Little Missouri Fly Fishing

Thanks Mike!

Fish were stocked on the lower Lil' Mo' today. I know they were stocked at Hinds Bluff and River Ridge.  Thank you Jesus!!!  Was not sure we would get fish this year with everything going on in Arkansas. Will fish here tomorrow for first time in almost 2 months and let you know more about the stocking then.

Thanks Mike

Thanks Mike for update.

As of 5:00 today I see no sign of any stocking on the lower Lil' Mo'.  I have no information as to if they will stock this river this year at all! I assume you have looked around on the internet and are aware of what's going on in Arkansas with the trout fishing, not a good situation!!

The water temperature is running between 66 and 68 degrees all down the river. The water temperature of the discharge from the dam is 68 degrees, not very cold. The water clarity is good but the river bottom in the Riverside area could use some cleaning up, still a lot of silt. I still see very little sign of life in the Riverside area.  They are still working on the dam here but they are generating most every afternoon.

I'm still checking regularly and will let you know as I see things change.

Mike, have still been generating about 3 hours after they stop working on the gates. What is the water temperature from riverside to the low water crossing.
Thanks for all your info.

Go on line and read what is happening to the trout fishing all over Arkansas!!  Guess I was "Wrong Again" as my wife puts it 🤣.  Maybe the big kill had nothing to do with the work on the generators? What's happening at Norfork, Beaverdam, Little Red, etc. is exactly what happened here, we were just first to notice it, maybe!?  It doesn't look good for trout fishing all over Arkansas for the next year, even Dry Run Creek has been wiped out!!😞. More later after you read a while.

Thanks for the update Mike

Commission approves emergency order for trout tailwaters, limits temporarily curtailed
https://www.agfc.com/news/commission-approves-emergency-order-for-trout-tailwaters-limits-temporarily-curtailed/

LITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission approved an emergency order Oct. 16 that will temporarily cut back the daily trout possession limit in the state's four most significant, economically important coldwater fisheries due to reduced production capacity at the Norfork National Fish Hatchery.

A loss of trout in the millions resulting from recent poor water quality at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service-operated Norfork hatchery, combined with the early April flood on the Spring River and significant damage to the AGFC's Jim Hinkle State Fish Hatchery, raised a red flag about whether there would be enough stocked trout available for the four coldwater fisheries in the coming months.

The AGFC will likely skip or drastically reduce stocking for most of 2026, focusing on rebuilding brood stock first. They'll prioritize large, high-impact tailwaters (White, Norfork, Little Red) before smaller ones like Narrows. I hope I am wrong, but we may not see trout stocking in the Lil Mo for another 12-18 months.   

They did run the third generator for about a week while the construction crew was gone, apparently they had it fixed enough to do that. Now they are back to finish the job. They have brought in a lot of big iron!! I beams, crossbeams, V channels etc. and rebuilt the trash racks that keeps the debris from getting into the intake tubes and then into the generator itself. Lots of welding supplies and big nuts and bolts. It's big heavy stuff so should last the rest of my lifetime!!🤣🤣🤣.

Checked the water temperature a couple of days ago and it was 66 degreese at midday at River Ridge and Hinds bluff we are having some nights in the fifty's now so hopefully the temperature starts dropping in the river. The smell from the lake turning over has improved some but still has a little methane smell. Water is clear and the bottom is cleaning up some. Still very little sign of life from the meat hole to the dam and no vegetation there at all in the water.

Only 4 days until trout season starts on the Lil'Mo' if you go by the AGFC trout handbook. That's when you can start keeping trout again. This year there are NO trout (or other fish) in the river to keep. At least none in the upper one mile of river. The bait chunkers that always hit the wall at Riverside on opening day to harvest all the good carryover fish are really gonna be disappointed!! 

The "Arkansas Wildlife" magazine has another article on the conditions at the Spring River hatchery in the September/October issue. It's worth reading.  Don't think we will be getting any big fish from there this year!!😞☹️. Will be interesting to see where our fish come from and what size they are. Break out your attractor flies, it will be all new fish in the river, WHENEVER a they decide to stock!??