The brown trout are still being seen on the shoals with spawning activity still underway. It seems the average size of the browns, still on the shoals, is from 16 to 18 inches. Seeing the browns and catching them are two different stories. With the low, clear water the browns have been very skittish and unpredictable. It seems that one day they will be receptive to the fly and the next completely ignore the same pattern. There have also been a large number of rainbows on the shoals trying to spawn and in many cases have been a better bite than the browns. Egg patterns and small midge patterns have been the best choice for flies.
This was the river condition up until last night when the rain arrived.
Last night the rain started about 7:00 pm and heavy rain has been falling all night and a steady rain all day. The rain has now moved out with about 3 ½ inches falling since last night. The river is extremely muddy and rising with runoff only (no generation). No generation is scheduled until Monday but with the rising lake level, this could change. The lake is level as of 6:00 pm was 461.1 and rising with the Middle Fork and South Fork of the Little Red, above the lake, rapidly rising. We are still under a flash flood warning and will just have to watch these levels. The lake will probably go into the flood pool by this time tomorrow. The river will remain muddy until generation clears the water.
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Good Fishing!!
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