Where would you fish?

[todd13]

Ok....it's late Nov, like the week of Thanksgiving.  ( I am planning ahead and would like everyone to vote )

You have 4 days (Sun-Wed).  Where do you go?  I am not flying.  I don't mind driving.  

a.  Maybe drive to CO or NM, but you lose valuable fishing time.  If CO or NM, where?  Wanting to wade fish and have some success (dumb statement, right).  I am a newby, so my hook up rate is prob lower than yours.   If I am going to drive, it needs to be worth it.

B.  Ark...but I hear that is best if you float that river (the White?).  Maybe I heard this wrong.

C.  Stay local and max fishing time - LMFR and maybe Little MO in Murfreesboro (combo or stay at LMFR).

What choice am I overlooking?    Maybe Nov is good for sailfish in the bay along the Gulf?   nah, I know better.   Is there another good choice I should consider? 

I hope this breaks up the dog days and I am counting some great ideas!  Thanks in advance for sharing -

[turfdawg]

That time of the year it would the LMF for me. Log stops should be out so it opens up some good water.

[jonbo]

Echo what turfdawg said. LMF is as good in winter as anywhere I've been to, even with the Bluffs more or less wrecked, the S-Turn gone, etc. The places the removed stop-logs open up are pretty nice. And you have to check out Zone II! I'd definitely seek out the LMF if it saves drive time. The Lil' Mo' is a somewhat lesser destination, IMO,and further from Dallas. Several good spots, but the flow is quite a bit lower. Pretty much strictly recent stockers, no larger-grown holdovers to speak of, or stream-born fish. I can show anyone around, but not during Thanksgiving week. Goin' to Bull Shoals!

Note: I'm not trying to put anyone off from coming to Murfreesboro, AR (Lil' Mo') to fish. As I said on another thread, I'll be happy to show any of y'all around anytime. But you asked where would we go in the winter and I'm telling you the truth. If it's the closest to you, it's hard to beat the LMF. If you want to drive over to Murfreesboro between the beginning of November and the end of April for a change of pace, let me know.

Also, we have a good guide, Jeff Guerin, who works quite cheaply, who can do a lot more for you than I ever can.

[mirvc17]

I still have yet to fish the LMF in the fall/winter (both my trips during these times got canceled) so I'm not a good judge, but based on others posts, fall/winter is the best time to be there.

Given your constraints, I'm not sure it would be worth your drive to fish in NM and CO, plus you have to worry about the weather. There's some streams I would like to fish, but getting there could be hazardous and weather unpredictable.

When I went up to the S. Platte near Deckers in the middle of Oct, I got caught in a snow storm and barely made it out. Unless you hit a tail water, the water levels of any free stone might be low...

[hankinsfly]

I agree, two solid days of fishing for the drive to NM or CO isn't enough. Usually takes me a day just to get in the groove of the river and figure out the right spots. You can wade fish the White in November. There are typically less generation levels at that time than right now, summer. The reason for the constant generation now is to lower the overall levels of the lakes on the white system, and this will take until October. This an aspect of flood control. The Norfork should be at fine wading levels. But this can still be a hell of a drive for you, coming from Texas. I agree with others, Fall/Winter on the LMF is the best time for this river and I would choose to spend my time time here, given your circumstances. I used to do quite good here in Winter with ice forming on my rod guides. I even camped then. This was before the floods but I imagine it would be no different now. Less people in the river, meaning more available fish to go after. Especially true if bad weather is approaching! You very well could have the entire river to yourself. LMF is where a lot of us learn to fish for trout. Spend time here, have more time on the water, closer to home. Learn what not to do here. I also think this is beautiful country to be in- the Ouachitas and Kiamichi country.

[Fenwick]

One could remark "But what about the Beavers Bend Thanksgiving break crowds lining the river?" My friends and I spent two Thanksgiving breaks up there, renting a log home for the time. For whatever reason there were no crowds and we had quite a nice time fishing the Spillway, Evening Hole and Zone 2. It was one of those rare times that Zone 2 was amazingly productive and moreso enjoyable since we were the only ones down there. The colorful fall foliage may or may not still be on the trees but in any case it'll be cooler and you'll enjoy your time outdoors there. I always do.

