Clay Goforth

Hoglaw I have floated this stretch of the Buffalo a number of times and you are in for a treat. I am actually headed over Thursday to get ready to float the same stretch on Friday, Sat, and Sun. Looks like it will be our two groups on the river. You really don't run into many people on this stretch because of the fact that it is roughly 25 miles between Rush and Buffalo City with no access in between. You will encounter people on the lower end from about Elephant Head down (the last 3.5 to 4 miles) because people come up the river from the White. This last rain should clear out of there and leave the water level nice for floating. Are you planning on camping on the river? This is a long haul for a one day trip if you are in canoes. This section may be slightly more crowded this time of year than other times because of the fact that it is turkey season and the lower buff floats right through the wilderness area. My group is going for a combo turkey hunt/smallmouth trip. The shuttle time from Rush to Buffalo City or Shipps Ferry is about an hour and 15 min. You do have to go back up through Yellville and over to Gassville then down to either take out point you want. Rileys is a safe place to take out as it is caddy cornered to the mouth of the buffalo across the white but if they are generating and you are in canoes, forget about it. If in canoes, your takeout should be shipps ferry, if in a boat with a 9.9, you can do Rileys or Buffalo City public access. You can leave vehicles at Rush and I do not remember ever having to pay to camp there. Something to note about the river...just after you put in you will float down a nice easy going section...There will then be a turn to the right and a chute you have to go down. If you all are in canoes (or river boats for that matter) be careful in this little chute. It use to be a nice easy little rapid until the floods last year and it turned into (depending on water level) a class III-IV. If you are in canoes with stuff you don't want to lose, there is no shame in portaging around this little area. We take our river boat down it and will end up shin deep in water before we get through. It is just a really rough, choppy section and you have to go right through the center of it. Let me know if you all are going to go ahead and go. we are going for sure. we will probably see each other on the water, especially if you are planning on camping a night. We will be in one canoe and one supreme river boat, grey stripe. Good luck and keep me posted. ps. i won't tell you where he is but there is a place on this section of the buffalo where the next state record smallie could come from. I have seen him three times in the same spot. He is smart though...

also, though a little pricey, the White Buffalo Resort is a great place to stay. The fishing is excellent on this part of the river up around Buffalo Shoal. You also have access to the Buffalo River if there is any interest in fishing for smallies.

I think a nice custom would be the way to go...of course, i probably would say that because of my business. But I really do think that if you can get into a custom anything for a reasonable price it is always better than just picking something else up... We don't have our fly rod line online yet but I could get with you and talk about what you would like from a fly rod and give you a quote on a custom built rod. If you are interested, check out our website. www.g2rods.com Our craftsman has been building rods for 30 years. We build our own blanks from the mandrel up. If you are wanting rods to handle big fish and high stress environments, we offer some very high quality durable rods built from a special material that maintains a light weight but offers added strength. As for the Amazon, if you have never been before, you are in for a treat. It is incredible. I have been 7 times and will be going back again in the near future. I will say that your use of the fly rod may be at a minimum. Peacock Bass are RUTHLESS. They are the toughest fish, as far as gear demolition goes, that I have ever caught. We have fine tuned the tackle combination down to a 6' - 6'6" medium heavy or heavy fast action bait casting rod, a Shimano reel with a big spool, 80lb braided test line, and high roller top water baits. Between 9 guys one trip down we caught 2,247 fish, the biggest being 26lbs.1 pound off the world record. They will for sure give you the ultimate fight on a fly rod if that is what you are looking for. But they like, or hate rather, lures that make a lot of noise which will then illicit that giant strike they are famous for. We were down in there in January with a guy that is a big fly fisherman. I think the biggest one he landed was in the 7-10lb range. Not saying it can't be done, just preparing you to not be disappointed if you have to join the likes of the plug chunkers to make your trip down there worthwhile. Anyway, again, not trying to discourage, just trying to be helpful. So take it for what it is worth.

Well, here is the report as promised. My friend and I put on the water about 8:45 this morning and fished until noon. 4 boated keepers and half a dozen short hits that were missed. There were only 4 other boats out there and I didn't see any of them having any better luck. We talked to one boat and they hadn't boated a fish all morning. 2 fish came on a fluke, 1 on a shaky head worm and 1 on a weighted worm hook baby brush hog. All of the short hits came on a spinner bait. Probably should have thrown the spinnerbait more but my buddy was demo-ing a couple of our rods to replace a couple of his loomis rods and a spinnerbait rod wasn't one of them so we didn't throw it a lot. If I were going back tomorrow, I would throw the baby brushhog a lot more in the early hours and move to the spinnerbait probably exclusively when the wind picks up.

