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Rainbow trout are abundant By Todd Vinyard vinyard@gomemphis.com May 26, 2002 Sage goes on several fishing trips with his owner-guide Jamie Rouse, and, like any true angler, every trip is exciting for the yellow Labrador retriever. Even if it includes a boat and high water. So it was on the second weekend in May. The trip was a little jaunt down Arkansas's Little Red River. "He thinks we wouldn't catch any fish if he wasn't here," Rouse, 32, said with a laugh. "And whoever is catching fish is who he will stand with." While some fly fishermen are less than excited about a trip to the Little Red River when the water in many spots is too high to wade, Sage's excitement proves warranted. Less than four minutes into the trip - after putting in at Dripping Springs Access near Pangburn - the first "fish on" of the day rings out as Jason Peeples of Memphis brings in a nice-sized rainbow. Sage is right there, licking his lips, as Rouse, who runs Jamie Rouse guide service through Wolf River Trading Company in Germantown, turns the rainbow back into the water. These fish have anglers salivating, too. They are spotted all over, including their forked tails with a pink streak on the side. On this misty morning, the two fishermen catch about 60 rainbow trout in almost four hours. The pace picks up as another and another is caught. The rainbows explode on the nymphs they are using. The trout seem worried that a bug that should be breakfast might be getting away. Once on, it's time to let the fish do the work, letting them run before you ease them back to the boat. Seeing these creatures on a quiet morning on the river - far from the concerns of day-to-day life - keeps anglers returning. Rouse fires up the boat motor and glides through beautiful shoals, one after another, en route to another hot spot. Sage approves of the rainbow encounter. He walks back and forth in the boat, seemingly ready for the next run of fish while the craft works down almost 20 miles to an area some locals call Kati's Point. "It's been said many times, but trout don't live in ugly places," Rouse said. And as Peeples, who got into fly-fishing five years ago, points out, these trout live in a beautiful place just 2d hours from Memphis. "There's great fishing here, and it's an easy drive up in a day," Peeples said. "This is a great fishery." It is a fishery with history, Duane Hada points out in the Mid-South Fly Fishers book Home Waters. The transition from a warm-water to a cold-water fishery has taken place since the 1963 dedication of Greers Ferry Dam, one of the last public acts of President John F. Kennedy before he was assassinated, Hada writes. Even the name has charm. According to Home Waters, the Little Red River below Greers Ferry Dam is more properly called Greers Ferry Tailwater because a tailwater is named for the dam that created it. Few people ever call it that. It's best to just say "Lil' Red" because people, especially trout fishermen, will know what you mean. And no wonder. Successful spawning often happens in extremely swift shoals, and the Little Red has great rainbow production, according to trout biologist John Stark. But the area also has high water these days. It's important to think safety first, Rouse says. It's a good idea to either get a guide with a boat or designate one person to handle the boat while others fish. Once you start fishing, think "a little bit bigger and a little bit brighter on your flies," Rouse advises. "There are still some great fish to be caught, and it can fish really well - don't let the high water keep you at home," Rouse said. "Sometimes I use attractor patterns - San Juan worms and Egg Patterns, bigger nymphs. You definitely want to get down, so use a little weight on the line." Sonny Martin at Lindsey's Rainbow Resort, just two miles below Greers Ferry Dam, said the water gets muddier farther downstream. "I haven't noticed much change in the fishing," Martin said. "It's really very good. Artificial (spoons, rooster tails and repalas) have been catching trout. Of course, the worms and power eggs are still catching lots of fish, too." Jim Grogan at Red River Trout Dock has been hearing the same success stories. "This is a great time to fish the Little Red because the weather is nice - not too hot, not too cold," Grogan said. "The fish are biting on power eggs and waxworms. Fly fisherman are having success with Woolly Buggers. Any time is a good time to trout fish, but this is a particularly pleasant time of year." Rouse has been having success down river where he finds spots not covered with other anglers. It's in those special spots, when a fish is on and the sun is rising in the sky, that ordinary days turn into magical memories, tinged with nostalgia and camaraderie. And if Sage could talk, here's betting he'd agree that being out fishing is better than lying around. - Todd Vinyard |
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