Fly Fishing The Little Red River

[Phil Lilley]

The good news is that the Little Red River is the closest trout stream to Memphis and Little Rock. The bad news is that the Little Red River is the closest trout stream to Memphis and Little Rock. Since the Little Red is fairly quick to get to for two major metropolitan areas, it can get crowded. In addition, there has been quite a bit of development on it and access has become more limited over the years. That said this river has developed into a legendary brown trout fishery that has produced the current world record. Rip Collins caught this massive forty pound four ounce monster trout on a brown marabou jig and four pound test line.

This is the Greers Ferry Dam tail water and it is subject to severe fluctuation. Be on constant alert for any change in the current or a change in the water sounds. As soon as you detect the water is rising, get out. Hopefully on the same side of the river your car is on. The phone number for the Greers Ferry Dam generation information is (501) 362-5150. They will tell you what the current level of generation is when it began and when previous generation ended. If you are unsure about the water level or need to buy some local fly patterns, stop by or call the Little Red Fly Shop (501) 887-9988. It is conveniently located at swinging bridge, a local fishing hot spot.

The Red is generally a small stream when compared to the White or Spring Rivers. It is mostly gravel and bedrock and in general is pretty easy wading. I generally fish the little Red with a nine foot four weight rod loaded with a floating line. There are a lot of weed beds that produce a fair number of sow bugs which is the dominant food source. This makes the sow bug the fly of choice. If I were to have only one fly to fish the Little Red I would choose the sow bug size sixteen. The other local pattern that is a must carry is the red ass. This is a peacock soft hackle with a red tag and red rib. Other effective flies would be bead head pheasant tails, partridge and orange soft hackles, red or worm brown San Juan worms, elk hair caddis and olive woolly buggers.

One of my favorite places to fish is JFK Park just below Greers Ferry Dam. I park near the boat ramp and walk far up stream. This section has a nice population of brook trout. I think they are the prettiest species that we have in Arkansas and this is one of the best places to fish for them. There are also plenty of browns and rainbows here. There is very little current here. I usually do the best near the top where there is one shallow riffle. The best flies here are soft hackles like the red ass or partridge and orange.

Another hot spot is Cow Shoals. This is where the annual brown trout spawn occurs in October. It can get unbelievably crowded during this event. There will be anglers standing shoulder to shoulder trying to land the big one. This is not fly fishing to me. I prefer to fish it in winter after the spawn before the big browns have left but after the crowds of anglers have. The rest of the year this is a great place to catch wild brown trout.

Swinging Bridge is the most popular spot to fish the Little Red with good reason. There is a lot of great fish holding water there. This is named after the wooden suspension bridge that crossed the river here. A few years ago it collapsed and killed a few tourists in the process. You should Park in the lot on the west side of the river near the old bridge abutments. Directly below is a huge pool that fishes well with olive woolly buggers. Down stream is Winkley Shoals This is a long bedrock shoal that hold several nice runs. This is a great place to fish sow bugs below strike indicators in the faster water and soft hackles in the slower water.

If you want to avoid crowds try fishing the Little Red during the week or during inclement weather. Nothing thins the herd like a little rain. There are plenty of good fish there. Give the Little Red a try.

John Berry

(870) 435-2169

berrybrothers@infodash.com

www.berrybrothersguides.com