I am headed there tomorrow morning for a few hours and will let you know what the outcome is and what they seem to be biting on...granted I do actually get a bite

No motor restrictions that I am aware of...Lake is not very big as you know but I run my Ranger and have seen plenty of Champions, Skeeters, and other big bass boats. I hate to tell you all that there is No Limit whatsoever and there be a 150 limit or something like that.

Nope. Rejected. He didn't make it...

Nope, no tripod...I wish I had one...and thanks!

I got lucky and snapped this shot after attempting for probably 10 minutes...wish that the fish would have been bigger, but still a pretty spectacular shot, if I do say so myself.

I second Cotterboy...Gary runs a clean ship and the water at rim will be better for fly fishing...The river is really wide there and up above so the water can spread out and stays relatively shallow...For ideas on what to cast, John Berry is a great reference.

Gotta plug my sponsors, a company relatively new to the market, Optic Nerve...these guys provide a great set of glasses at a price that is affordable to most. They range between $40 to $75 and what I like best is they offer around 35 different sets and they offer some newer styles that you can wear not only on the water but they can be your everyday glasses as well. They also have one of the best technologies I have ever used in terms of sunglasses. They have a series that are called Photoglare that are polarized but offer the technology of the "transition" lens...These are OUTSTANDING cloudy day glasses because the lenses are yellow tinted to brighten up the water on a cloudy day but if the clouds clear out, and the sun shows up, then lenses automatically adjust to a darker tint. AWESOME.

Another option is the triangle shaped eddy water at Bull Shoals Dam if you don't mind following the Catch and Release Management Rules. you can park and scale a small hill and fish from the bank. The water will be high but it is an eddy and you don't have to fight the current.

Laker67, you are right on sir. SOME of the comments made by SOME of the flyfishermen (I am holding my finger to the tip of my nose and pressing it upward) on this thread are prime examples of why I have been known to raise my 30HP Jet motor up slightly out of the water and send a 40 foot rooster tail in their general direction. SOME of you act like the rivers are YOURS...last time I checked, whether you keep the fish or not (and I don't) everyone pays the same price for a license. Congratulations Mr. Rick on catching what most of us dream about. Congratulations for being made to feel like crap for keeping it by a group of self righteous do-gooders even though you bought a license, caught it by legal means, and landed it on 6lb test line. My question is, why even throw your "two cents" in on what "you would have done in the situation" and belittle what the man has accomplished? It is not going to change what happened, it only takes away from they way this guy feels about his trophy. I mean, the guy said he would have had a replica made, had he known that was an option. What more do you want, his firstborn to be released into the water as a replacement? I would encourage all the C&R Nazi's to take a breather, pull the lace panties out of their butts, and offer the gentleman a sincere congratulations with no strings attached about, "what you would have done in the situation," because, frankly, it doesn't matter what you would have done in the situation because you weren't in the situation. Had you been in the situation you could have all gotten together for your weekly C&R pancake breakfast and let everyone slap you on the butt for a job well done and tell you what a "steward," and "great example," and "incredible conservationist" you are. Keep in mind I can't remember the last time I actually kept a trout. Done. I am so over this discussion.

I have always stopped at the red warning signs and not ventured up to the powerlines...I will say though, that I am guilty of fishing what we call "The Triangle" on the left hand side of the river facing the dam where there is calmer eddy water and have been concentrating on fishing, not paying attention to where I actually am sitting and have looked up to be past the signs because of the eddy current pushing the boat close to the dam. Not making a case for people fishing past the line, just saying we are all human and make mistakes. Luckily, I have not had to pay for my lack of attention to detail. I too have seen people putting big beautiful 17 inch rainbows in their livewell in the state park area. I actually confronted them about it and, if ignorance is a defense, (which it is not), they were snowbirds and new to the area and were quite thankful for the information. Again, not making a case for them because I think people should know the rules before ever setting out on the water.

Fished the lake last week. Water was pretty dirty but fishing was decent. We didn't have a lot of time but I hooked up with a decent fish from the bank before even putting the boat in...The fish made a heck of a run, wrapped me around some of the non-existent structure on the bottom and broke me off. From there we ended up catching 4 other bass and missed probably 10 more...I know, I just told on myself but oh well. The lake is producing. I am going to try to go back this week.

