Fishing After Christmas!

[LittleRedFisherman]

Hitting the Little Red with the Father in Law while we down there for Chritmas! Planning on focusing on jig fishing this time, and gonna try to get him to do that as well, ( he still likes power bait). Any advice on a good stretch for some jig fishing, might sling a flyrod some to, but I know where to go there. I usually put in and fish around lobo in the deeper water. Been from JFK to Lindseys also, nice stretch! Any ideas, Bret.

[Ham]

Fish it all! If there are trout in that area, they will bite. Re-fish stretches where you get lots of bites repeatedly. Move on when it slows down OR you just want to catch fishin a different area.

Richard has caught fish on the Zig JIg everywhere he's tried it and he's fished quite a few areas. I can't imagine Little Red trout turning up their nose at a ZIg Jig.

I hope you catch 100!

[Quillback]

Good luck Brett! Let us know how you do.

[marcusearlt]

Hey, if they are generating you should really consider below the 305 bridge. You will catch less in terms of numbers but in my opinion will have a good chance of catching a big brown. I know we have had some results like that down there before, especially this time of year. Plus it's a really neat stretch of river with lots of cypress trees and just overall a much different look then parts of the river you might be used to. You technically don't even need a trout stamp to fish below the 305 bridge but there is trout down there. It also is closest to Searcy and I can guarantee it gets wayyy less pressure than the upper parts. FYI there is a nice new AGFC boat launch there now.

[LittleRedFisherman]

Hey, if they are generating you should really consider below the 305 bridge. You will catch less in terms of numbers but in my opinion will have a good chance of catching a big brown. I know we have had some results like that down there before, especially this time of year. Plus it's a really neat stretch of river with lots of cypress trees and just overall a much different look then parts of the river you might be used to. You technically don't even need a trout stamp to fish below the 305 bridge but there is trout down there. It also is closest to Searcy and I can guarantee it gets wayyy less pressure than the upper parts. FYI there is a nice new AGFC boat launch there now.

Thanks Marcus, I may consider trying that! Since you mentioned the lower stretch, that brings another question. I read an article here while back on Ar, hidden secrets for fishing. One that was mentioned was the Searcy stretch of the River, it claimed to have decent smallmouth fishing there? Have you ever tried that? That's like 5 minutes from Higgenson where my In Laws live.

[marcusearlt]

Well, honestly I have only heard that from one guy ever, not to say it couldn't be possible but I have no other source that has ever said either way. I suspect the cold tailwater flows help keep the water at good temps for smalls, but however, the lower river to my knowledge is not composed of typical smallmouth river habitat such as steady flows, gravel, stick-ups, root-wads, etc. I have been on the Little Red a good ways up and down river when I have put in at Riding Access on 367, which parallels 67, in the NE corner of Searcy. Go up river for a while and you come to a darn, we have gone down a ways but I don't recall ever ever catching one smallie ever. Now, we did catch lots of drum, some sunfish, a pickerel, and a few LMs so that might give you a clue as to water quality, I'm not sure. I will say this, if you put in at 305 in Pangburn area and float all the way down to Riverside Park just north of Searcy, you will hardly see just a handful of docks here and there, very few if any people and to my knowledge NO OTHER boat ramps between those two places which are miles and miles apart. Point being, it's a huge vast section of river that is never talked about, which could mean it is barren or a friggin' gold mine the locals are trying to hide...

[LittleRedFisherman]

Very good point, that could very well be the case either way! I figure we will stick to the trout water that i'm familiar with, just trying to pinpoint were the best stretch might be to throw jigs. I really liked that JFK to Lindseys with one unit running a couple winters ago, if there not generating, i'll probably stick to Lobo, there's always good water there in a nice stretch!

[hoglaw]

I'd canoe float myself. Cow shoals to swinging bridge or swinging to lobo. We used to fish the lower river a lot but there was a massive fish kill last summer around Ramsey. Pangburn to Ramsey was our standby float but haven't been back since the kill. The fact that they died that high up makes me doubt there are many trout farther down. There are also dams/weir walls that obstruct navigation in a couple places below Ramsey I think.

We have always fished jigs on the little red. Not necessarily zig jigs, but marabou jigs anyway.

[marcusearlt]

Hoglaw - Do y'all still float in canoes if there is generation? Or the possibility of? And I had no idea that a fish kill occurred, that's terrible. Do you have any other details about that, like how many or why?

LR - Upon closer inspection there is a dam, small but probably impassable in all but the highest generation, just a little ways above Riverside Park. I asked around about the smallmouth. The same guy who caught that Brook I posted the pic of the other day said he has caught smallmouth from 305 to Riverside area, but he didn't say any other details about it. I'm going to put that stretch on my to do list and get that taken care when we get some buggy action happening in the Spring. Good luck sir and y'all have fun!

[LittleRedFisherman]

Thanks guys, we might try to get out tomorrow afternoon, but for sure Friday. They were running two units around noon, but shut down to 0 by dark, so who knows what we will have on water! I'll give ya'll an update on how we do!!