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BUFFALO RIVER - The Buffalo River as Class I & II river with regular waves and occasional rapids, meaning it is suitable for beginners. There are no dams on this fishing paradise. There are more than 110 miles of floating opportunities. The farther you progress down this surprisingly swift, free-flowing river, the more time seems to back up. The Buffalo drains a quiet, by-passed, western Highland Rim corner of middle Tennessee. Names like Slink Shoals, Flat Woods, Blue Hole, Texas Bottoms, Big and Little Opossum Creeks, and Topsy appear along the river's course and are highly indicative of the slower-paced time through which you're traveling.
Take it easy. Gear yourself down to the pace of the river. Then enjoy your chance to participate in this remnant of nature's unhurrying domain. Nature, as we noted, doesn't get in much of a hurry, but the swift-moving shallow shoals along the way may cause you a few problems if you don't react quickly enough.
The Buffalo is noted for its fine float fishing. But it is noted, just as widely, for its propensity to dunk the unwary canoeist. When the river bends (and this river is composed mostly of these bends), the current picks up and many times flushes you through the undercut, toppled trees lying across the outside of the bend. It is common for out-of -control canoeist and their canoes to flush under those water-level "sweepers," too. Hang to the inside of blind bends as much as possible. Many riverside bluffs offer scenic backdrops to fertile fishing holes. Springs feed the river and there's even one place where a noisy minature whirlpool in a still pool announces a sink removing a share of the river's flow.
Generally, the high-water, late winter and springtime runs can be made from Metal Ford near where the Natchez Trace crosses the river at about river mile 102, or even higher up the river at Henryville bridge at mile 117. At low water, late summer and fall trips can usually still be floated. |
