24KGold

Are the Walleye still running and if so, is anyone catching?

I've tripped into Quetico several times and have always brought my own gear. I've never gone in at Ely, I've always gone in on the eastern edge of Quetico at the end of the Gunflint Trail. A lot less people there. If you want a more remote area and far fewer people then I would suggest that entry point. We always catch loads of fish when we go in late June and the Walleye are incredible. I'm going late June this year and again in early August. We use an outfitter for canoe rental and shuttle to the lake only. Let me know if you want any more ideas or thoughts. Quetico is a great place! Terry

I've fished that stretch numerous times. Great fishing but the best is past Buffalo Point. Fish the pools just below the riffles. Toss into the riffles and let your bait drop off into the pools. Also, you won't miss Rush landing. There is a big sign on the left side close to the water. You'll see Rush creek running into the river and you'll notice the big gravel bar with dirt roads leading from it. Terry

Makes me sad to see people keeping smallies on the Buffalo. I know thay have a right to but still sad to me. If we want to eat fish we'll keep Rock Bass or larger perch. They taste as good or better anyway. My wife and I have even gotten to the point where we pinch down our barbs so that we can cause less injury to the ones we catch and release. Barbless hooks are great on many levels...but that's a topic for another thread. Terry

I'm relatively new to Walleye fishing here locally so can anyone tell me if the Walleye are running in the Kings and White river's yet? Also when is usually the peak and is night the best time to fish for them. Several questions but I appreciate your answers. Terry

Even though the Buffalo River is flowing at 24cf per second at the Hwy. 62 bridge, a group of us decided to flat from 14 to Rush. I had a feeling we would be dragging all the way but surprisingly I only had to get out three times. It was lower than I had ever floated it before but it was a very nice day. The only down side was that the fishing was rotten. I fish that section several times a year and usually stop counting fish by noon but yesterday I probably only boated five fish all day. They were a little bigger than average but no one in the group caught anything over thirteen inches. However, it was one hundred times better than being at work...of course. Terry

My brother and I floated last Wednesday from Hwy 14 bridge to Rush and didn't drag, however, now the water is a bit lower and you would drag there some also. We got on the water at 7:00 in the morning and took our time fishing and got off of the river before dark. If you were just floating it is a great day float. I think it's 10 miles. There is camping at Rush I believe. There's an outfitter just north of the 14 Bridge; Wild Bills Outfitters. Terry

That's close to the color, but green pumpkin is what is printed on the bag from Strike King. I'm sure most colors will work somewhat...I've tried most of them. Here is a picture of the shade I use. It looks like it has a little Olive shade to the green compared to yours.

We were using green tube jigs with black flakes. "Bitsy tubes" is the brand name. I've tried other colors with some results, however, the pumkinseed has been by far the best producer over everything else. I always pinch the barb down on the hook because with the tube jigs, the fish tend to get it deep into them. without the barb, it's easy to take a pair of long nose pliers, push, twist and remove the hook with little injury to the fish. The mortality rate seems to be much higher fishing barbless. You may loose a few smaller fish because of the way they wiggle after being hooked, but the larger fish come in with little to no hook loss.

It was another incredible day on the Buffalo River! My brother and I got on the river at the Hwy 14 bridge at 7:30 yesterday morning and floated to Rush. We stopped counting fish by 10:00 and by the end of the day we had probably caught around 75. Most of them were in the 8 to 10 inch size but we caught quite a few in the 12 and 13 inch size with a few at 14 and one 15 incher. I've had better luck in the past with large ones but this was my brother's first trip on the Buffalo. He is visiting from Albuquerque New Mexico and didn't want to leave. The weather was perfect and the fish cooperated. What more could you ask for? If the water level drops another 2 or 3 inches, however, there will be a lot of dragging, but we only had to get out once. Low traffic on the river and everyone was behaving. One of those rare days that are just perfect, especially this time of the year. Terry P.S. Be kind to Smallmouth...fish barbless.

