Little Red River

Upper Little Red River

JFK Park to Cow Shoals

Canoe Creek to Barnett Access

At the bottom of the Cow Shoals area, Canoe Creek enters from river-left. The river narrows and tumbles over a short series of riffles before widening into another long pool dotted with shallow humps and plenty of log piles and moss beds. Lots of big browns and fat rainbows inhabit these waters giving the drift-boat anglers some good action. At the bottom of this pool, the river makes an "S" bend and flows into an area known as Jon's Pocket. Although there is no public access here, a few local guides are able to use private boat ramps and provide clients with a fun-filled day of fly fishing in these usually uncrowded waters. Sowbugs, pheasant-tails, lightning bugs, and other weighted nymphs fished two to three feet below an indicator are generally productive. At the bottom of Jon's pocket is another great shoal that is being used more and more by spawning browns. This area can be accessed by boat from the Barnett area by those willing to motor several miles upstream and drag their boat over some shoals. A small island exists here with the main channel on river-left. The backside of the island is choked with moss and log-jams but if the flow is just high enough, a few fish can be caught in the pockets. River-left is lined with private docks providing some pleasant conversation with local home-owners as you fish through. At the end of the small island, the river again deepens and drift-fishing is the order. This is good nymphing water with good populations of both rainbows and browns. This area is also home to some record-class fish that can sometimes be spotted suspended in the deeper sections. Local guides know these fish almost by name and cordially give them the respect they are due.

The next feature along the river is Ritchie Shoal. This is sort of a rough-and-tumble shoal with lots of small boulders dotting the gravel stream bed, making for lots of sheered pins and destroyed props for boaters who attempt to motor over. It is best to respect river and the wading anglers who live along this stretch to just get out and pull your boat through along the right bank. There is some great fly-fishing on this shoal with frequent insect hatches and consistent nymph and woolly-bugger action. This shoal however, does receive some pressure so if you want the water to yourself you'd better get here early.

Next is a long section lined on both sides with private residences and docks. It is mostly deeper water with some spotty moss beds and prop-eating shallows. It was in this stretch that Rip Collins put the river on the map with his World Record 40-lb,4-oz brown. Lots of bait-fisherman fish this area from Jon-boats and on a busy weekend the boat traffic can be quite distracting. Flyrodders however, can catch some nice fish by drifting downstream and fishing the drop-offs with heavily weighted sowbugs and nymphs below a strike indicator. As you move down the river, Sugarloaf mountain, one of the area's most prominent landmarks, looms in the southern sky making for some good photo opportunities. At the end of the pool lies Swinging Bridge trout dock on river-right, named after the old suspension-bridge that used to span the river before collapsing in a tragic accident that killed several church-group children some years ago. Barnett access is on river-left providing public boat launching and walk-in access to Winkley Shoals below. Arkansas highway 110 crosses the river between the ramp and the shoal and parking is available on both sides of the river.(An honor-system parking fee is asked for on the right side of the river since that side is actually private property) This area receives lots of stockers from the AGFC so action (as well as bait-fishing) is pretty consistent here.

Winkley Shoals to Lobo Landing

Winkley Shoals begins at the Highway 110 bridge and extends roughly 300 yards through some extremely shallow and rocky water providing some great pocket water for "high-sticking" nymphs and woolly buggers and making float-through very difficult for any type of craft except for canoes, kick-boats, or drift boats. Anyone who desires to cross this shoal in a boat should be prepared to get out and drag most of the way down and take out at some point downstream. The great part about this is that the next mile or so does not receive a great deal of fishing pressure (This is one of my favorite parts of the river for that reason). Below the third drop of Winkley Shoals there is a short section of flat water about two feet deep with a steady current flow that nearly always produces good numbers of small to average browns on nymphs and sowbugs. Occasional insect hatches bring these guys to the surface for some really great dry-fly action. If you see lots of fish rising, tie on a size 20 BWO (blue-winged olive) and cast it upstream of rising fish. If they don't take it try an Adams midge about size 20 or 22 and you should get some takes. If the fish still refuse your offering, try a gray or partridge-and-olive soft-hackle, size 16-20 fished on the "swing" and hold tight! I have caught as many as ten fish on consecutive casts here using this method. At the end of this pool there is a deep hole that generally holds some nice fish around the moss beds before the river splits again forming Charlie's Island. Both sides of the island fish well with the right side being a little more boat-friendly. Since the channels are so narrow, I typically drift through this area casting well out ahead of the boat in order to show the fish the fly before they see me coming. You can also beach the boat at the head of the island and wade down either channel swinging nymphs or soft-hackles down-and-across the current and usually take some nice fish. At the end of the island on river-right, there is a nice flat shoal that drops off suddenly into a deep hole with some log-piles in it. Fish this area with a heavily weighted sowbug suspended three to six feet below an indicator and you just might get your arm ripped off. The pool below, known as "Redbanks", is a fairly shallow pool that can be waded in low water making for some comfortable relief to the hot summer sun. Good numbers of fat rainbows can be taken on sowbugs or nymphs dead-drifted around the abundant moss beds. Below Redbanks there are several small islands with narrow chutes between them. This water holds some spawners in the fall and some good rainbows the rest of the year. Several locals have private access to this area and they tend to keep the trout well-schooled, but careful presentation and long leaders will get you some nice rewards. Below the islands, Sulfur Creek enters on river-right. This creek carries drainage from the Heber Springs area and can really muddy the water after heavy rains. Occasionally you may catch a small bass or bream near where the creek comes in. After another small shoal, the river widens and makes a left-turn into the "Round Hole". This is a deep hole with a nice current flowing through its center. Fish along the edge of the fast water with a sowbug and hold on, this is great brown-trout water. Afternoon hatches of BWO's tend to come off during the late summer and fall months and can provide some of the best dry-fly action on the river. Below Round Hole, the river again narrows and winds through what is known as Schroncher Shoals. This shoal is a long series of riffles and flats strewn with boulders and fast water. Wooly buggers and soft-hackles fished down and across will take lots of average fish and occasionally a big boy. This part of the river is inhabited by plenty of colorful young browns and a growing population of aggressive cut throats that can make for some tired arms at the end of a great day.

