Cold Water Smallies

[hoglaw]

Well, they say the water is low but I'm always a glutton for punishment. It's going to be a pretty weekend, so I've rounded up a group of friends and we're going to do an overnight from Spring Creek to Rush.

First question - bobber - is 2.5 sufficient water to do this float in two days now that we have a little less daylight? I'm told it's around 13 miles.

Second question - anyone know what the water temp is right now?

Third question - I don't think I have ever done a smallmouth float after halloween. What are the fish like right now? Is it a hair jig during most of the day with either a sammy or jerkbait during the heat of the day? The forecast looks really nice at the moment with sunny skies and warmer temperatures - lows above 40 and highs around 70. Pretty dang good weekend if I do say so myself. I think it will be the last float until spring, so I'd like to get a little more comfortable on the colder water.

[hoglaw]

sorry for the double post. My bad.

[gotmuddy]

heat of the day?? your out of your mind!

prepare to drag, the buffalo is at incredible lows right now. It would be easier to make a two day float on CC right now. I certainly won't say you cannot do it. Pack light and bring waders or tall rubber boots. Water temp right now is 50 degrees. I honestly think the fishing will be good this weekend because highs will be in the mid 60's so water temp will go up.

[hoglaw]

heat of the day?? your out of your mind!

Well, I meant that figuratively.

Crooked is bad low too. Last time I went was slightly higher and I thought to myself "no lower."

The other problems with crooked are that it's a longer float and smaller stream which can be a pain if we have a good sized group. Plus I haven't been on this part of the buffalo in years and it's awfully pretty. But, nothing (well...almost nothing) is worth carrying canoes for half of the float.

[tjulianc]

I floated Dillard's to Rush the weekend before last(Nov 6-7). We made it an overnight trip starting out late morning on Sat. I didn't drag in my solo canoe loaded with a big cooler and part of the gear(except when I wasn't paying attention and got stuck on a rock). My friends were in an old aluminum canoe and did a fair amount of dragging, but nothing that would of kept them or me off the river. They had the tent, sleeping bags, a cooler, and some other gear and rubber boots to walk down the occasional rapid.

The water is cold. We had lows in the 20s both nights, and highs in the 60s. I'd say the water temp in the morning was in the upper 40s and got up to the low 50s during the day.

The fishing was slow that weekend, but a big cold front just came through. We only caught two good size fish, several smaller ones, especially down past Toney Bend. The biggest fish was caught at Buffalo Point, I caught it and I didn't get a measurement, but it was at least 18". The scenery that weekend was at its peak. Lots of eagles, a large flock of Turkey, and some nice deer around Rush.

If you go I'd love to hear a report.

[gotmuddy]

Well, I meant that figuratively.

Crooked is bad low too. Last time I went was slightly higher and I thought to myself "no lower."

The other problems with crooked are that it's a longer float and smaller stream which can be a pain if we have a good sized group. Plus I haven't been on this part of the buffalo in years and it's awfully pretty. But, nothing (well...almost nothing) is worth carrying canoes for half of the float.

I floated it less than a month ago(CC), and while it was low, it was not too low for my tastes

[Al Agnew]

Gonna say this once again...unless you're very familiar with a given river and what it looks like at various levels, you need to go by the flow graph and not the level graph. Buffalo at Harriet (I think that's the Hwy. 14 bridge, or maybe Buffalo Point) is flowing right at 100 cfs right now. At 100 cfs it will be floatable without too much dragging. If it gets down around 75 cfs and below it gets really bony. Note that up at St. Joe it's only flowing 28 cfs, but that's not too unusual. Bear Creek adds some water just below the gauge, and for any part of the river below St. Joe I go by the Harriet gauge, which seems to be a more accurate indicator than the St. Joe gauge. I've floated the lower Buffalo when it was flowing 55-60 cfs at Harriet, and you'll definitely walk a lot of riffles at that flow.

Greater problem for fishing, I suspect, is that it'll probably be extremely clear. Clear, cold water is tough. But if the water temps are around 50 degrees, jerkbaits should work. I wouldn't fool with the Sammy unless you get lots of warm sun...then it might work in the afternoon. Tubes can be good under these conditions. Also, I like to use a finesse worm on a light jighead when the water is really clear and cool.

Biggest thing is to locate the fish. They won't be everywhere in the river like they are in the summer. Concentrate your efforts on the deeper, rocky pools and paddle through all the faster water.

[bobber]

the low water conditions are bad.we have been missed by every single rainstorm all summer and fall . but, a heads up!! i would not leave a car at spring creek landing ..... seems to be a problem area! late winter we float hwy 14 to rush on full moon trips . that being said if you pay close attention to the river and zig and zag watching the bottom depths you can float without getting out at all.. but, if your geared up to wade through some skinny water. carver to mt.hersey.the shuttle blows.. but that would be my target! . oh yeah i think they just shut off all the water in all camp grounds for the winter.

[hoglaw]

I scrapped the camping trip for golf with the boss and the Razorback game this weekend. It was a last minute decision, but I'm sure glad I didn't float. The wind here was horrible. I kept thinking all day - I'm sure glad I'm not in a canoe right now. I would have been cussing up a storm I'm sure. I appreciate all the insight. I figured the water would be sufficient, but would require substantial paddling in 30mph winds. Not my ideal overnight float trip conditions. I'll hit it again in the spring.

[zthomas]

I figured the water would be sufficient, but would require substantial paddling in 30mph winds.

You were right.