Little Red River emerges from cold water beneath the massive dam at Greers Ferry Lake. This cold water provides an excellent fishery for a variety of trout. The trout section of this river stretches 29 river miles from the dam to the town of Pangburn. There are plenty of resorts, full service marinas and public boat launches along the upper sections of the Little Red River.
Brown trout running 5 to 8 pounds are common, and a 20- to 30-pounder is always possible. The Brown trout spawning run occurs from October through December, making these especially good times to fish. This popular Ozark Mountain tail-water trout stream is beautiful in its own special way, running clear and cold, skirted by scenic hillsides alive with wildlife – otters, raccoons, deer, ducks, blue heron and eagles.
Rainbow Trout
Rainbow trout are here in good numbers due to consistent stockings. These hatchery fish will provide anglers with a lot of action and you will most likely catch a lot more rainbow trout than browns or cutthroats. Anglers looking for a meal will usually keep some rainbow trout for the dinner table, so this is more of a put and take fishery for rainbow trout.
There are some big rainbow trout in the river, but the average size will be smaller. These hatchery fish are raised on commercial trout food, so you can do well by using baits similar in size and shape as the trout pellets they are used to feeding on. Scented eggs, corn and balls of cheese work great, but don’t rule out nightcrawlers, minnows and artificial baits because they work great as well.
Brown Trout
Brown trout are here in lower numbers than the rainbows, but there are still a lot of brown trout in the river and some very big fish can be caught too. Many anglers will be 100% catch and release with the brown trout and this has helped these fish grow to some very big sizes. Catching brown trout in the 5 to 8 pound range is fairly common with fish in the 20 to 30 pound range possible. The 40 pound 4 ounce brown trout that was caught in 1992 helps bring anglers back to this river for a shot at a monster. Brown trout spawn in the fall, usually from mid-October through November. For many anglers, this is the best time of year to target bigger brown trout on the Little Red.
Cutthroat Trout & Brook Trout
Cutthroat trout and brook trout are also in the Little Red River, but in lower numbers than the brown trout and rainbow trout.
