Buffalo River Reprt

[MissouriDave]

Just finished a trip to the Buffalo River and Crooked Creek this week. Went with my son, a brother and a buddy. We fished the first day from North Maumee to the 14 bridge. This was the first trip to the Buffalo for all of us. The river was low and crystal clear. We used the long ozark johns with 9.9 outboards. Almost no floaters the first day. Started out very slow. We threw topwater and plastic. The four of us ended up with 39 bass. The best fish was a 17 inch smallie. We lost two more in my boat that were in the same category. Most of the fish were caught on the Senko (or the Chompers Salty Sinker) rigged wacky style. We also lost about an hour and a half due to a large thunderstorm at lunch. The second day we did the 14 bridge to Rush. The river came up about 3 or 4 tenths of an inch but stayed very clear. Similar day to the first. Had sixty five canoes comes through mid morning but they went through quickly. Not much on topwater and the best bite was again on the Senko and Salty Sinker. The second day both the wacky rig and the texas rig seemed to work. Best fish the second day was a 19 inch smallie. We caught 50 bass between the four of us on the second day. The third day we did a float using canoes on Crooked Creek. We put in at the snow access and took out on a private spot which made for a 5 or 6 mile float. With the three inches of rain the creek had come up a foot and was dropping. It had a slight stain. Size wise the creek reminded me of the Bourbeuse River but had more current and was much clearer, even after a good rain. Again the best bait seemed to be the senko and salty sinker but we did catch a few on the tube. Best fish was a 17 1/2 inch smallie on the tube. The four of us caught 30 bass on Crooked Creek. For the three days we caught 119 bass, 114 of them being smallies, with one kentucky and four largemouth. The Buffalo and Crooked Creek are both beautiful streams and worth the drive from St Louis just for the float, let alone the fishing.

[Greasy B]

Thanks for the report. How difficult was it to get your river johns through the shoals on Buffalo? With our low water levels I figured it would take some scrapping and pulling, not sure. A river John float on the lower river is moving up on my short list of must do's, I'm looking for some encouragement. Thanks.

[MissouriDave]

Actually we were told to expect to do a lot of dragging. Although we had to get out 5 or 6 times a day, there was no actual dragging. The boats floated through even the lowest riffles. I was really impressed by how little the boats drafted. I would say no more than 3 or 4 inches. In many of the riffles even though we hit bottom the boats slid through without us even getting out. Since this was our first trip to the Buffalo we used guides both days so there were actually 3 guys in each boat. The second day the boat I was in had me (6'6" 260 pounds and the guide who was 6'4" and 260 pounds) my son (skinny 20 something and the guide. No problem even with the three of us. We originally were going to do an overnighter on the lower river but there was not enough water to bring the commisary boat with all the tents and gear.

[Greasy B]

Actually we were told to expect to do a lot of dragging. Although we had to get out 5 or 6 times a day, there was no actual dragging. The boats floated through even the lowest riffles. I was really impressed by how little the boats drafted. I would say no more than 3 or 4 inches. In many of the riffles even though we hit bottom the boats slid through without us even getting out.

Great, such is the beauty of the fiberglass river john, form follows function. It's beyond me why an appreciation for these boats stop north of the AR. Line.