Fishing guides help educate public, protect resources in autumn

David Mitchell, left, and Lowell Myers fish on the Little Red River outside Heber Springs. As fall approaches, new precautions must be taken when fishing along the river. Proper procedures for the upcoming fall fishing season are taught by local fishing guides in and around Heber Springs.
David Mitchell, left, and Lowell Myers fish on the Little Red River outside Heber Springs. As fall approaches, new precautions must be taken when fishing along the river. Proper procedures for the upcoming fall fishing season are taught by local fishing guides in and around Heber Springs.

As the weather cools and nature cycles into another season, autumn offers some unique outdoor opportunities. Fishing in and around Heber Springs is one pastime that changes from summer to fall, and local guides can help less-experienced anglers learn more about the sport and how to respect the resources available.

Chuck Farneth, David Mitchell and Lowell Myers are three guides on the Little Red River who are passionate about teaching their craft and preserving the area.

Fishing on the Little Red River in the fall is different from other times of the year, the three anglers said. Brown trout go into their spawning period in the fall, which provides both opportunities for and a need for caution from fishermen.

“It’s the best time for the big fish,” Mitchell said. “It’s a great time of year. The whole system is turned upside-down in the fall. Later in the year, November and December are two of the best months up here.”

The need for caution comes with how anglers walk up and down the Little Red’s shoals. Because the fish are spawning, it can be easy for inexperienced fishermen to step on or otherwise destroy the eggs.

“We have a lot of people who love to fish the brown trout,” Myers said. “A lot of times, they walk around these shoals and step on redds — that’s what we call the nests — and either crush the eggs or disturb the nest. Those eggs never have a chance to hatch and grow. We encourage people to pay attention to where they’re walking, and we discourage people from fishing over spawning browns. Of course, there is a lot of discussion on that in the fishing community.”

Knowing where to step — or not to step — is one reason inexperienced anglers would benefit from going on the water with a guide. Other benefits include learning basic tricks of the trade and improving technique.

“You’re not just paying a guide to take you fishing for a day,” Farneth said. “They’re teaching you to fish, and that knowledge will last a lifetime.”

Farneth is on the USA Masters Fly Fishing team and has competed in fly-fishing since 2000, garnering gold and bronze medals in the ESPN Great Outdoor Games. He has also won the Northeast Regional Fly Fishing Masters. With his 50 years of fly-fishing experience, he said, some of his greatest moments have come from taking a new fisher out on the river.

“I can take a portion of my experience and invest in another person,” he said. “You can’t go wrong with a guide on the river who knows what he’s doing, and I share as much as I can.”

Farneth, Mitchell and Myers are all passionate about preserving the Little Red River. This includes avoiding brown-trout redds and practicing catch-and-release fishing. Mitchell said all of his fish are “kiss and release,” and Myers encourages anglers to keep fish wet before releasing them.

“Don’t take a fish out and hold it up in the air to get a picture of it and just throw it back in, hoping it survives,” he said. “They have to be handled very carefully. … It just helps protect and provide a better fishery for the future. If we take care of it now, there are simple steps we can take to preserve it for the next generation.”

While the brown trout is a renewable resource on the Little Red River, Farneth said, it is important for guides and other anglers to manage that resource wisely. Rainbow trout, on the other hand, are generally believed to not spawn in the river or to have only limited spawning success.

“I know the potential that this river has,” he said. “I want people to be able to come from all over the world and experience it.”

All three anglers are available as guides for those interested in fishing the Little Red River. To contact Farneth, call (501) 887-9202 or email slfarneth@aol.com. Mitchell has been a guide for more than 30 years and can be contacted at (501) 281-5058. Myers — who has been a fly fisherman for more than 30 years — co-owns Sore Lip’Em All Guide Service and can be contacted at (501) 230-0730 or sorelipemall@gmail.com.

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