Fishing Report 5/16-17

[WLL]

A buddy and I hit the Little Red yesterday and today.  Got in the water about 12:45 yesterday at Mossy Shoal.  Lots of fish in the hole above the actual shoal.  Nothing big but consistent action in 12 inch range.  Worked our way downstream and worked the faster water.  Managed three nice browns and a number of good rainbows.  Fished until 5:45.  Hot flies were a Hares Ear, Y2K and a red zebra midge.

Got in the water at Cow Shoals this morning about 8.  Went upstream and only managed one little brown in the hole at the top of the shoals.  Moved back downstream and finally settled in below the catch and release area about 250 yards.  Really got into them there!  The best fish was a 16 inch bow, but my highlight was a nice 14 inch brown that made two good runs.  Hares Ear was the fly of choice in this spot.

Finished the day at the end of Winkley Shoals where the river bends left.  Zebra Midges were the ticket here.  Black or red, didn't seem to matter.  My buddy hooked the fish of the trip down there--probably 20 inches. 

Great trip on a great stream.  However, I have to say, if we had the native browns and a little higher "normal" flows, I'd be in Mboro even more often.  Only problem is, so would a lot of "newbies."  We have a treasure in the Little Mo!

WLL 

[JoshK]

Thanks for the report.  I am headed up to the little red Wed-Fri.  What size flies were you using.  I have fished Cow shoals and Winkley with success.  Caught a nice 20+ inch brown at Winkley two years ago. 
How do you get to Mossy shoals?  Do you have to have a boat?

[WLL]

The zebra midges were 18s and 20s.  The Y2Ks and Hares Ears were 14s. 

You do have to have a boat to get to Mossy.  I always rent a boat from Lobo Landing and motor down.  There are some shallows you have to watch for going down in low water.  If you have your own boat, you can also launch at Lobo.

Good Luck!

[flyfish]

Enjoyed you sharing your fly fishing experiences at Lil Red.  Thanks WLL

[JoshK]

Thanks again for all the info.  Ive got a boat but dont really feel like towing it 3+ hours with gas being soooo cheap .  I'll report how it was when I get back.

JoshK

[Jeff Guerin]

Don't forget the Libby Shoals Access! Good walk-in area with nice water right in front of the parking area, easy to fish.

I've always done nicely there and it's far enough down river that I think it takes about seven hours for any high water to get there!

It's out AR HWY 337 east.

[WLL]

Jeff is right.  Libby is a pretty piece of water with lots of fish.  Good luck.

WLL

[Aaron D]

Hey guys ive been wanting to take a trip to the lil red for sometime. Ive never been and have no idea what to expect. I do have a small bass boat, and im  wondering would it be worth bringing? Is there a better time of year to go and do they generate daily like the white river? Sounds like nymphing is a good way to go there, but what about dry flies and streamers? Any info would be great. Oh maybe a good place to stay too! Lol nice report WLL

[WLL]

Aaron,

Can't really speak to the issue of your boat, but I can tell you most of the rental boats are 18ft jon boats with 9.9hp motors.  River is pretty shallow in spots but you can still get through with small motor on shallow water drive.

As far as generation, they generally follow a similar pattern to the White and Norfork.  The Little Red is a part of the same drainage. 

Nymphing is generally the way to go, although I'm told streamers on higher water and in deeper spots can be awesome.  I wade almost exclusively.  With respect to dries, its on and off.  I would check with the Ozark Angler to see if there are any hatches going on.  When we were there, it was all subsurface.  Saw very few fish break the surface.

Some of the places to stay are Lobo Landing (cabin rentals), Lindsay's (cabin rentals) and a new Holiday Inn Express which is centrally located. 

Good Luck!

WLL

[Aaron D]

Thanks so much for the info!!!

[JoshK]

If you like to camp JFK park is very nice.  It is right below the dam and has great wade fishing when not generating.  I've been when they started generating at 10 am and you can still wade all day down the river.  It takes it awhile to make it all the way down.

[Aaron D]

Thanks Josh! That is good to hear. And yeah camping is right up my ally