Spring River

[mike hartup]

For those of you who have fished the Spring River in Arkansas, what are your opinions of it and where are the best places to fish?  I’m trying to find an alternate location to the Little Red for Feb 1-3.  Thanks for any input you can add.

Mike

[Matt Tucker]

Mike:

I have fished the Spring River a bunch over the years.

[mike hartup]

Matt,

Thanks for the info.

[T. Wiles]

Hey Mike,
I’ll agree with everything that Matt said.  The Spring can be lots of fun, and I prefer to fish the colder months due to better fishing and less crowds.  I’ll add: Floating in a pontoon is the way to go if you can.  Most of the trout are, of course, congregated by the accesses, where most stocking takes place….Expect your average 11-13 inch stockers with a couple of 17-18″ ers in the mix.  Lassiter & Dam #3 at the hatchery has plenty of good wading and Bayou is more secluded and lots of fun…I find the flows in this river can be quite high this time of year due to the water table being elevated–Meaning, you’ll have to search lots of stronger flowing riffles.  The river is loaded with Sculpins and Crayfish—brown and sculpin olive #6 buggers have been great for me–also soft hackle hare’s ears—-You’ll even catch a smallmouth and a pickeral or two,  if you’re lucky.
My friends have had luck on Glo-bugs and Y2K’s.

One thing I’ll add:
There are several other anglers who fish this river on John Wilson’s Flyfishing Arkansas website…Check the archives of recent posts in general discussions of the forum.
http://www.flyfishingarkansas.com
Good Luck

Travis

[Author]

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