Cody Smith

Welcome Aboard, That's about as high as it gets! The lake levels are finally starting to fall. I would look for High Water for another week at least. TT

There is really no way to predict what there going to do, but from my experience I would say they will have both units wide open until the lake gets down to 461.4 or less. The lake levels are still rising slightly and with all the snow up north it's going to be rising more when everything begins to melt. I've still got about 3" here on the ground in tumbling shoals. I'm not saying you can't pick up a fish or two with high water but not a typically good time to come up from Memphis IMO. Cody Trout Troller Guide Service

Good Fishing to be had when they shut the generators down. I landed 28 Rainbows in a few hours, Standard Flies, San Juan won the battle. Other reports say Midges in sizes 20 - 26 where the ticket. Good luck on any low water any time soon! TT

Just to give you guys the heads up. Water Temps in the mid 40's, to be exact 44.7 was the warmest I found today. I fished from 11 until 5 o'clock and got 1 skint minnow. I talked to one of my guide associates, Tommy Zinda, and they had the same result's from dam near the entire lake. Now, don't get me wrong over the weekend there where several eye's caught but the bite came to a hault when the lake came up 2 feet in 1 day. Don't ask me why but hte corp. shut the gen. down yesterday for quite a while. My advise is wait until the lake levels start to come down before venturing off. good luck out there- TT

Water TEMPs dropped 4-6 degrees over the past week with the colder air and wind that was ushered in. Needless to say the bite did not improve. The positive side of this situation is the feeder arms are now 1 or 2 tenths warmer than the mouths of the rivers. This will push game fish on up the arms. We got almost 2"'s of rain the past two days so this should bring the temps back closer too where they need to be. I'll be reporting soon, hopefully with more positive information. Please e-mail or post if you have any question's about our area or would like to set a guide date for the upcoming spawn. Trout Troller

I live in Tumbling Shoals about 1 mile from the HWY 25 Boat Ramp

I have done extensive research through trial and error with many different lines for jig fishing trout. IMO The absolute best combo you can have is 4 or 6lb. vanish with a 3 foot piece of 5x tippet tied to the jig (1/16 oz or 1/32 oz and on low water days a 1/64 oz) with a palmer or IC knot. FLUORO MUST BE SOPPING WITH SPIT WHEN SINCHED DOWN. It's several times more abrasion res. than mono, it does not cast a shadow effect with the light rays in the water, and it sinks faster, which is nice with the 1/64 oz. jigs. It also has a lower mempry factor which plays big dividens with the lighter jigs. When you combo it with the tippet material it will out fish straight mono or fluoro 5 to 1. TT

We have been pounded by cold fronts and drastic pressure changes the past couple of weeks, be it warm or cold. The far reaches of the arms have got great current but are still a few degrees cooler than at the mouths. I understand what your saying about fish being up these arms and they are, However getting them to bite is a different tale in itself. I fish most often from Middle Fork to Devils Fork and The Peter Creek area, the fish are starting to get there but just are not in there Pre Spawn feeding mode yet. After we get 4 or 5 days of Warm Windy Days, I can assure you the reports will be changing.

Water temps are ranging from 44 - 51 degrees depending on your location. Action was very slow over the weekend. I boated 1 walleye which was 23 1/2" on Saturday, 1 bite all day and it came 6 1/2 hours into the day, tuff mentally and physically with the wind pounding! I'm not aware of any measured fish coming into the site. The reports from my other guide associates are saying the same, extremely slow. If you want to boat some fish target those spotted bass in and around the middle portion of the lake and the Peter Creek area. I did boat some nice spot's on Sunday in Peter Creek but No Walleye. Look for the action to pick up once we get back on the warming trend. Good Fishin` Cody S. Smith Trout Troller

February Forecast 2008: Current Lake Level 458.65, Current Water Temps: 36 - 42 Degrees February marks the pre-spawn period for our beloved and world famous Walleye located here in our great reservoir. It also kicks off the Greers Ferry Lake World Walleye Classic, with great times to be had by everyone. Mother Nature will dictate from here on into the Summer month's on where, when and how you should be targeting fish. All hunting season's are long gone with the exception of a few nuisance snow geese and late archery for deer. This means added pressure on our fish and reservoir. We are now in a pattern of warming temperatures and southerly winds filtering back in warmer rains. This will translate into warmer water temps and more current in our reservoir, this time of the year usher's in some of the best fishing to be had by all! February is still early for most of the species, but if we get a week of warmer temps and the water starts to warm into the mid to upper 40's get on the water. The fish will be feeding up for there spawn and looking for an easy meal. Anglers should be targeting water that warms quickly, usually located on South facing Banks and bends with structure which conducts heat into the water. It's amazing to see water temps differ so drastically by the location on the water. Bass will be positioning themselves in relatively deep water adjacent to shallow bars, humps and chunk rock piles which will warm the quickest and provide easy feeding opportunities. With artificial's in mind, I suggest a mid sized representation of a crawfish in green's (watermelon and pumpkin seed) fished around and on top of structure for best result's. Most all types of Jig and chunk combo's in the 1/8 - 3/16 oz. Range will produce best. Remember this time of year your crawfish are going to be almost translucent, not the orange and opaques of the fall, time to shift colors. Crappie will be day to day with warmer windy days being best, target the pole timber and keep the same winter pattern going, catch a couple and keep on moving for best results until the water temps get to the upper 50's. Minnows are going to be your best bet fished on 1/16 or 1/32 oz. Jig Heads. Use your electronics to locate suspended fish and be patient to pick up one or two. The Hill Creek area will be a good place to start your search. Catfish have been extremely difficult to catch but will improve as the days get longer and should make a big push towards the end of the month on into March. Now, for the EYES! They are going to be tuff for the first part of this month but will be more active towards the latter, the weather will dictate there every move. The largest concentration's are moving up the lake or into main arms feeding occasionally readying themselves for the spawn, 52 Degrees marks the beginning. When water temps hit 45 - 47 degrees you will see a big improvement on the bite in 15 - 22 feet of water. All of the males will move into the spawning ground s first and wait on the big females to follow behind them. Once this happens you should be boating at least 1 or 2 keeper fish per hour. Remember we have a slot limit put in place by AGFC, 20" - 28" is no good, fun to catch but put'em back to insure we have a sustainable population for the future in our reservoir. LIVE bait can not be beat when seeking out our toothy friend. Large minnow's are going to produce best when presented on a 1/8 or 1/16 oz. Jig head fished on light fluorocarbon line. Once the water temps hit 60 degrees, well will discuss this in the forecast for March! Until then, Be safe on the water and take a kid fishing~ E-mail me for an up to date report on the Little Red River and the tactics that are boating 100 fish a day! Cody S. Smith, Trout Troller Guide Service, smittyc888@hotmail.com Full and Half day trips are available for The Little Red River or Greers Ferry

The Greers Ferry Walleye Tourney usually starts the 2nd week of Feb. and runs for a total of 1 month. Check out the Fairfield Bay Chamber web-site for details as they come! Trout Troller