The AGFC stocks about 87,000 10- to 11-inch rainbows per year at the river's five public access areas. For example, between Nov. 1 and the end of last year, the agency was scheduled to stock 1,855 trout at Riverside Access at Narrows Dam, 2040 trout at River Ridge Access a mile and a half below the dam, 3385 rainbows at Hinds Bluff about two miles below the dam, 3,775 fish at the Old Factory site five miles downstream and 3,385 at the low water bridge six and three-tenths miles downstream, which marks the end of the stocked waters. You can reach each of these public accesses off state Highway 19, which roughly parallels this portion of the river between Lake Greeson and the city of Murfreesboro.

SLY TROUT ON THE FLY
Anglers sometimes claim that they caught 50 to 100 or more trout per day on the Little Missouri. Such eye-catching reports show up on Web sites during the winter after a lucky angler arrives on the heels of a hatchery truck that's just coughed up a couple of thousand naïve rainbows that'll strike anything on the water.

"I kinda smile when folks from Texas say they caught 100 or 150," Guerin said. "But they come back in the summer, and they're lucky to get a hit. By that time of year, there are no 'freshmen' out there. The trout have become educated."

Guerin studies the river's insect populations and tracks seasonal hatches, and then matches the hatch, often with flies of his own design. For example, his Long Creek pattern (his favorite fly) imitates Light Cahill and March Brown nymphs, which are among the most common food forms in the river. His Smidge and Smudge soft-hackle patterns mimic insects emerging toward the surface. Mayflies too are common, and you can expect topwater action on grasshopper patterns in September and October, he said. Longtime favorites such as pheasant-tail nymphs, Wooly Buggers and midge patterns also work.

FLY-FISHING GEAR
Although Guerin's personal gear includes a 2-weight rod, which is at the ultralight end of the fly-fishing scale, he recommends a 9-foot 3- or 4-weight rod with a matching reel and floating fly line. "In summer, when the river clears up, it's crystal-clear 8 to 9 feet deep," he explained. "You're usually fishing in shallow water-from 1 foot to ankle deep-in summer, so I go to a 10- to 12-foot leader with 3 to 4 feet of tippet. We're fishing 7X and 8X tippets and fluorocarbon (the lightest, lowest-visibility line available) and getting refusals. These fish know what a leader is."

Lengthy leaders maximize stealth, but such terminal tackle demands precision casting. Form a tight loop with a crisp backcast; then, stop the rod tip sharply in your forward cast and allow the line and leader to unfurl and settle gently to the water. Long leaders can tempt you to overpower your cast, so try to slow down your casting stroke and let the rod do its share of the work. Sloppy casts still draw strikes in the fall and winter, but the Little Missouri demands your best efforts at this time of year.