There are many great guides on the little red river....

[jackassguides]

But after 25 years of fishing on the LRR and over 40 years fishing in total I have never seen the amount of guides with a "god" complex as I have seen in the past 6 mos. I don't know who died and made these guides the kings of the river? The Little Red, along with every other river in Arkansas, is there for the general public and not there just for the guides to make a living. Nothing against guides making a living, I did some guiding in my day, but there needs to be some attitudes put in check. There are a few, and they know who they are, that think everyone on the river should bow down to them and not come anywhere close to them while they are fishing and if you're in the spot they want to be in they will pull up and literally cast right over your line. If they continue to show their arses, then they will quickly figure out how good they had it. Not a threat, but there are several of us that will simply not show any respect in the future. To be clear on no respect, that means on the river, off the river, and on the Google.

Let me give you some examples:

1) To the guide that thinks he is so awesome that he has his own parking spot at the top of the ramp at dripping springs, walk yourself the extra 20 feet to park where everyone else parks so your truck is not in the way of everyone else coming off the river.

2) To the guide that thinks he is the boating police and got a little wake when we went as slow as possible by him in high water, bite your lip and go home and cry to your momma.

3) To the guide that thinks he is the spokesman for the brown trout in the river during the spawn, why don't you move to Alaska, no one fishes at spawning fish there.

4) To the guide that thinks he owns Beach Island, well you don't.

5) To the guide that thinks he owns Jack's Shoal and if there's wade fisherman there it's ok to pull his boat right next to them and tell HIS CLIENTS to cast over the wade fisherman's line, just do that one more time, please do that one more time.

There's a storm brewing and it will get ugly if the b.s. doesn't stop.

[GloryDaze]

Just a thought, it's a little extreme but here goes; maybe next time you run into one of those guides mentioned above you could try talking to them and share your concerns.

[TheRustyHook]

This is the same guy that gets pissed when their is a foursome on his butt at the golf course. Calm down dude! You will enjoy fishing a lot more when you relax. Talk to the guide, they make their living off of being incredibly personal. I'm sure that if you communicated your feelings in a more effective manner they would probably resolve any problem they have with you.

and P.S. don't be a douche, fish the spawn responsibly.

[sfiser]

There are alot of great guides on the LR. Jamie Rouse and Matt Milner quickly come to mind. If anyone of those dudes is doing something you dont like why not just talk to them. One thing about 99% of the guides and especially the 2 listed above is they really care about the fishery and do what they can to protect it which all fisherman can respect.

I agree with Rusty, be responsible around the spawn. The fish have it hard enough dodging powerbait every weekend, they dont need someone attempting to snag them while they are on the nest. Would you like someone trying to hook you while your attempting to pro create with your wife/lady friend?

[Phil Landry]

Now, in the past I have parked at the top of dripping, but felt like there was adequate room to get by. One thing about dipping is that the shade in the afternoon puts a premium on parking against the woods... And there is no sign that says "don't park here". If I am the offending party here, you have my apologies, but I haven't done so in quite sometime. I don't think I am guilty of any of the others, but possibly, perceptions vary. I think that I generally I use good river etiquette and always strive to do so. I don't run shoals or runs a second time if there is a wafer present. If I have an adequate space to fit behind the angler I will, but sometimes conditions dictate I go as wide as I can on the side the wader is fishing. In this case, all my boat is doing is spooking a few fish into your drift zone. Motoring upstream, I will always go behind the wader if the opportunity is there.

I don't tell clients to cast over lines or in obvious drift lanes, but clients don't always listen either! This whole deal is a balancing act and I feel I try harder than most to oblige. If you see me and are nice about our passing thru, I will gladly offer to give you the flies we are using. In my opinion, there should not be any secrets, as long as folks are personable. If you have a specific beef or irritation with me, I would really like to know. I will do everything in my power to rectify said situation. I know that waders are limited in the areas they can cover, as I was once one too. Is it possible that you catch a guide on a bad or tough day... Absolutely. Sometimes the atmosphere in the boat does not lend to stopping and offering help to others. I wish it always did, but circumstances vary greatly.

In closing I will say this. Please, if I have done anything to offend you, let me know. I do not strive to offend people. I'm very approachable if you call my name and Imtroduce yourself I promise to take your comments to heart and give you every effort I can in order to be less obtrusive. Nobody's perfect, but if you get to know the guides a little, you will get far more respect and I personally will use every opportunity to infringe less on your angling opportunity as a wader. Like I said, if I can't help it at the time, I will give you flies later or do what I can to make it right. Some spaces are just too tight. If you show guides some respect, they should show you some respect. If they don't try, then you know who they are.

Phil Landry

(901) 461-8822

www.theozarkflyguides.com

pblandry@hotmail.com

Hey- your voice should be heard, I'll listen, especially if I offended. Thanks.

[Mac's Orphan]

Wow - I've never had a guide on any river do anything close to this. All I've met are looking for more business. Most have even offered some good tips about spots to fish - being hospitable and looking for more business.

[holleybob]

You should really get up to Tanneycomo sometime so you can appreciate just exactly how good you have it at the Little Red.

[holleybob]

That last comment was not a poke at Tanneycomo guides in particular by the way. It's just a very noticeable difference in fishing ettiquette there. Always liked that about the Little Red....and still do.

[jtram]

That last comment was not a poke at Tanneycomo guides in particular by the way. It's just a very noticeable difference in fishing ettiquette there. Always liked that about the Little Red....and still do.

A lot more water on the LRR, I have always been impressed by guides and the info/flies they give away, even when you aren't hiring them. Two that come to mind are Jeremy Hunt on Taney and a guide on the LRR from the Northeast by the name of Joe ?. Good guys.

[Mac's Orphan]

A lot more water on the LRR, I have always been impressed by guides and the info/flies they give away, even when you aren't hiring them. Two that come to mind are Jeremy Hunt on Taney and a guide on the LRR from the Northeast by the name of Joe ?. Good guys.

I agree...

One summer my son and I were fishing McClellans at the rock bar and just tearing the rainbows up on streamers.. A guide with 2 clients stopped about 200 yds US from us and had his party fishing just above the rock bar. They weren't catching a thing so we walked up to where they were at and told him to take the man and his wife down to our spot because there were tons of fish there. We gave him some of our patterns and the couple got into several trout. It was great fun seeing the man and his wife catching those fish!! Before they left, he walked up to me and handed me a business card and said anytime we wanted a free day with him, just call. We don't use guides, but I thought the gesture was a pretty nice thing to do. I've seen him several times since and he's never forgotten what we did for him that day. I don't consider myself a trout expert - we were just fishing with what they wanted at the time.

I can't imagine a guide acting like the ones described in the original post but, the way some folks are today, I'd say they're probably out there.