LittleRedFisherman

Great respones guys! Since i've posted this we've got about 2 inches of rain here at my place, but we need so much more. Brian Sloss told me the other day we need a 10 inch rain, at first I wasn't so sure about that, but after seeing what little effect even a 2 inch rain has now, I believe he's right. I have worried about the small creeks myself. On the way to Hardy we cross Martins creek, which is a nice little wade fishing creek, small fish but alot of them usually. I"ve crossed that creek for 30 plus years that I remember, and it's always running. This year it basically was just a trickle through some of the rocks. The places you fish are pools, but they are rarely more than waist deep, hopefully the effects wasn't to devastating.

Great Report Brian, and Happy Birthday!! I've got to float that stretch with you in the Walt one of these days. Glad the Zig Jigs worked out for ya. Would like to make it back up there sometime this week, if I do I'll holler at ya, might need somebody to go with me..... Ditto on the pretty trout right now, in all my years of trout fishing, those are by far, the prettiest colored trout I've ever caught. Must be the crystal clear water we've had for so long now?

Sweet Video, loved it!!

I was discussing this with some friends the other day, on how dry it has been in the past year or more now. I know that some streams can handle the droughts better than others due to more springs feeding them. In turn, how has this affected the fish in these streams? I had heard that some of the western AR streams have been affected worse than some, one in particualar that's been mentioned is the Kings river. Time will tell, I'd like to think the fish know how to survive. I was astonished on how low the Eleven Point was a few weeks ago still, and it probably has handled this drought better than most streams. Was curious on some of my fellow OA folks opinons and observations on what your seeing in your area?

Wow, that looks bad!! Wonder how long that had been in there?

As always, I enjoyed reading your detailed reports! Sounds like a great time to me. I would love to do that someday, floating a long stretch of river like that.

lol, hey you can't fault a guy that's determined to get to his fishing spot....

I'm in total agreement of this, there's always gonna be some left in there. I've started using the marine stabilizer, although not for sure it it's any better. I have an ETEC that I worry about doing the same thing, I've kept it and my old boat, but other than duck season, it sets up since I got the River Jon.

Great Report, can't wait to get down there myself. Is there any generation at all, or is it on mininum flow like it was a couple years ago.

He makes his own Jig heads for the zig Jig, but i heard him say on a tv show one time that he uses mustad hooks for the Jig.

Greasy, I really think I could of cleared where I pulled the boat through, but the exercise didn't hurt me, and I still got a boat without a leak.... After having that a year, I agree, best money I've ever spent on toys.....

Mic, basically is a marabou jig with an odd shaped head that gives it kind of a zig zag motion as it falls. Really there called the "white river zig jig", there a hot bait on the tailwaters. Figure you can do the same thing with a standard marabou, but some swear these are better, from how they worked for me the other day on the Point, I'd have to say there's something to them. I had planned to flyfish most of the day, and I did some, but trying to manuever a boat with two other guys it was easier to spin fish, turned out to work out great! They advertise zig jigs here on OA. www.zigjig.com

On a trip at the narrows last year, my buddy Chad hooked a big fish, probably close to 20 inches. He got it to the boat, and we got a good look at before it spit out the jig, we all agreed it looked like a rainbow. We where about a mile or so above the 142 bridge. Like you said, it was cold and the trout might of moved farther south.

Thanks Man, feels good to get back out there fishing and hunting some.

mic, caught most of them on zig jigs, and my buddy caught a couple on crawdad crankbaits. Brown and orange were the Color of choice on the jigs. Caught some with the flyrod just drifting a jig under an indicator.

Ditto on Brian Sloss!

Thanks! I meant Skinny..lol.

Here's a video I threw together last night after the family went to bed. It's not Brian Wise material by any stretch, but shows a few fish we caught yesterday, and how low and clear the river is. Basically played around with my new Gopro, still got alot to learn! I was very impressed with the trout fishery there, as this is the first time I've targeted trout on this river, you could see them everywhere in the water. Several trout we caught by sight, which is a load of fun. The colors some of the rainbow had on them were stunning, compared to the stockers you catch in the Tailwaters, With the exception of the Wild Browns that arein the Litte Red. Saw several bruisers crusising around I"d like to got a better look at....

Yes it did, but was pretty careful, a spot that is usually pretty tight normally I pulled the boat through. You'll have to check my video out, fixing to post it, kinda shows how skinny the water is.

Went up to the Eleven Point today with a couple of my fishing buddies. We were at first in pursuit of some winter smallies, but soon turned into a trout fishing trip for the most part. This was the first time I had actually targeted trout on the Eleven Point. I have been trout fishing in most of the AR tailwaters, plus many times in Spring River. I can without a doubt say that the trout I caught today, were the most beautifully colored rainbows I"ve ever caught, not to mention a good fight. Several of these fish I'm pretty sure were wild trout, and what a treat that was to catch them. Smallies were hard to come by, but at the end of the day, when the light got dim, we started catching a few. As Brian, and others have stated on here, the river in really low, and gin clear.

Will do, this is my first time to chase smallies in awhile. Did really well last winter, but the water had the perfect color, most of the winter due to rains, I'm expecting and hearing that the water is Gin Clear where i"m going, so tactics will have to be different.

I"m heading out to catch some smallies tommorrow hopefully. My two stratigeies will be jerkbaits for spinning gear, and i like dead drifting jigs with the flyrod.

Did you make it as far as Blue Spring?

Wow, sounds like a rough go, what a difference from last year, we ran way upstream with no problems. Least you caught some fish. Sounds like we need a lot of rain.

Finally after almost a year, I put together a video to give to my friends I took fishing at Calico last January. This was the first time they had ever been trout fishing, so basically used simple drift techniques to catch some cookie cutters. The lure of the day was a simple spinner with a worm attached to the bottom, for me this tends to catch more browns, which wasn't the case on this day. Broke them in right, it was in the upper 20's when we started. It was pretty slow till the afternoon, then they really started to bite. Main thing is, we had a great time, was the only one's on the river all day, and they can't wait to go back this winter!!