Fishtales
March 9, 1998
This is one for the river fisherman. Sounds like a little bit of heaven to me.
Fishing the Buffalo
Jim Pope
The Buffalo River is a small river flowing through southern Middle Tennessee. It is a river that is too deep to wade and too shallow to navigate, unless a lightweight john boat or canoe is used. In the summer months, hundreds of thrill seekers mass to the Buffalo on weekends to rent a canoe and float for a few miles. In many cases the canoes are stocked with coolers full of beverages, and after two or three miles of drifting, many of the participants become somewhat loud and careless. Because of the massive amount of recreational traffic on the water, fishermen are few. The fish, however, will adjust to most situations, and they seem to know that they have little to fear from the many shouting, paddle banging creatures who pass in an almost continuous line. Given all of that, it is safe to say that, in the summer months, the waters of the Buffalo River are ripe and ready to harvest.
Once or twice a year, my boss and I, launch his 14 foot fishing rig with the hopes of catching smallmouth and largemouth bass, not to mention the green perch (a.k.a.: rock bass, redeye bass, goggle eye perch, and other fitting tags). Spinning tackle is a good choice of equipment, however a small baitcaster spooled with eight to twelve pound test line will work. Small lures seem to produce more fish than larger ones. Crankbaits, spiinnerbaits, worms, grubs, or jigs will usually produce a few fish. Four to six pound test line would be sufficient most of the time, but there is always that chance of hooking a smallmouth over four pounds. The only places I have been lucky enough to make such a connection have been in log or brush infested holes. A smallmouth of that quality will quickly dive into the available cover, and, as my Dad used to say, "that's all she wrote". Even with 8 lb. line a good fish is hard to handle. The holes of water are usually not very large, so the first run of a good fish is always toward protection.
My personal lure of choice is a small spinnerbait. Black always seems to work the best. The water is very clear, and bright colors seem to be more frightening than alluring. A crankbait will catch more fish than a spinnerbait, but the cover is often so thick that one might spend more time hung up than fishing. The spinnerbait is virtually weedless and can be worked in the heaviest of cover. The exciting part related to fishing spinnerbaits is that an observant angler will usually see the fish take the lure. The only downside of watching a fish approach and take a lure is that it is easy to overreact and pull it away from its mouth.
Any fishing trip down such a scenic waterway is great. If the fish are not cooperative, the view always is. The Buffalo River traverses through a variety of landscapes. Some stretches of the river have been cut through land which is fairly flat, with fields of corn, beans, or cattle lining both sides. On other stretches, the fishermen or canoe supported aquanauts may be sandwiched between bluffs thirty or more feet high. This portion of the river is miles from the nearest medium sized town and even farther from any large industry. As far as this writer knows, there exist no industry close enough to the Buffalo to accidentally harm its pristine waters. When the water is colored, one can be sure that it has rained somewhere upstream.
Floating the Buffalo requires a bit of skill. There are narrow cuts where the current is extremely strong, and a boat can easily become lodged against a log jam. When this happens, the strong current has a way of flipping the boat perpendicular to its desired floating position. It is wise to keep all tackle boxes, extra rods, and coolers tethered in case of such a mishap.
Most of the fish which are enticed into taking an artifical lure are small to medium in size. Smallmouth from 10 to 16 inches are common. There are, however, some hawgs tucked in their watery lair. A lure which happens to pass close by may be violently consumed. When that happens, the action is fast and furious.
Running water smallmouth bass seem to be much stronger than their brothers and sisters in impounded waters. Maybe it is because of the constantly cooler water. Maybe it is because of the conditioning required to forage in the swift current. Maybe they are just genetically stronger. A fish biologists could probably answer that question. That is better left to those who know. From a fisherman's point of view, it matters not why they fight so hard - it is just good that they do.
Buffalo River fishing offers this fisherman a great change of pace and a time of pure relaxation. It is much easier to block out the constant convoys of canoers than one might think. To spend a few hours on the water without seeing even one jet ski is heaven. To be able to view nature as it has been for thousands of years is even better.
