Tailwater · Mixed · Arkansas

Little Missouri River (Narrows tailwater)

Missouri River venue image
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The Little Missouri below Narrows Dam is southwest Arkansas's small, seasonal tailwater trout fishery — a cold-release stretch below Lake Greeson that the AGFC stocks with rainbows to give the Ouachita country a trout option, mostly through the cool months.

Species

About as good as it gets

Low and clear — careful approach country. Take your time — read the water before you cast.

90% confidence in this read
Water temperature for steelhead
Ideal
9°C est.ideal 4–13°C
0°14°28°
Why this score · for steelhead
  • Temperature10028% weight
  • Flow8022% weight
  • Clarity9518% weight
  • Feeding Time8013% weight
  • Pressure757% weight
  • Insect activity6312% weight
Conditions
Level
Dry recently
No gauge reading
Water temp
9.0°C
Estimated
Clarity
Clear
Air temp
29°C
Wind
E 15 km/h
Gentle breeze
Pressure
1019 hPa
Rain · 24h
0.0 mm
No rain
Rain · ahead
5.2 mm
Light rain · next 48h

Live readings — water temperature is an estimate where the gauge does not record it.

How to fish it · for steelhead
When
Cool season on cold releases; the fishery fades as summer release/heat take the cold away
Where
The Little Missouri below Narrows Dam is southwest Arkansas's small, seasonal tailwater trout fishery — a cold-release stretch below Lake Greeson that the…
Why this works
Excellent — water temperature is right today, though insect activity could be better.
Through the year
0–3 scale · June highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Trout seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
Black MidgeHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Freshwater ShrimpHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Western Blue-Winged OliveHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Pale Morning DunHatch
2
3
3
2

Numbers are intensity 0 (none) to 3 (peak) — a guide, not a guarantee.

Gallery · 1
  1. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • Arkansas trout permit/licence required; a seasonal, stocked tailwater below Narrows Dam — verify current AGFC stocking and reach rules
  • RELEASE SAFETY: flow is hydropower/release-controlled — check SWPA generation before wading; the river rises with release.
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
About this water

The Little Missouri below Narrows Dam is southwest Arkansas's small, seasonal tailwater trout fishery — a cold-release stretch below Lake Greeson that the AGFC stocks with rainbows to give the Ouachita country a trout option, mostly through the cool months. It's a modest, pretty river of gravel and ledges, nothing like the White in scale, and it lives and dies by the dam: cold releases make the trout fishing, and when the release pattern and the summer heat take the cold away the trout fade and the water belongs to the smallmouth and the swimmers. Read the release first, fish small nymphs, midges and eggs near the stocked water while it's cold, and treat it honestly as the seasonal put-and-take tailwater it is. A useful southern outlier that rounds out the pack's geography.

  • Mixed
Seasons & zones
  • Trout1 January → 31 December