Jump n Fish

Nice! Sounds like my idea of a vacation. It sounds a bit more isolated than I expected, which is good, but I may reconsider my options if I can't find a float partner.

This would be over labor day weekend, although I'll be pushing off on Thursday. I really have no idea what to expect, but I figured there'd be quite a few folks out that weekend. I do have hundreds of river miles under my belt from rivers all over the country, but I have to admit a multi-day solo trip is always a concern of mine. I guess I was under the impression that this river is very heavily used on holiday weekends. Is there any chance at getting a cell phone signal at all in that area?

I've thought about the 11 point as well. I am still keeping an open mind as to where to go. I'll be driving 8 hours, so I do have a few backup streams in mind if one doesn't work out. Does the 11 point have some longer more secluded stretches where a guy could camp over a couple days? Right now it looks like I may be going alone. One friend backed out on me yesterday because he couldn't get the vacation approved, and the other one is still a maybe that won't know till next week. I'm really in a pretty flexible situation, and I don't mind company if this sounds like a trip somebody would like to do. I've even thought about taking out on the Buffalo saturday and hitting a different river on Sunday. So far the most likely scenario will be Rush to White river over 3-4 days. I like to paddle/wade up the feeder creeks and I often find myself blowing a half day on a feeder creek sometimes.

Good info guys. I appreciate the help. Sounds like unless the forecast looks really bad before I go, should be fine this time of year. I always pack an extra day's worth of supplies, and I will file a float plan. Is the wilderness section mostly public land if I want to camp a little further from the water for safety sake? I really hope the weather works out, because I need this trip bad. Been a tough year and its time for a sabbatical, and this is a rare opportunity for me to have a window like this to make a trip.

Yeah, I'll be bringing my own solo canoe. I talked with Buffalo River Float Service already about the shuttle. Not sure exactly where to put in, kinda depends on how early I get there. But I planned on taking out at Buffalo City. Was hoping to get shoved off mid day on a thursday, and takeout early Sunday (I like to take my time). This is my last big adventure before I'm gonna be tied up changing diapers for awhile. I figure any rain would probably help a little, but I'm just fine dragging the canoe if that means I get some solitude. I've heard of some crazy floods on this river, and I wasn't sure what level is "scary" for those sections, if there happens to be a big front move through and dump a bunch of rain on my trip.

Ok, planning a trip to the Buffalo coming up soon. I realize its very low right now and we planned on float fishing over 2-3 days the lower wilderness section. I'm a die-hard river fisherman that doesn't mind dragging. I do see rain in the forecast between now and then, and just by looking at the USGS gauge history at Harriet, I can see that this river gets some WICKED spikes. Looking at the Harriet gauge what is a good CFS/Level for clarity and fishing, and what is too high? I've been researching this for awhile and I'm coming up pretty empty. I see that 1500 to 2000 cfs is pretty average for the popular spring months, but that's a huge spike from where its at now. Do I have that big of a window before I need to be concerned, or is the river pretty much unfishable or dangerous at that level of flow? I also see some spikes in mid July that took it up to 5000cfs, and wondering if I can even find higher ground at that point if we get a monsoon while I'm camping. Just concerned with a 60% chance of scattered storms each day, how much that usually affects the river this time of year. If its likely I could run into a scary spike with those kind of rain chances I might not do this trip. Thanks for any help. If this has been discussed elsewhere, I apologize. I just couldn't find anything.

I'm a transplant from Nebraska to south Mississippi, and I'm loving the water in between. I'm a die hard river guy, and whenever I make the trip back home my new goal is to stop and float a new Ozark river everytime in my Old Town 119 or Redfish 12. I'm a smallie fanatic that's almost exclusively c-n-r, but unfortunately we don't have many smallies in Mississippi, so to help ease my addiction, I chase spotted bass and largemouths in rivers across Mississippi and Alabama, with the occasional Redeye in bama. Right now an ozark trip is in the works for Sept 2-5, and I can't sleep thinking about it. Yall are blessed with some amazing water, and I joined this sight to learn and help me plan some trips in the area.