[HardingJoe]

I'm a student at Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas, and since I'm broke pretty much all the time, I was wondering if there were any online resources to Hatch Guides or Hatch Charts for the Little Red River.

I've only been fly fishing for about a year and a half, and I've yet to catch a trout with my fly rod (the only things I've caught, actually, were Bluegill and Bass on the Norris Lake in Tennessee, using popper flies.)

I don't really understand how to use real flies just yet, but I am eager to learn. If anyone has any advice or resources for me, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thank You

[DAVY WOTTON]

Ok, l can help you here.

The Arkansas tail waters, such as the Red, White and Norfork do contain a vast amount of organisms that provide the basis of food for the trout.
The major food sources are crustaceans, scuds, sowbugs, crawdads.
So far as hatches are concerned they are, at certain times of the year, primarily, midges, caddis and some mayfly.

Tailwaters such as the Red, White and Norfork rivers, tend not to have a very large diversity of mayfly. but those which will be evident in large numbers will be BWO and Sulphurs at certain times of the year.

The caddis hatches should start around Mid march and will continue to the end of April, but you may well see the very small species of caddis around for the rest of the year.
The sulphur hatches, if water conditions and other factors are good should start to appear sometime around mid April , May and possible into a June.

BWO hatches are best seen in the fall and early spring when wet, cold nasty weather is evident.

Midge hatches will take place year round, much of this activity will also take place late evening and into the dark.
If the day period conditions are good then you may well see some good hatches at that time.

My suggestion to you is this, given you have not caught a trout yet. Go about it one of two ways.
The first is to use a size 8 or 10 bead head olive wooly bugger on a floating line.
The second is to use a scud or a sowbug under a indicator. You cannot go far wrong with these two options to start with.
Once you have become a little more skilled then add the use of a Elk hair caddis, and a Adams dry.

If you use the above you can be pretty much guaranteed you will catch some fish on the Little Red river.

Get back to me if you need some more info.

Davy

[HardingJoe]

Davy,

Thank you very much. I'm a college student, and with my schedule this semester my time is limited, but I'll try to get out on the river in the next couple of weeks and try those suggestions out. I really appreciate it.

God Bless