I am planning a fishing trip to the Buffalo river in the fall and was wondering if anyone has fished this river, and if so can you offer any suggestions or advice as I prepare for the trip? Is the small mouth fishing good? Any recommendations on camping areas? Are there any sections of the river that you would recommend over the others?
Thanks,
Dennis
Fished parts of it years ago. Brownie
fishing can be good. Lures you can cast and retrieve fast work best if float fishing. A fly rod works well too. I like the Buffalo Point campground for regular camping…has flush toilets/bathing facilities and is kept up well by the Nat’l Park Service. But, in the summer, it can be crowed and you need reservations. There are bunches of Nat’l Forest campgrounds around the area. One I like, has complete facilities and one of the best public caverns around, is Blanchard Springs, but its a ways from the river. Do a Google search, start here:
http://www.ozarkmtns.com/buffalo/bfg.html
buffalo river fishing
I spent a week floating in june. soft plastic craw fish in watermelon/red flake does the trick. fish the fast water and eddies at the end of the riffles. small top water in the morning and evening.but you will catch fish with soft plastic craws imitations
it’s all good!
late fall is the best!!! if you can catch the fall colors it will be a trip you won’t soon forget! the watermelon tube IS A GREAT LURE!and ,green line is in your best intrest, because the water is gin clear!post up! when it gets time to go… i’ll fill you in on a section to run
Most years…
the river gets very low by early autumn, and unless you get some good autumn rains it stays low. Therefore, you can probably forget about floating it above Gilbert. Gilbert to Maumee or Maumee to Buffalo Point are likely possibilities for one day trips. Buffalo Point to Rush is also a one day float. Rush to the White River is the ultimate 2-3 day float (no good access in between).
As Bobber said, the river will be very clear. In September and early October the fish will still be in summer patterns–located mostly near the heads and tails of pools, often in shallow (2-4 ft.) water. You have to make long casts to avoid spooking them. Natural-appearing soft plastics like tubes are very good, but you also should try buzzbaits and other topwater lures. I’ve had some spectacular smallie trips in September on buzzbaits.
By mid-October the fish will be moving toward winter mode. They will start concentrating more in the deeper pools. The tubes will then be very good, topwater lures less so depending upon how warm the water still is. Late autumn trips, you should plan to cover less water (shorter days and fishing slower and deeper). The last lower Buffalo trip I made was in mid-November, and fishing was tough, but I could have caught more fish had I not been forced to cover 10-12 miles per day.
I’ve done the Buffalo Point to Rush
float, no fishing, in Spring, Summer, and Fall. The Fall trip required dragging through the shallows. Not bad, but the water was low. I went twice in the Fall, May is definitely better for paddling.
a little rain goes along way
that river can go from low to oh no!! with just a little rain fall
I’ve read stories. Our Central Texas
rivers are similar. Wedged between hills and bluffs, the water doesn’t fool around.
Buffalo River 5 day fishing trip
– Last Updated: Jan-05-08 12:10 AM EST –
Good evening,
My father, brother, myself and two other fanatics are canoeing the Buffalo for our first time. We are going from April 22nd, 2008 to April 27th, 2008. Our first priority is smallmouth fishing.
1. At normal stage, how many miles should we try to cover if we don't want to ever have to place a paddle in the water, except to avoid hazzards?
2. Are there any sections that are consistently more productive than others?
3. Do you have any other suggestions for our trip?
Thank you,
Mzrealfish
A friend of mine who’s a marathon
paddler says plan on about 1 mile per hour if fishing, 2-3 mph if casually paddling soaking up scenery. Your mileage may vary, but the 2-3 mph figure is probably accurate on the flat portions of the river at normal flow. Factor into that your breaks. If you are fishing, 10 miles per day is pleasant, 15 doable. Water levels, of course, depends on the rain.
depends…
upon how you’re fishing. Fishing for smallmouths with fast-moving artificial lures like spinnerbaits and crankbaits, 1 mile an hour is about right. Fishing with live bait (ugh) or with soft plastics and jigs on the bottom, you probably need to cut that down to 1/2 to 3/4 mile an hour.
The upper portion from Ponca to Pruitt is gorgeous, but if it has enough water for easy floating the fishing is often tough. Anywhere below Pruitt is better for fishing in normal water levels. For 6-7 days on the river, I’d plan on going something like 50 miles at most…Woolum to Buffalo Point is 45 miles, Pruitt to Gilbert is 48. Both would be good floats, figuring on stopping fairly early each evening to camp, etc.