Little Red

[mike hartup]

I know this is kind of like asking when the Sun is going to burn out, but does anybody have any predictions as to whether the Little Red will be wadeable Feb 1-3? I’m planning a trip to Arkansas that weekend with some buddies and was hoping to camp at JFK.

[Zach Matthews]

Mike –

You will have to call the local flyshop but I will say the outlook is not good.

[Carter Simcoe]

Zach’s right, at this rate it doesn’t look good.

[mike hartup]

Have you guys got any alternative suggestions for those dates?

[Zach Matthews]

Then don’t go to the C&R.

[Tim Pommer]

Zach,

You and I both know that it could well be worth fighting those crowds behind BSD for some of those super toads.

I am hopeing that this rain slows down some, I need to get out there before work relocates me away from the south.

Any one have any other suggestions on places to go other than the White?

[Zach Matthews]

You could head up to the Caney Fork near Nashville pretty easily, or up to the Cumberland in Kentucky.

[Matt Tucker]

you could head about 45 minutes north of Mountain Home and fish the North Fork of the White River — which is a managed trout stream in Missouri.

[bryan hulse]

You can probably count the Cumberland out for a year or longer. The corp’s growing concern about the erosion of the limestone bedding has caused them to begin a drastic lowering of the lake. They are already predicting a huge impact on the ecosystem and local economies. Seventy percent of the lakes boat ramps will be unusable because they will no longer extend to the lowered shoreline. And, the warmer water being released into the river will likely cause a fish kill in the Cumberland.

You can probably read full stories at the Tennessean.com or any of the Nashville area news affiliates.

Splitshot

[Phil Landry]

Mike-

[Zach Matthews]

Splitshot –

I was afraid that might happen.

[bryan hulse]

Zach (and all interested),

Here is the link to the Tennessean article http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070123/NEWS02/701230347. It provides a little more detail than the WKRN news story I watched last night.

The Channel 2 story led me to believe that the water release would be for an extended period of time. According to the paper the draw down would be only two weeks. Regardless of the time frame, both mention that the long term-term effects on the fishery could be far reaching.

It is a shame that this is happening. The Cumberland, in my opinion, easily rivals the White River system in terms of quality fishing, and my casual observations lead me to think it has richer and more diverse aquatic ecosystem. But honestly, what is the loss of a few thousand brown trout and a bunch of bugs compared to the death of just one person because of a dam breach.

Zach, is your article for Fly Fisherman posted in the Articles section. I’d like to read it.

Bryan

[Zach Matthews]

It was held over from this Fall and is scheduled to run in October.

[Author]

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