SWPA, South West Power Administration has been running a little bit of water of lately. We have had two days with cold temperatures in the morning and they ran both those days running two units for two hours. Check the SWPA website for the generation schedule.

The bite has been excellent the day after they release water and while fishing the falling out water from the day’s releases. With the current generation the river is still experiencing low flows or no flows. With no moving water I’ve been fishing the deep water around the moss beds. I’ve been casting near the moss beds if no bite cast in 5 to 6 foot increments or in-between the moss lanes. I’ve been fishing eggs and San Juan worms. Midge’s have also producing.

SWPA, SouthWest Power Administration has not been running any water this past week. The river is extremely low. The river has been fishing good even with no flow to it.

I’ve been launching the boat at Lobo Landing and fishing the deeper sections of the river.
With no generation try fishing the deep water that has moss beds in it. The fish have been concentrated near the moss beds cast near the moss give it time to fish if nothing bites cast every 6 to 8 feet and keep the boat moving to cover more ground. The bite has been light so set the hook on anything that looks like a bite. I’ve been fishing for Pink San Juan worms and egg patterns. Midge’s have also been working well.

It’s getting close to three weeks now that the SWPA, SouthWest Power Administration has not run any water on the Little Red River. The river is extremely low and has a brown tinge to it. The last few days have been considerably warm and with no generation the water temperature starts to rise. Check the USACE Little Rock app and look at the water temperatures before heading out.

Trout get stressed out in the warm water especially down river. Keep this in consideration and maybe hit the dam or upstream when choosing a spot to go fishing. The forecast for the next 10 days has rain and colder temperatures moving in. Let’s hope we get that rain that is predicted.

With the river being extremely low and not much water to get around or maneuver, I’ve been launching the boat out of Lobo Landing. It has the deepest water on the river. The best bite is early morning. The hot flies for me have been egg patterns and midge’s. San Juan worms have been producing as well. Try fishing the deep water around moss beds. The fish have been concentrated in the deeper water.

SWPA, The South West Power Administration has not been running water for the past several days and the river is extremely low. Let’s hope we get some rain fall. The best bite has been early mornings or after they generate some water. With the lack of generation the fish have been concentrated in the deeper water. The shallow water has the fish on edge so try to make longer casts. While wade fishing try to walk in a stealthy manor not to spook the fish.

Try fishing the deeper stretches along the moss beds. The fish have been in the deeper lanes look for the deeper spots beside the moss and cast to those areas. With no moving water the river is like fishing a pond. While fishing out of the boat I have been having people cast in a spot let it fish for a moment, if no strike, cast five feet further and keep working the area as I row down the river covering water.

The fish have been hitting the flies softly so set on any thing that resembles a hit. Eggs, and Midge’s have been the hot flies for me of lately. A San Juan worm has also been producing. Try giving the San Juan worms a little action by giving it a little flicker with the tip of your rod every now and then. That little bit of movement from the flicker of the rod will produce a strike in water that has no movement.

SWPA, SouthWest Power Administration has been running an hour or two in the afternoon usually on the weekends they have not been running. Always check the SWPA for the generation schedule. With the low flows we are having, the best fishing has been early mornings while there’s still flow from the water released from the night before. Try fishing where there’s still current or hit the deep holes below shoals.

The deep water has been fishing good alongside the moss beds. Anything buggy like Pheasant tail soft hackles or Guides Choice Hare’s ears have been good. Midge’s have been working exceptionally well when used as a dropper off a pheasant tail or any soft hackle. Egg patterns and San Juan worms are also on the menu and have been produced.

The SWPA, SouthWest Power Administration has been running water most days starting sometime late in the afternoon and usually running for an hour or two. Then there’s days when they don’t run anything at all. I’d expect to see the same generation schedule unless it gets hot again but I think Fall has finally settled in. The bite has been best on the days when they run water the previous night.

Start fishing early while there’s still some flowing water falling out from the previous night’s generation schedule .With the low flows try fishing anywhere there’s still some current the fish will be in the oxygenated shoals and in the deep holes below the shoals. The deep slow moving pools have been holding fish especially if there’s a bunch of moss beds in the area. Set your indicator deep and fish the deep slow sections that most people float through.

The patterns I’ve been fishing the most have been Peach or Apricot egg patterns. Anything buggy, Pheasant tail soft hackles or Guide Choice Hare’s ears. And Midge’s. Lately I’ve been running two rods. One of the rods is set up with either a single egg pattern or a San Juan Worm. The other rod is set up with a double nymph rig and has a buggy pattern as the top fly and 16 inches below it I have a midge dropper.