Once you get below Schroncher, you return to the more accessible part of the river. Many anglers will motor upstream from Lobo Landing to get to this point and weekend boat traffic can sometimes cut into your quiet time. The fish however, seem to get used to it, scattering when a boat comes through but regrouping soon after its gone. The next couple of miles are mostly flat water with a couple of small shoals scattered along the way. Drift-fishing from a boat is a good way to take fish while enjoying the scenery. The towering "Libby Bluff" makes a nice backdrop for some photos and abundant shade-trees along the banks provide a good place for lunch (or a nap). Drift sowbugs and nymphs below an indicator over the moss beds and shallow humps through this stretch and you'll catch a few nice rainbows and the occasional brown. Some of the browns in this part of the river reach "trophy" size so be ready for anything.

As you approach Libby Bluff, the river turns sharply to the left and narrows somewhat. The right bank is littered with "huge" boulders and a steep bank while the river-left is shallow. Fish nymphs out ahead of the boat for best results. Top-water action can also get cranked up pretty good in this stretch so don't be afraid to tie on a dry-fly. Moving downstream, the next feature is Libby Shoals. Public walk-in access is provided to this fairly short shoal by the AGFC and there are usually plenty of anglers. This shoal fishes good at times with nymphs or sowbugs suspended about two feet below an indicator. At the end of the shoal, the current spills into a deep hole that holds some nice rainbows for anglers willing to wade deep. After Libby shoals, there is a long, straight stretch of deep slow water with lots of moss and timber. River Ranch Resort occupies the left bank and is an extremely popular resort with rooms, a great restaurant, and boat rentals. This part of the river is mainly used by bait-fisherman and boat traffic can sometimes be quite heavy; a good time for the flyrodder to crank up and head downstream. A few hundred yards downstream on the right bank is Lobo Landing. Here you can also find boat rentals, rooms, a bait shop and a snack bar. The AGFC provides parking and boat launching facilities directly beside the docks.

Lobo Landing to Dripping Springs

Dripping Springs to Ramsey's Landing

As we move down stream from the boat ramp, the river gradually shallows and becomes filled from bank to bank with long moss beds. Some pretty spectacular hatches of Blue-winged Olive mayflies come off daily here during the summer and fall months providing dry-fly anglers with some nice action. If no insect activity is occurring however, the water is still quite productive using sowbugs and pheasant-tails. As the water shallows, you should lower your strike indicator to keep the fly off of the mossy bottom. Just as the river gets to shallow to float through, it dumps into another deep hole and turns sharply left. The red abandoned building on river-right is the old "Dripping Springs Trout Dock" which hasn't been in business for several years. Some nice back-to-back catches can be had where the shallow water dumps into the deep hole just before the river makes the left turn. After the left turn, a long fast riffle comes into view providing a good place to beach the boat and do some good wading. Fish through the fast water with woolly-buggers or soft-hackles using down-and-across casts. As you work your down, the water deepens slightly and slows down to a long narrow pool that also provides some great surface action and comfortable wading. Just downstream from here, Arkansas highway 110 again crosses the river. Just below the bridge there is an old abandoned bridge with the middle section removed providing wheelchair access from both banks, below which is a public walk-in access known as the Pangburn Bridge access(maintained by the AGFC). The shoal at this access provides more easy wading and some pretty good fishing. Fish the deep holes above and below the shoal with nymphs and sowbugs and fish the fast water with woolly buggers or soft-hackles. Abundant insect life in this section keeps the river's surface alive with feeding trout. About a half-mile or so downstream from the bridge is another crooked little shoal that ,as far as I know, has no name. This shoal has lots of gravel and a nice deep hole right in the middle of it that always seems to hold a pretty good number of fish. At the very bottom of the shoal, the current flows into a deep section that seems to collect lots of logs and stumps. Dredging the bottom of the drop-off with a sowbug or woolly bugger will sometimes yield some nice fat rainbows. Catches of browns are not very common this far down river but do occur. A short distance below this shoal, Big Creek enters the Little Red on river-left. At this point the river begins to change from a clear trout stream to more of a flat-land river. Cypress trees line both banks and the water is usually not quite as clear. Trout are somewhat less abundant from this point on out, but the ones you do catch aren't missing any meals. Some of the nicest rainbows I have caught have been in this stretch. The next couple of miles contains two or three small shoals before you come to Ramsey's Landing. Here you will find the last AGFC ramp and walk-in access in Little Red's trout waters. By now you are far from the dam and the water has warmed quite a bit. Below the ramp is a nice swift shoal that provides some good fishing, but most of the fish are stockers on the small side. While some trout do exist farther downstream from here, Ramsey's pretty much marks the end of the trout fishery. Catches of spotted bass, bream, and even a few smallmouth aren't that uncommon here.

The Little Red is a great place to catch trout on flies and her history has shown that she is capable of growing the largest trout in the world. Please practice "catch and release" and respect the river so she can keep producing "world class" fly-fishing for years to come.