[turfdawg]

After my Colorado in 10 days can we please fast forward to Fall for some more LMF trips.
I'm even going to try and get to know the Blue better also.

[jonbo]

Oh, man, Cardiac Hill before the Flood, mid-January or so, about 24 degrees, ice forming in the guides, me bundled up with about 6 layers of clothing, but the fish were biting. Those were good times!

[golferjeff]

New Mexico the only real option is Chama below Abiquiu dam or MAYBE the confluence of the Red/Rio Grande. Both still 9-11 hours by car. Colorado? Pueblo (Arkansas River tailwater) is 11 hours. The only other good water within 13 hours is MAYBE the Conejos if a warm late fall. Everything else will be either unreachable or in winter fishing mode. If we have an exceptionally warm late fall in Colorado, the Arkansas river and south platte are good options. 12-14 hours though.


Arkansas/Taneycomo. Big Browns still in some mode of spawn, night fishing can be incredible at Taney. White/Norfork usually has plenty of wadeable water that time of year according to the people that go up there regularly. Both of these places are between 6.5 and 8 hours away.

The logs usually come out at LMF either right before or right after thanksgiving. If they are out, go to LMF. If they are still in, the fishing is not as good and less water is available. Still a good place though, especially if its a cold snap. Less crowded, bigger fish, better water temps.

Guadalupe - they usually begin stocking it around Middle November. If they have, its worth a shot. 4-4.5 hours from Dallas. If they haven't stocked due to water temps or minimum flow issues, it isn't worth a second look.

[golferjeff]

Also, the Blue will be stocked by then. 1.5-2 hours from DFW. Not ideal conditions, but you can do a combo LMF/Blue trip to mix it up. If I were you and given the circumstances you describe above...... LMF or Taneycomo.

[breeden3]

My recommendation would be to not waste your time in Colorado in November. Are there places to fish, and fish to be caught? Yes. But there are MUCH better options much closer. The LMF is probably one of the best fall and winter fisheries in the country. I will gladly argue that to anyone. One problem I have with wade fishing the White, Norfork, and Little Red Oct-Dec is that is when the brown trout are spawning. Yes, they shut down the river near Bull Shoals for spawning browns but the much of the river is wide open. I don't take any brown trout I see caught off those rivers during that time period seriously. Not hard to know how they were caught (fishing redds and snagging). I am not going to overload the forum with pictures but you can PM me your cell number if you want and I will send you plenty of reasons to stay on the LMF.

[todd13]

Well I have plenty of time till Nov, but LMFR looks to be the best choice and there are some cool second choices. I Thnk I have 4 days so I want to max those out. I will have to explore N Ark when I get the chance. And I do want to get into some browns at LMFR. I guess I need to go downstream below the old dam (zone II I think it is called? ).

Thanks so much for the input. Peter I will pass on the pics. The fish you would share would just make me turn green I am sure! I love catching trout, but naturally, I do want to catch a bigger one once in a while. I will prob just hook up with you one weekend this fall/winter for another lesson and "go big or go home".

fun read, thanks all

[jonbo]

IMO, you need to hire Peter or one of the other guides and have him TAKE you to Z2. You're spending all this $ anyhow, a guide will take you up the learning curve much faster than anything else you can do. ZII it's quite hard to find the fish if you don't know what you're doing. I usually catch about 1 in a couple of hours, or none. (Sometimes I get in a hatch, though!) For the beauty and the solitude, ZII is hard to beat. Hiring a guide for your first day of fishing the LMF will make your entire trip a lot more productive.

[golferjeff]

Zone II is primarily big rainbows, and you will find better Browns moving up to spawn in gravel above EH bridge. Lots of Browns in middle spillway as well, the result of planting and Vibert Boxes. Take Jon's advice and get Peter to take you to ZOneII for 3/4 day and then chase big browns if he located any in Zone I. Time and mOney well spent

[todd13]

yes great advice and like Coach Yost said to Coach Herman Boone, "He's a mile ahead of you." I decided last spring I would hire Peter this fall to amp my learning curve.

I will also hire a Jenny the nurse to help get my wife going. My wife is in the med industry and my daughter is a nurse, so they would enjoy chatting nurse things....plus Jenny told me about Peter's ability to use The Force.

I already have those two trips budgeted!