The generation schedule has been fairly consistent for awhile now that the temperatures started to fall. Usually running just an hour or two and starting late in the afternoon. Or they didn’t generate at all for the day. We didn’t get much water running through the turbines last week and had low flows. But this week the forecast has 90′ degree day time temps forecasted throughout the week and no rain. I’d expect to see them running a little bit more water as the day time temperatures rise. Or at least hope they run more water. The fishing is always better when they have a consistent generation schedule and good flows.
The water temperatures around Dripping Springs access and further down river warm up when they don’t run much water the fish start to get stressed out when this happens and the bite goes way down. Be mindful as your fishing as the temperature starts to rise. Starting early in the morning while we have good flows and the water is dropping out has been the best bite.
I’ve been fishing the deeper sections of the river when we have low flows or no generation for the day. When the sun gets at its peak I start concentrating around the deeper water by the moss beds. Or anywhere there is some flow. We’ve been mostly drift fishing a nymph rig usually with a small Pheasant tail soft hackle and a midge dropper.
For beginners I’ve been starting them out by running egg patterns or a San Juan worm or just a single fly underneath an indicator. The best flies for me at the moment have been small buggy patterns, Pheasant tail nymph’s or Hare’s ear nymph’s. Root beer Midge’s, peach eggs and Pink San Juan worms.
There’s been a lot of pressure on certain sections of the river because of the low flows from both Wade fisherman and boat fisherman. Try mixing it up and throwing different fly patterns or adjusting the size of fly or down sizing your tippet if the bite gets tough while we experience the low flows.

SWPA, SouthWest Power Administration has been running a consistent generation schedule this week. They have been running 2 unit’s of water starting at 1 pm and running till 8 pm. With the hot weather we are having to try not to over play the fish, land them quickly and get them back in the water as soon as possible.

Try fishing the oxygenated shoals and the plunge pools right below them or work the deep water around the moss beds. As the water falls out, hit anywhere there’s moving water or start fishing the deep holes.

The best bite has been early mornings while fishing the falling water. I’ve been drift fishing out of the boat running Pheasant tail soft hackles and Guide Choice Hare’s ears. As the water falls out and the bite starts to get tough with temperatures reaching a 100 degrees I’ve been putting on a midge dropper. Another fly that has been good is a pink San Juan worm. Or an egg.
The streamer bite has been good lately with the current generation schedule. I’ve been fishing the dam in the evenings after the fish get acclimated to the 2 unit water coming out of the dam. I’ve been using an #8 weight rod with 330 sink lines to get down. Brown & Yellow Double Deceiver’s, or White & Chartreuse have been my best color choices.

Rich Arnold from Ida Louisiana, was drift fishing a Pheasant tail soft hackle alongside the moss beds in the deep water when this guy decided to take his fly. The fish wanted to get back in the moss, Rich managed to pull this fish out of the moss beds and get him in the boat. Congratulations my friend you did an excellent job playing this beautiful Little Red River brown trout.

SWPA, SouthWest Power Administration has been running two units usually starting at 3 pm and running till 7 pm or 9 pm. A consistent generation schedule is good for the fish and the early morning bite has been great fishing the falling water. Always check the USACE Little Rock app before heading out. The current generation schedule has opened up the entire river for wade fishing.

Start on the upper portion by JFK or Swinging Bridge in the morning then head down river in the evening as the water falls out. I’ve been fishing out of the boat and hitting the deep water around the moss beds with small Pheasant tail soft hackles and Guide Choice Hare’s ears, midge’s have been working good as well. Also try fishing anywhere there’s moving water as the water falls out.

SWPA, SouthWest Power Administration has been running a consistent generation schedule for the past few weeks. I’d expect the same generation schedule to continue as long as it remains hot outside. The dam’s generators are usually being turned on around 1pm to 2pm and they have been running two units for 5 to 6 hours. Always check the USACE Little Rock app before heading out. The current generation schedule has opened up a lot of river for wade fishing.

With the hot weather we are experiencing, try to quickly land the fish and get them back into the water as soon as possible. Try fishing the deep holes around the moss beds and the oxygenated shoals and plunge pools below the shoals. The bite has been good, especially early morning and evenings. The hot flies for me are small Pheasant tail soft hackles, Guides Choice Hare’s ears, Pink San Juan worms and Root beer midge’s.