February 26, 2009 | FISHING REPORT - LITTLE RED RIVER
UPDATE: Feb. 26, '09 - I just spoke with Southwestern Power Corporation in Tulsa. They are controlling all water releases at Greers Ferry now that the lake level is below 461.44' above mean sea level (top power pool). The protocol now is to release water every day, Monday through Friday from 6:00 o'clock am until 10:00 o'clock am then again from 5:00 o'clock pm to 10:00 o'clock pm. They promise not to release water over the weekends. The only catch is that our lake must be at or under top power pool. Pray for a small drought! If this occurs, you can wade fish at Winkley Shoal from dawn until high water arrives at 9:00 o'clock then go downstreama to Libby Shoal and fish until about 11:00 o'clock am when the rising water gets there. Go have a leisurely lunch then resume fishing at JFK Park near the dam until the horn sounds at 5:00 o'clock pm. This schedule is a good one since fishing is possible and our lake level will also be drawn down during the releases. You may want to call or e-mail me prior to coming just to make sure all of the above is occurring. Jed Little Red Fishing Report: February 25, '09 The Greers Ferry Power House has been releasing water every day for the past 4 weeks. Lately, releases have begun at 6:00 o'clock am continuing until 10:00 o'clock pm. This protocol creates wading opportunities at Winkley Shoal from dawn until 9:00 o'clock am. When rising water arrives, wade fishermen can then relocate downstream to Libby Shoal until the high water arrives around 10:30-11:00 o'clock am.
The Greers Ferry lake level is currently 461.7 feet above mean sea level. The preferred maximum is 461.44 feet above msl. The Corps of Engineers told me on Tuesday that, when top power pool is achieved, water releases at Greers Ferry will only occur in direct proportion to the demands from the power grids. This means that there is a good possibility of low water in the next few days. If we get a heavy rain event, all bets are off.
One of the most important skills a fly fisherman can possess is knowledge of aquatic insect behavior. After all, fly fishing is about presenting artificial aquatic insects to the fish and making them look like food. If you can make your fly look like food, the trout will put it in it's mouth, right? Using flies that look like the natural is important but if you make your fly act in a fashion that the real one would never do (like swimming when the natural you are imitating can't swim) then the fish will leave your fly alone in droves. Bringing your fly to life in the appropriate manner is important to consistent success with a fly rod.
Trout feed underwater 90% of the time making nymphs, larvae, pupae, crustaceans and emergers their largest food sources. Some mayfly nymphs swim while others cling, burrow or crawl. Among the swimming nymphs are baetis (blue winged olive) and gray drakes. The crawlers include pale morning duns (PMDs), sulphurs and green drakes. The clingers are march browns, light cahills and quill gordons and the burrowers are the hexagenia limbata (hexes), eastern green drakes and brown drakes. Your local fly shop person can assist you with your fly selection. Also ask about caddis and stones.
You should fish your nymph selection according to what is hatching around you and the angler should bring his chosen fly pattern to life using rod movement (tip twitching, etc.) and line control (stripping, mending, etc.) to make the nymph pattern appear to be either swimminig, drifting, emerging, rising or descending. The idea is to simulate a living insect. Animation includes swinging the fly from deep to shallow, sinking the fly with mends and active retrieves which includes stripping line, raising the rod tip to lift the fly (the Leisenring lift), rod tip twitches and combinations of all of the above. Let's make our hand tied flies (is there any other kind?) look alive!
With soft hackles (emerging aquatic insects) the hackled collars (feathers) undulate in the current bringing life to your offering. A good idea is to dead drift your emerger pattern (red ass, chuck's emerger, etc.) to the end of the swing and then slowly strip it back upstream. Sometimes, a simple pause in the retrieving action will cause the current to animate your emerger hackle and a strike may occur.
Some nymphs emerge in the water column as winged adults and take flight when reaching the surface. Others rise to the surface utilizing naturally occurring internal gases which aid their ascent to the surface. Some nymphs crawl onto the river bank or streamside vegetation to complete their metamorphosis.
Midges continue to be the prominent bug coming off these days. Caddis flies and march brown may flies should be hatching in the near future. The dry flies of choice include midge (#22 cream or black), crackleback (#14) or para adams (#18). Sub-surface attractors include sowbug (#14-#16 tan, olive, uv tan, uv light gray, peacock), zebra midge (#16-#22 red, copper or black), San Juan worm (#14 red or fl. cerise), egg pattern (#12-#14 roe or salmon), red @ss soft hackle (#14-#18) or woolly bugger (#8-#12 olive, brown or black).
The Little Red Fly Shop has room for a few more people in our March 14th fly tying class. The class begins at 8:00 o'clock am on that Saturday and ends mid-afternoon. The shop provides everything you need for the class including a vise, lamp, tools and materials. Our own Donnie Hyslip is the instructor. You will learn to tie several versions of a sowbug, soft hackle, woolly bugger, San Juan worm, etc. all useful in Arkansas trout waters. The cost is $100.00 per person. Call soon to reserve your spot!
If you have questions about anything in this report, please direct them to me at the Little Red Fly Shop of Heber Springs, Arkansas. My numbers are #888-442-4022 toll free or #501-887-9988. You can send an e-mail to me at shop@littleredflyshop.com. I'm Little Red Jed Hollan, mgr.
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