HEBER SPRINGS -- Trout streams aren't supposed to be this muddy, but the Little Red River looked like Yoo-Hoo on Tuesday after an all-night rain.
It didn't matter. The fish bit anyway.
Inspiration to visit this world-class trout fishery came from a Facebook friend who posted photos of some big trout he caught last weekend on the Little Red. One was a fat rainbow that appeared to be 18-19 inches long.
I know better than to ask, but from the appearance of the water and riverbank I thought I had an idea of where he was. My son Matthew and I went to work getting the boat seaworthy, which meant removing all the nonfishing stuff that seems to accumulate in her hull between trips.
Our plan was to spend Tuesday morning fishing for trout on the Little Red, and then spend the afternoon fishing for hybrid stripers on Greers Ferry Lake. It has rained on all but one trip we've taken this year, so we were not surprised to see a big front move in from the southwest as we got on the road Monday evening. We arrived at Damsite Park at dusk and got our tents staked down as the rain began. There was a lull about midnight, and then it came down torrentially until about 7 a.m.
Of course, I sleep deepest in a tent in a driving rain, so I awoke fresh and energetic. Our breakfast was fit for kings, so I'm going to describe it in detail to give you a feel for our mood when we finally hit the water.
I diced medallions of round steak seasoned with Tony Chachere's and stir-fried the beef in olive oil with white onion and sliced mushrooms until the meat was golden brown with a hint of searing on the outsides. After putting the stir-fry on a separate plate, I pan-fried flour tortillas in the olive oil until the outsides were crispy. I covered the tortillas with sharp cheddar cheese, added the stir fry and folded.
Had Miss Laura been there, she would have approved (grudgingly).
We needed that emotional boost to buoy us when we saw the river. Not only did it look like Yoo-Hoo, but it was also low. It was the worst possible combination for trout fishing. Thinking maybe we ought to table the trout fishing, I called Larry Nixon, the professional bass angler from Bee Branch, to ask his advice about where to find hybrids on short notice on the lake.
Nixon was at an FLW tournament on Kentucky Lake, but he pulled no punches.
"I have not heard of anyone catching any hybrids on Greers Ferry in months," he said. "Usually you can find them in the coves, and I know some people who are usually pretty good, but nobody's gotten into a big mess of hybrids in ages."
Well, it's a big lake and a small river. I figured we had a better chance of finding fish in the smaller water, and besides, we were already at Lobo Landing. We got there at the same time a busload of disabled veterans arrived to take part in a Wounded Warriors fishing outing.
All of a sudden, the Little Red felt like the right place to be, even if it didn't look right.
An angler and his young son were pulling their boat out as we prepared to launch, so I asked how they did.
"We caught two real early," the main said. "That rain filled up all these little creeks with muddy water, and that's all drained into the river. You've got to go quite a ways down to find clean water. That's what we did."
It was really dirty the last time I fished this part of the Little Red several years ago with Pat Kimble, but it had current. I caught a 21-inch brown trout that day with a stickbait. We would approach this day as we did that one, looking for seams of clear water meeting mud against the banks. Big trout cruise mudlines looking for food, and it can be a great way to catch a giant.
Of course, current is necessary to create those mudlines. This water was slack, but I was certain we could find what we needed if we looked long enough.
We motored slowly to the end of Libby Shoal and quizzed every angler we met. None had caught anything. We motored back downstream from Lobo Landing and pulled up next to a couple of snags poking out of the water. I tossed a chrome/blue Luck-E-Strike RC stickbait next to the snag and began a slow, jerking retrieve. I waited a second or two between jerks to give a fish time to home in on the lure. It was almost back to the boat when I felt the throbbing strike of a trout. It was a 13-inch rainbow, and suddenly our prospects didn't seem so dim.
We drifted downstream, using only the trolling motor to position the boat, and fished every piece of conspicuous cover we found. It caught two more rainbows in the hours it took to reach Dunham Shoal. Matthew used a Long A Bomber stickbait in rainbow trout pattern. Because of its large size and its flash, I thought it would have a better chance of provoking a big trout to bite, but it was not to be.
We flattened the barbs on the hooks when we reached the special regulations area between Dunham Shoal and Mossy Shoal. If we were going to catch a giant, this would be the place. I caught three more rainbows, the biggest of which was only 16 inches. Matt finally caught one, and he was happy. It was time to call it a day.
As we pulled out at Lobo, we chatted briefly with Doug Pierce, one of the guides who helped the Wounded Warriors. He said they had a good day drifting Trout Magnets, and that the veterans were thrilled to catch a few fish.
"After I see what these guys have been through, it makes my problems seem trivial," Pierce said. "I was honored just to be a part of it."
All trout streams have healing qualities. Even muddy ones.
Sports on 06/29/2014