Little Red River Fly Fishing

Beginning below the Greers Ferry Dam, The Little Red River provides excellent trout habitat for 35 miles downstream. Known for being the previous brown trout world record holder, the trout on the Little Red can get big in hurry. The river is stocked with mostly rainbow trout throughout the year with an occasional mix of brook trout. Brown trout have naturally reproduced in the river and are no longer stocked by the state. The Little Red River is one of, if not the best place for wading anglers to fish in Arkansas. There are three public access locations where anglers can wade safely and explore the river beginning below the dam. 

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Little Red River Fishing Access

The first wadable area can be found just below the Greers Ferry Dam, at JFK Park Campground in Heber Springs. This is also where the state trout hatchery is located and the first location where trout stocking occurs. Fishing the shallow runs and raceway outlets can be a productive way to land plenty of stocked rainbows. You can wade nearly all the way to the dam and a few hundred feet downstream of the boat ramp comfortably. Moving further down river, Cow Shoals is the next location accessible to the public. This area is wadable upstream to a small island in the river and downstream to the intersection of Wilburn Creek. The long riffles and deeper seams provide excellent habitat for trout. Be observant during winter as trout spawn in the shallow runs in this stretch, so look for redds before wading through certain areas. The last piece of public access where fly anglers can wade is around the Wilburn Bridge at Barnett park. The west side of the river is more wade friendly here. Anglers can fish several hundred feet upstream of the bridge and wade down to another long island downstream before the river becomes too deep. This is the largest expanse of wadable water with public access on the river. The pools, slow runs, and riffles will all hold trout in these areas. Look for trout to hide and feed along the submerged vegetation found in this section. Two additional public access locations are Libby Shoals and Pangburn Bridge. Wading in these areas can be difficult as the river is much more channelized downstream of the Wilburn Road Access. There are also several more boat ramps available to the public where little wading opportunity is available.

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Little Red River Brown Trout

The Brown trout of the Little Red River are the focal point for most visiting fly anglers on the river. These trout are cunning and a worthy adversary for any fly fisherman. Early in their life they feed on the insects and invertebrates found throughout the river system, but will begin seeking higher calorie meals once they've reached the lengths in the mid to upper teens. These trout will then move over to a piscivorous diet. Sculpins, shiners, and juvenile brown trout will be on the menu and help these fish grow big. Once they've reached the twenty inch mark, stocked trout will join the menu, and really help these fish put on some pounds. The bigger browns are elusive for most of the year but will begin to show up in the fall when they begin to move to and from the shoals they spawn around. Many trout will stage downstream before moving shallow for their yearly routine. Gluttonous rainbows and smaller browns will feed heavily on eggs during this time of year to pack on additional pounds for winter. 

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Best Fly Patterns for the Little Red River 

The Little Red River sees some modest hatches throughout the year. One of the more common hatches you can find nearly year round is a midge hatch that occurs most evenings and during overcast days in the winter months. These hatches can be prolific and frustrating. Patterns smaller than size 20 are recommended with the smallest flies being the most productive. The midge hatches can occur throughout the river, but the best hatches occur in the evenings just below the dam. Once the hatch begins, its time to stop what your doing and switch over. Most trout will stop feeding on other food item during these times and focus on the tiny midges. Trophy size trout are not excluded from this activity. During late fall and late winter BWO hatches occur regularly and can pick up the action on slower days with overcast/dreary weather. As winter mover to spring march browns will become a staple for anglers on the water for several weeks. Late March and early April sees frequent caddis hatches that will reappear in mid October. When these hatches are thick, trout will begin to focus heavily on the surface. Following the caddis hatches in spring, sulphur hatches will run through May. Less consistent then the other hatches, the sulphur hatch can be patchy but still require anglers to carry some size 16-18 patterns in the box until summer. When the summer heat sets in many hatches begin occurring at night. Though not as abundant as the bigger hatches in the river some larger mayfly patterns and tiny tricos will begin to appear in the evenings. 

Subsurface flies are staples on the Little Red River when the action is slow. Junk flies will always have success with recently stocked trout on the river. Once acclimated to their new home the natural flies such as hares ears, pheasant tails, and caddis imitations will produce more trout. Scud patterns are a must have on the Little Red. Millions of scuds find refuge in the submerged grass scoured throughout the river. These scuds allow trout in the river to get big in a hurry. Size 16-20 sow bugs or other scud patterns will always produce trout. During high water or stained water periods, it is tough to beat streamers. Black woolly buggers, or small sculpin patterns will elicit aggressive strikes from hungry rainbows and brown trout alike. Going to bigger patterns opens you up to a chance to see some truly large browns as they hunt for unsuspecting stocked trout and sculpin struggling during higher flows. The last technique that produces trout regularly on the Little Red is swinging soft hackles through shallow riffles. Aggressive trout will move into these shallow areas to feed and have a hard time passing on a swung fly. 

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Floating the Little Red River

A float down the Little Red is the best way to reach the trout that see far less pressure than the individuals located in the wadable section of river. You will have access to more undisturbed current seams and pools where trout are feeding more liberally. Floating is also the only way to fish the river when generation is occurring regularly in the spring. Wading is near impossible with all but the lowest levels of generation and is very limited in where you can go. During the highest levels of generation, even floating can be dangerous on the Little Red. When floating, key in on areas with heavy vegetation, braids and bends in the river, as well as sections where creek confluences enter the river. These areas will be productive for numbers and give you the best chance at bigger trout.