A little clarification please...I know the three answers people give to this question but I would like to know answer and source so this question can finally be put to rest for me as well as others out there. What is the LEGAL line at BSD? The three most popular answers are: 1. The white and blue caution signs 2. The red warning signs 3. The Power lines which seem to mark the actual line between the two red warning signs When in the middle of the river, it is hard to tell based on looking at either set of signs as to where the line actually lies. Does anyone have clarification on this? Also, I don't think there are 100 yards between any of these three and the actual face of the dam. The people in the boats would have to be anchored off the short concrete wall on the left side of the dam to be close to this point.

When the water is right, you can't beat the jig...fished as is, not under a float...let the jig sink close to the bottom and pop with the wrist very hard, as if you were setting the hook...then allow to sink again. The technique takes a little time to master but once you do, it is killer. Some other good colors are a peach/olive combination, brown/orange, black/grey, and pink...yep, I said it HOT PINK. Once you find the color and technique it is not uncommon to hook up with hundreds of fish in a day...My best day is 213 fish in a 7 hour day...Not bragging, just wanting to show the effectiveness of the technique when done properly.

Phil, I missed you by a day in Anchorage. Good luck on the trip and keep us updated when possible. Great looking fish right off the bat.

I think for me it could be any combination of things. I have had trips where we only caught 4 fish but one weighed 10lbs so that is a great great day. I have had other days where we have caught 50 fish, all dinks, but they all came within an hour of fishing and that is a good day. I have had days where I have only caught 3 or 4 fish but got to see an eagle come down and pick a trout of the top of the water, or saw a huge beaver, or a fox, or a flock of turkeys on the river bank and those were all great days. It might be better to give you an example of a bad day. In my office

I just got back from a place called the Togiak River Lodge on the Togiak River west of Dillingham and Anchorage. The cost is a little pricey because of the flights to get there but with gas the way it is, your flights anywhere in Alaska are not going to be cheap. If you book for the middle of August you should be in the heart of the Silver Salmon run. The River is not very long and this particular lodge is the only lodge with actual physical structure cabins. There is only one other "camp" to speak of and it is a ways up river. Great place for secluded fishing, lots of fish, great food, nice cabins, and an overall excellent trip. If you would like some more info on the camp you can contact Steve's Outdoor Adventures at www.stevesoutdooradventures.com Their contact info is on the page and you can call and ask for Jeff or Steve.

Dano, We are getting closer to the point of making fly rods...close enough that if you know the weight and action you are looking for, we can build it. We just aren't ready to go mass retail with them like we are the casting and spinning rods. Quill, I would recommend the Shimano Sedona or Symmetry 1000 series or the Pleuger President series in the equivalent size. Pfleuger doesn't number their stuff like Shimano but they have a similar size...Both are excellent matches for the featherlight and ultralight series of rods we produce. If anyone is interested I would be more than happy to make some trips to show them off.

People who enjoy fishing light tackle for trout and panfish are really liking them. There are a few people on the forum who are using them.

I had the opportunity to take a writer for the Northwest Arkansas Times fishing a couple of weeks ago and he featured our rods in an article last week. If you have a chance, it is a decent read although, as usual with newspapers, there are some things that are not exactly factual...such as the business is not owned by my family but by me and a business partner named Marc Yount. Anyway, read if you have a chance. http://www.nwarktimes.com/adg/Outdoors/229763

I just got back from fishing the Togiak River for King Salmon and I gotta tell you, this place is awesome. The river is a smaller river, sometimes not as wide as the BS Tailwater. They have a large run of Kings though, and while we were about a week early on the main part of the run there were still plenty of fish. The lodge we stayed in is the only physical structure on the river and there is only one other camp to even speak of at all. While we were there, I set, well pending the line break strength test, 2 catch and release line class records. I am headed back to the lodge in August for the peak of Silver season. I went through the booking agency of Steve's Outdoor Adventures and they have all the booking info. I attached a picture of the 33 inch king on 4lb test line.

Unfortunately, no this was not on a featherlight. I wish. The fish weighed 54 lbs, and was on a heavy, medium fast action rod. The fight was a little more than half an hour and the fish stayed pretty close to the top, making a wake in the water when it ran.