to find solitude, and plenty of trout to go along with it.
The Little Red flows from Greers Ferry Dam and eventually merges with the White River, the other famous Arkansas trout tailwater. Water temperatures range from 45 to 55 degrees F. all year. Most of the river bottom is sand or gravel, with heavy moss in the deep areas.
The Little Red’s most popular stretch—from the dam to Ramsey Access—has several public access points for wading anglers. While fishing, keep track of landmarks in case generation begins and you’re wading deep. The water can rise as much as 8 feet in a few hours due to power generation at the dam. During periods of maximum generation, boat anglers often catch more fish than wading anglers.
Wild Trout
The Greers Ferry National Fish Hatchery below the dam produces about one million rainbow trout yearly for the Little Red and several other Arkansas streams.
Brown trout reproduce naturally in the river, thanks to the initial efforts in the early 1970s by the Memphis-based Mid-South Fly Fishers, who took offense to the Arkansas Game and Fish Department plan to stock only rainbows. Club members covertly introduced Salmo trutta under the cover of darkness, and descendants of those fish reproduce naturally in the river today.
Some brook trout also spawn successfully in the Collins Creek area in JFK Park. Cutthroat trout are fewer and farther between—mostly downstream, from Winkley Shoals to Lobo Access.
Fluctuating Flows
Water levels on the Little Red are directly proportionate to energy usage levels in the area. Southwestern Power Administration provides a daily release schedule online and by telephone at (866) 494-1993. A monthly record is also available online.
Generally, electricity usage drops on weekends, causing water levels to fall and creating ideal wade-fishing conditions. Greers Ferry Dam has two power generators, and the flow rate ranges from 20 to 7,800 cubic feet per second (cfs). When only one generator is operating, the flow ranges between 2,500 and 3,900 cfs.
In the spring, flows can be high for weeks or months at a time regardless of electricity production. During this period, wading is not an option, so you should drift stretches of the Little Red, working the banks on either side of the river with streamers.
Use bigger flies in high water, especially if the water is murky. Local guides often fish 2X tippets and throw large (#2-6) streamers. Clouser Minnows (gray/white, yellow/white, and brown/orange); black, olive, and brown Woolly Buggers; and Woolhead Sculpins are local favorites.
I use 9-foot, 3X fluorocarbon leaders with a floating line if the water is relatively clear. In off-colored water, use a sinking-tip line and a flat, 3- to 4-foot piece of fluorocarbon to get your flies down to the fish quickly.
In high water you can also use an indicator rig to dead-drift flies from a boat. Use San Juan Worms (#12-14); sow bugs (#14-16, gray and tan beadhead patterns); Pheasant Tails (#14-16); egg imitations (#12-16); and local Arkansas favorite, the Red *** (#14-16).
Bring at least two rods to the Little Red. In low, “normal” conditions you’ll want an 8- or 9-foot, 4- or 5-weight rod for wade-nymphing and dry-fly fishing. Use a stout 6-weight for streamer fishing from the boat.
Copyright © 2012 Intermedia Outdoors
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