Fly Fishing Arkansas - Instruction

The equipment we use to fish the trout rivers of Arkansas are what most would consider to be standard equipment as a rule. For wade fishing we use rods between a 4wt and a 6wt. Most of the time I'd recommend a medium action rod in either a 9 or 10 foot. The lighter rods would be for fishing midges and small dry flies and the heavier rods would be for fishing with small streamers and strike indicators.

Rods:
A 9 foot rod will be all the rod you'll need for wade fishing. I often get asked about the differences between 9 an 10 foot rods for nymphing. While you can manipulate your flies at a greater distance with a 10 foot rod, the differences are small. When the rare occasion comes that we do fish from a boat I will recommend a 10 foot rod between a 6wt and an 8 wt. The extra length of a 10 foot rod is all but mandatory while fishing from a boat. The extra length allows for mending to extend your drifts as well as manipulation of your flies at a greater distance from the boat. I would still use the medium action rods since you may be using multi-fly rigs and indicators. It is a rare occasion that distance is a factor here. Most of our waters can be waded with a little caution when the water is down.

Reels:
When you are shopping for reels to fish these waters I have found a few factors to be key. First I use a medium to a large arbor reel. The larger fish can cover allot of ground on the initial run. As the fish pulls line off your reel, the useful diameter gets smaller and smaller. Once a fish hits your backing the diameter of the reel is roughly half of what it was to begin with. This means that the drag that the reel is supplying is probably double or triple what it was to begin with. A medium to large arbor reel will help to remedy some of this by having a larger diameter to begin with. The only real disadvantage to a larger arbor is line stacking on the retrieve and the additional weight of the reel itself. Secondly, your reel needs to have an easily accessible drag system. When I have a big fish that I am having a hard time keeping up with, releasing your drag for a run can be something you need to do very quickly. A complicated drag system could potentially cost you a fish. It is not all that important to have a drag that dissipates heat that well. The runs that these fish make are not the long runs like saltwater fish. However, they are very quick and surprising. Simple is better.

Fly Lines:
For fly lines I prefer a longer taper and or even a double taper. Allot of your casting will be very close the majority of the time. However when sight casting to the larger fish you will often be asked to cast accurately to fish over 50 feet away. A longer taper like a "distance" line makes this much easier to accomplish. The bigger fish are very line shy so be aware of your fly line color. I will often take a colored pen and darken or mute the first 15 feet of my line for sight casting. Longer leaders are always an option as well. There are a variety of tactics that can be handled with different equipment. The difference in long slick pools that are close to still waters vs. the fast heavy current of the river sections with some fall to them can have you switching spools and changing leader set-ups when you change locations. In other words there is no "best" way to set up your rod/fly line combination. Depending on water levels you will need a floating line (long taper, muted color), a sink tip of various lengths and sink rates, and some sinking lines for fishing high water from a boat.

Leaders:
Leaders, tippets, and weight can be the most important factor on catching fish. The bigger fish will sit and sip/snack on tiny midges, sow bugs, and scuds most of the day. The big fish will not generally move to take a small fly. Something that is rarely taught is to properly balance a nymphing rig for fishing various waters. A rig that has too much weight will cause a fly to hop and skip across the bottom of the stream. A rig that does not have enough weight will never get to the fish. Your leader itself is better sized for proper turn over and stealth. The portions that are closer to the fish need to be as stealthy as possible. For nymphing I recommend that you have plenty of fluorocarbon in various breaking strengths for your tippets. My personal favorites are from 4X to 7X. For heavy streamers you may be using 1X to 4X. For dry flies you will be fishing some very small patterns. It is not at all uncommon to use 4X for hoppers, down to 8X for size #22 midges. Be sure to carry a wide variety of slit shot or weighted flies. Since most of the areas we fish are "one barbless fly only" I'd recommend the split shot. Strike indicators may or may not be your personal preference. It is possible to catch fish without them, but it can be problematic.

Flies:
Depending on the time of the year flies can vary. However, we do not have the variety of flies that most western streams have. Generally sow bugs, woolly buggers, scuds, small dries, and midges will always catch fish. We do have some nice hatches of caddis, mayflies, dragonflies, crane flies, etc. Although our hatches are not as prolific as some you may have seen elsewhere. White streamers work well when we are having shad kills, and egg patterns work well in the fall and winter.

Technique:
Almost everything you have done in the past will work here as well. I get allot of people wanting to catch big fish on dry flies. It can be measurably more difficult to do but it is still possible. I caught a 28" brown on a size #22 "mothers day caddis" dry last year, which was a real thrill. The best places to fish are the trophy areas usually. You are only allowed to use one fly so you might have to modify your tactics a little. The most common methods are to drop nymphs off an indicator, swing soft hackles, strip/swing streamers, and cast to rising fish with dries. Sight casting can be extremely exciting. Seeing a fish that is 4 feet long holding in a feeding lane taking an occasional midge can make your heart stop. If you want to sight fish be prepared to get your feelings hurt. I've spent all day working on a single fish to never have them take. You will often spend hours getting smaller and smaller with your tackle on a big fish. "If" they finally do take you may have a 30lb fish connected to 100 feet of fly line by only a 7X tippet.

Good luck and enjoy your trip. Get plenty of sleep because you'll need it. I can promise you'll spend some wakeless hours tossing and turning with memories of the "monster" fish you saw. The anticipation of what you might have hooked to the end of your line can keep you up for days. I had a friend that went to one knee, after getting light headed, when a 30"+ rainbow came 5 feet out of the water and spooled him in about 2 seconds. What a thrill!!!!

John W. Wilson