Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program: Nebraska
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

The population of Brown Trout below the Greers Ferry dam on the Little Red River (Greers Ferry Tailwater) is unique among trout populations in Arkansas. It is the only self-sustaining trout fishery in the State. While other trout fisheries in tailwaters below dams on the White River and its tributaries require stocking to sustain the fishery, no Brown Trout stocking is required in the Greers Ferry tailwater. This unique situation calls for a considered approach to managing this Brown Trout fishery, because of the inability to influence the fishery by varying stocking levels. Management of this Brown Trout fishery requires some understanding of spawning within the tailwater. This issue was the subject of a previous research project. Trout are managed in the Greers Ferry tailwater from the dam to the Monaghan/Womack Access (MWA) at the Hwy 305 bridge, east of Pangburn, Arkansas (~48 km or 30 miles). The magnitude and persistence of a Brown Trout fishery below the MWA is unclear. Data on trout movement within this section of the Little Red River or between this section and the tailwater above the MWA do not exist. This data gap regarding Brown Trout movement patterns will be addressed by this proposed project.