My wife and I floated from Rockhouse to Trigger Gap on Friday before the flood of people on the weekend. It was an incredible float. I haven't been on that stretch for almost three years and boy had it changed. The floods over the past year, last year in particular, have really changed the channels and the whole river. The river bed was wider which made for some long and shallow areas. Also there were a lot of tree pile-ups all along the shoreline and a few we carried around. It's definately different than when I started floating it 25 years ago. I assumed we would catch a lot of little smallies but I was really surprised. We caught quite a few in the 12-13 inch range, several in the 14-15 inch range and my wife caught the largest at 16 inches. It was really fat also. Even though the river was up a little and was flowing more than it usually is when I fish it, because of the changes in the river it couldn't be much lower than it is right now without having to drag the canoe in several places. But even though it has changed so much, it's still a beautiful river and a great float.

We float from Spring Creek or the 14 bridge to Rush quite often. It's a great float with very good fishing and nice camping spots on the gravel. The section between Spring Creek and the bridge were really productive this past weekend, especially the stretch just before the bridge. That section would be great for your fly rod because you have a lot of open area without overhanging limbs. There are shallow areas that drop off and I imagine a larger sinking fly that would be a crayfish pattern would work. I really didn't see any mayfly hatches but it shouldn't be long. Try to camp on a gravel bar where the riffles flow into a deeper pool. that would be perfect for using your fly rod in the evening. Have fun. sorry I don't have any info on Crooked Creek. Terry

I've found the fishing to not be quite as good on the first half of the Marshall Ford to Rockhouse trip as the last half is. The first part is more scenic though. I've always caught bigger smallies and in greater numbers the closer I got to Rockhouse. In fact, several years ago after a small rain, the river was a little stained but dropping. We put the canoe in about halfway down, which you can't do anymore I don't think, and in a prety good set of riffles, we caught 4 smallies larger than 18 inches. My biggest one was 20 inches long. Had several other's break off in that same spot with 8lb line in the current. It was a great day. I really love that section of river from Marshall Ford. You can also float from Trigger Gap to the bridge in Berryville. That's a good overnighter. Terry

No tag and we were surprised to catch a catfish in the middle of the day on the Buffalo. My wife caught it about a mile up river from Spring creek. That's about halfway between Maumee and the Highway 14 bridge. As you can see it was a really nice looking catfish. It was released. We also caught three rainbow trout in that stretch of water on tube jigs. They were all 14 to 15 inches long. We've caught trout in the Buffalo before but not that far up. Terry

Well it was an incredible weekend on the Buffalo. We floated from Maumee North to the Highway 14 bridge on an overnight trip. Smallmouth fishing was incredible with lots caught in the 14 inch size. Nothing bigger than 15 inches except for a 20 inch Catfish. My wife was the winner, once again, for the biggest fish. Everything was caught on tubes and flukes. The water was moving faster than I liked so we just pitched behind the canoe and trolled our baits. The fish were everywhere in the river; shallow to deep, riffles to calm water. So many of the larger Smallies we caught were really fat; I assume with eggs. It was a perfect weekend! One of the best fishing weekends we've had. By the way, we always fish barbless and if you are practicing catch and release, it really does save the fish that get your lure down deep in them, also great for getting your hook out of clothing and bags which can really be a hassle with a barb. You really don't lose many fish at all and it's a great way to help out with the fishery on the Buffalo. Just my feelings but if you try it I think you'll like it. Terry

Do you think there will be Walleye at Romp hole already?

We put in our canoe at Houseman yesterday and paddled up to the bridge. We fished the hole just down river from the bridge and caught one walleye. He was 20 inches. Other than that, we didn't catch another fish at all. Others on the river reported a very slow day also. I caught the Walleye slowly dragging a Lindy rig with night crawler. Fished all the way back to Houseman with no results. Released the Walleye for another day. Terry

Hey guys, I've lived in NW Arkansas most of my life and have never fished Crooked Creek. I love Smallie fishing and fish the Buffalo and Kings quite a bit. I was wondering where Kelly slab is and where to park to put in and take out in that area. Also, I was wondering if the last 6.5 miles from the bridge to the white river is a good section and if so, where to take out on the White, if that's possible before Buffalo city. Any specific information about what roads to take for the put ins and take outs would be great. I would really like to finally try Crooked Creek this year, possibly even do an overnighter. Thanks for your help. Terry "Catch and release Smallies, and go barbless too."

