Rush to Buffalo City Float

[NWAbassinAC]

I understand this could be a three or four day float. Has anyone on here ever done it in a canoe? How rough is some of the water down there in summer? Sounds like it's gonna be tough, but I think I want to give it a shot.

[budman]

Made this trip in Sept. in 3 days and two nights. Very good trip and the fishing was good also. Didn't catch any monsters. There were a lot of really good gravel bars to camp on. We only saw 1 other person before we got to the white. There was only one spot with really low water, about a mile upstream from the White. We were in kayaks but you should have no problem in a canoe. We used Buffalo River Float Service to portage our truck to the White, I think it was 60 dollars. Don't remember the place where our truck was left, but we didn't have to paddle as far up stream as Buffalo City. It was just on the back side of the island where the Buffalo meets the White. If the water is high you only have to paddle straight across to the island and walk up stream to the first cut and paddle over to a small boat ramp and dock to take out. We hope to make that trip again next year.

[budman]

Check out my post " Water level on the lower miles. I got lots of good information and wrote a report of our trip.

[NWAbassinAC]

Thanks for the info. Very helpful. I plan on doing the trip in late June or early July. I guess I'll visit the USGS webpage to check the discharge at Harriet beforehand. I've never fished the lower Buffalo. How does it compare to the upper part as in Kyle's down to Pruitt? I assume it's wider and deeper of course. Is it mostly long pools? Are they deeper than eight foot usually?

[hoglaw]

There are probably 10 threads in this forum about that float. Not trying to be smart...just encouraging you to scroll back through old posts. You can learn more from reading those than you'll get from respones to this one.

[NWAbassinAC]

There are probably 10 threads in this forum about that float. Not trying to be smart...just encouraging you to scroll back through old posts. You can learn more from reading those than you'll get from respones to this one.

....Yeah, well I'd rather ask specific questions along with reading old posts. Besides, its not like this forum gets loaded with threads like other forums, so there's really no bother in starting another one even if it has been "answered."

[Al Agnew]

It has long pools and wide, mostly shallow riffles, water is usually clear to very clear, big gravel bars, mostly rocky bottom. Fishing is much better than the upper end simply because the upper end nearly dries up in the summer, while the lower end retains plenty of flow for fish. There are a couple of sharp-dropping rocky riffles that can give the inexperienced canoeist trouble, especially at higher water levels when they produce some good sized standing waves. Scenery is as spectacular as anywhere on the river, and that's as spectacular as anywhere in the Ozarks. And you get a real feeling of wilderness, since there is no good intermediate access and no cleared bottomland, just a wooded hill on one side coming down to the river and a bluff on the other that might go up 500 feet. It's a stretch that everybody who loves Ozark streams should do at least once.

It's floatable year-round if you don't mind dragging the canoe over a few of the widest gravelly riffles. For fishing, I'd like it to ideally be somewhere around 200 cfs, no more, on the Harriet gauge. As long as it's flowing 150 cfs or more you won't have any trouble floating the riffles. In June it can be considerably higher than that. I don't know how high it would be before I'd hesitate to float it, since I've never been on it in higher water levels.

[NWAbassinAC]

It has long pools and wide, mostly shallow riffles, water is usually clear to very clear, big gravel bars, mostly rocky bottom. Fishing is much better than the upper end simply because the upper end nearly dries up in the summer, while the lower end retains plenty of flow for fish. There are a couple of sharp-dropping rocky riffles that can give the inexperienced canoeist trouble, especially at higher water levels when they produce some good sized standing waves. Scenery is as spectacular as anywhere on the river, and that's as spectacular as anywhere in the Ozarks. And you get a real feeling of wilderness, since there is no good intermediate access and no cleared bottomland, just a wooded hill on one side coming down to the river and a bluff on the other that might go up 500 feet. It's a stretch that everybody who loves Ozark streams should do at least once.

It's floatable year-round if you don't mind dragging the canoe over a few of the widest gravelly riffles. For fishing, I'd like it to ideally be somewhere around 200 cfs, no more, on the Harriet gauge. As long as it's flowing 150 cfs or more you won't have any trouble floating the riffles. In June it can be considerably higher than that. I don't know how high it would be before I'd hesitate to float it, since I've never been on it in higher water levels.

Thank you Al. I have heard there is some pretty serious water when it gets up to a certain point. I'd rather not risk it with all of my gear and supplies. Thanks again.

[NWAbassinAC]

It has long pools and wide, mostly shallow riffles, water is usually clear to very clear, big gravel bars, mostly rocky bottom. Fishing is much better than the upper end simply because the upper end nearly dries up in the summer, while the lower end retains plenty of flow for fish. There are a couple of sharp-dropping rocky riffles that can give the inexperienced canoeist trouble, especially at higher water levels when they produce some good sized standing waves. Scenery is as spectacular as anywhere on the river, and that's as spectacular as anywhere in the Ozarks. And you get a real feeling of wilderness, since there is no good intermediate access and no cleared bottomland, just a wooded hill on one side coming down to the river and a bluff on the other that might go up 500 feet. It's a stretch that everybody who loves Ozark streams should do at least once.

It's floatable year-round if you don't mind dragging the canoe over a few of the widest gravelly riffles. For fishing, I'd like it to ideally be somewhere around 200 cfs, no more, on the Harriet gauge. As long as it's flowing 150 cfs or more you won't have any trouble floating the riffles. In June it can be considerably higher than that. I don't know how high it would be before I'd hesitate to float it, since I've never been on it in higher water levels.

As far as its reputation of being a trophy zone, what do you think? I've caught a lot of 18" fish on the upper end and one 21" fish (weighed only three pounds) on the Little Buffalo. Ive never caught a 4 lber on the Buffalo. I have on Crooked Creek, but never the Buffalo. I'm hoping to break that on this trip.

[ehertz2]

Always wanted to do this...someday I will. We float the mid quite a bit. Black and white swimming minnows and lizards work well.