Red River Heber Springs Arkansas

The wife and I booked a cabin on the Red River for the weekend of our 10th anniversary, Sept 30 - Oct 2. We weren't really looking to make it a fishing trip we were just looking for some place pretty and quiet to get away from the kids and work for a weekend, the wife doesn't like long car rides and Heber Springs is only about a 2.5 hour drive from where we live and seemed to be the best fit for what we were looking for within a reasonable drive.

That being said, since we did book a cabin at a trout fishing resort I will probably try to sneak a rod into the truck before we leave and see if I can do a little fishing while we are there.

I have never fished for trout and never tried to fly fish and don't want to spend the money to get outfitted with a flyrod and waders and all that. I have a really nice St Croix ultra-light panfish rod, would that be suitable for trout fishing? I also have some tiny jigs I bought for crappie fishing a while back but they are called trout traps so I assume they were meant for trout fishing, anybody know how well they work for trout? Would I fish them under a bobber if fishing with ultra-light spinning tackle?

There is a "fishing dock" where we will be staying, can you catch trout from a dock or do you have to wade? There is supposed to be a big shoal right out from our cabin that people wade out to and fish from but like I said, I'm not interested in going out and spending a ton of money on waders and what not.

From what I have seen of people who trout fish, they seem to be real big on catch and release and conservation, do I need to be using circle hooks to stay pc with the trout fishing crowd? If I keep one or two, what is the best way to cook them? Would I fillet them like I would a crappie?

spinning gear works fine for trout,panther martin ,mepps and roostertails allwork . they make a casting bobber which you tie a couple of flies behind. wax worms drifted with a couple of split shot is a hot tactic. Pinch the barb down if you are going to release is standard practice. check regs for the area some streams require barbless hooks or single hooks only on artificals. trout dont hold a candle to crappie [IMHO] but I do pan fry a couple every now and then. I fry them whole lightly floured in butter.

I haven't looked in a while but I think their are a couple you tube videos on it

Check out the trout magnet website

They will eat worms,and different other baits along with the commercial prepared baits fished pretty much on the bottom.Also as said different lures.I have only been a few times but I wore them out once with a roostertail spinner in black with gold spots and a gold blade in I think 1/16 oz.

The best ones I ever ate where grilled over charcoal wrapped in bacon.I didn't prepare them but I sure eat them.

I ain't a big trout fisherman though.

You can drive to different access sights and fish from the bank.Gonna be good and bad spots just like everything else.

Thanks for the feedback guys.

Fishing from the dock should be good. The water is clear and you'll get more bites with a light clear line - 4 lb. test monofilament works well on the Little Red in my experience. I usually fly fish, but have used the ultralight when fishing with some people that didn't know how to fly fish. We had great luck using power bait eggs (basically imitation salmon eggs) in chartreuse and red on small salmon egg hooks drifted along the bottom with a BB sized split shot about 18 inches above the hook. If you're not planning to keep the fish, mash the barb of the hook down with pliers to make it easier to release them without a lot of handling. Lots of people keep the rainbow trout on the Little Red, so no issue with keeping them. Just be sure of what type they are as I think there are special size and quantity limits for brown, cutthroat, and brook trout - all of which I've caught in there although only the rainbows and browns are numerous. There was no size limit on the rainbows the last time I was there 2 years ago and you could keep 5 per day. Make sure you check the regulations for yourself, because I am not current with them. As for cooking them, the only way I like trout is smoked, which takes about an hour-and-a-half on my smoker at about 275 degrees. Lots of people like to season them and fill the cavities with lemon and onions and then wrap them in foil, cook at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes and it steams them in the foil. I don't like them that way, but I know some folks that do. I've never tried to fillet a trout and really have only seen them cooked whole. The flesh is rather delicate, so get them dressed and either chilled or cooked soon after catching them.

Better read up on regs ( AGFC puts out a special Trout regulation booklet ) as some places require barbless hooks , no bait (artificial only), and some are catch and release . Make sure to have Arkansas fishing licence and Trout stamp . Good luck and have a great trip . :biggrin

The home of the "Trout Magnet" under a "Trout magnet float".See Jeff''s Video's on youtube. The Big Brown's should be making their Fall spawning run up the river to the Greers Ferry Dam."Cow shoal's",Cow Shoal"" Barbless"Should be a few World Record Class brown's on this shoal spawning.

One of if not the Best German Brown trout fisheries in the World. "World Record German Brown trout"

You will see the Crowd's if they are!

Cow Shoals is an amazing place during the brown trout spawn. I won't fish there and disturb the spawning sites, but have driven up there to watch the spectacle while eating lunch. The fish are amazing and it looks like a salmon run in some places. Watching the anglers trying to catch them is just as interesting as it appears from watching that it must be quite difficult to coax the spawning browns into striking.

Heber Springs has a great little farm and ranch store close to walmart. There is a twice the ice machine next to walmart's gas station.
I've hauled my camper twice there. Once was below the dam and dam site campground. My truck didn't like pulling the hill when leaving below the dam.