Keep an eye on the Buffalo River level. That will determine where you will have enough water to float. Usually in the spring you can float pretty much anywhere on the river, dependent on rainfall of course. And I agree about the river traffic. I'm also a canoeist and want to get away to spots on the river where there won't be as much traffic, and it's getting harder no matter where you go. A group of us are going to float from Rush to the White River over Memorial day weekend, and that will add even more traffic. We are going to float for four days. Two years ago we floated that stretch thinking there would not be much traffic because it's such a long committed float but we were wrong. From that point on there were several motorboats in the river and we were very frustrated. Once I made myself get over my mad, I had a great time, caught lots of fish and made some great memories. We always float the lower part of the river because we all like to fish and you are almost always assured that there will be enough water on the lower end. There are several long float sections from the Highway 62 bridge and on down if you like to fish along with your float. Have fun and enjoy the one of the most beautiful rivers anywhere around. Terry

Go through Berryville and take 221-21. Outside of town you will take 221 toward Carr Lane. About 5 miles down 221 you will see a GandF sign at a dirt road on your right that says Romp Hole Access to Kings river.

I've been interested in Walleye on the Kings for a few years but have only tried it once. I know a guy who lives in Berryville who catches Walleye every year in March. He nets Horny head minnows and fishes with them at night. He wouldn't tell me where on the river he fished but I did see several Walleye he had caught. I know he was fishing around the lower part of the river close to Romp Hole. You might keep in contact with Ernie at Kings River Outfitters. He usually knows what's going on on the river, at least he knows what others tell him about anyway. I'll try it some more in March, however I've been told that the best days are rainy, cloudy, really messy days when it comes to catching Walleye on the river. I'll let you know if I have any luck. Terry

Yup. Motors are allowed in that stretch. I was shocked because I thought it was paddling only, and also shocked thinking that the river was not deep enough for a big boat with motor. I would have never thought of putting a motor on the river for fear of wrecking my prop or even my motor. I would also fear getting stuck on a shoal. We saw several big flat bottom boats loaded with people and beer churning up the shoals as they went through. They were going down from Rush and coming up from the White River. Everyone has a right to use the river but It was not a quiet and peaceful trip as I had anticipated and had been told to look forward to. However, I must say that all in all, it was a beautiful stretch and I plan on another trip this next spring, and knowing what I know, I will be ready for the noise intrusion. Terry

Last year, a group of us put in at Rush and floated to the White river. It was Memorial wekend, but we all thought that section would be less crowded and hoped to hardly see another soul, thinking day paddlers would be further up river. WRONG!!! When we got to rush, there were several canoes there, including 3 bass boats with motors. My heart sank and it was all I could do to keep from showing my anger. We had come to the Buffalo for a peaceful 4 day float, only to hear the noise of the motors, and also the churning of the prop blades chewing up the gravel in shallow water. The motor noises would echo down the bluffs for a long way. Eventually, I realized that if I was going to enjoy the trip, I would have to get over my mad and just deal with it. It was a great trip once I stopped being angry and dissappointed. I understand from the Game and Fish that a motor ban is slowly working its way down the river and somewhere in the future, motors will not be allowed on the Buffalo. That can't happen too soon for me. Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking motorboats, but on the Buffalo????....Come on guys. Terry

Nice pictures Zhoyt. The Buffalo is a great river and anyone who has not floated it and enjoyed its beauty is really missing out on a spectacular river. We are fortunate to live so close to a National treasure, but please, when you float the Buffalo, leave the motors at home. Thanks. Terry

I catch smallies on several different baits, however, my fallback lure is a "Bitsy Tube". Several colors will catch fish, but my favorite is a dark green olive color with black flakes. I use the small size. I catch anything from large perch, Rock Bass, goggle eyes, largemouth and smallmouth on the tubes. I also catch smallies on smoke colored Finesse worms. They seem to like plastics that you can work on the bottom, especially in the fast running riffles, and where the riffles immediately drop off into deeper running water. They tend to get tube lures deep when they take them, so I smash the barbs so that I can get the hook out without injuring them. Barbless works well with tube jigs on smallies. If you're gonna release them anyway, why not go barbless. Southtown Sports just north of the Fayetteville mall usually has a good supply of tube jigs. And yes, I have seen really large Gar in the Buffalo Poing pool. I have been tempted to take a bow and bow fish, but I never have. Also really huge Suckers swimming around in there. Hope this helps for your next trip. Terry