March 14, 2009 | FISHING REPORT - LITTLE RED RIVER
UPDATE: 3/14/09: There are no scheduled water releases at Greers Ferry through Monday! Little Red Fishing Report: March 10, '09 The Greers Ferry Power House is spoiling us with low water on the weekends and small daily releases during the week. Fishing has been glorious with ideal conditions. Clear water and balmy temperatures have been the norm, however, this is Arkansas, so expect that to change. Rain events will alter this ideal protocol because the Greers Ferry Lake level is at "pool". This means the lake is already at it's preferred maximum of 461.44 feet above mean sea level (top power pool). The ground in the watershed is mostly saturated. This means our lake could rise one foot for every inch of rain that falls. If that happens, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will call for increased water releases to lower the lake level. Yogi Berra, famous baseball player, once said "You can observe a lot just by watching". I have observed that scheduled water releases are about as reliable as the weather forecast. You may quote me.
Aquatic insect hatches are finally showing some diversity. For the past 2-3 months, the only hatch we have experienced has been midges. Now, don't get me wrong, our midge hatches are a thing to behold and our trout eat them like candy. However, variety is the spice. I am now seeing caddis flies and blue winged olive mayflies coming off most days. I believe that our recent spring-like weather was the trigger. The dry flies to try include midges (#22 cream or black), bwo (#16-#18), caddis (#18-#20 tan), crackleback (#14) or para adams (#18). Below the surface, tie on a sowbug (#14-#16 tan, smoky olive, uv tan, peacock), chronic (#14), zebra midge (#16-#22 red, copper or black), pheasant tail (#16), copper john (#14-#16 red or green), egg pattern (#12-#14 roe, salmon or watermelon), gold ribbed hare's ear (#14-#16), red @ss soft hackle (#14-#18), pink soft hackle (#16) or woolly bugger (#8-#12 olive, brown or black). Whew!
The annual spring time Little Red River cleanup is scheduled for Saturday the 28th of March. If you would like to pitch in, please come to the Little Red Fly Shop or the Ozark Angler in Heber Springs to get your trash bags and river area assignment. If you have a boat, please bring it or plan to use it. Bring your collection back to the Little Red Fly Shop by noon and the local chapter of Trout Unlimited will provide a free lunch for you. They say "there's no such thing as a free lunch", but, I'm here to tell you that there is an exception to every rule and this is one.
The Little Red Fly Shop's fly tying class scheduled for March 14th is full. We are now working on a satisfactory date for an April class. The cost is $100.00 per person, it occurs on a Saturday, begins at 8:00 o'clock am and lasts until mid-afternoon. We will provide the tools and materials you will need during the class. You can learn the art of tying several flies useful in the trout waters of Arkansas. Give us a call if you would like to participate.
Your local chapter (#722) of Trout Unlimited has hired a company to assist in cleaning up the unsightly dumping areas along our beloved river. Dr. Bill Layher of Layher BioLogics RTEC has been contracted to lead this important task and Cleburne County Judge Claude Dill has agreed to provide heavy trucks to haul the debris to the appropriate dumping site. Hats off to Judge Dill and TU!
If you have questions about anything in this report, please do not hesitate to 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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