Little Buffalo River, East Fork Shoal Creek

Articles Trip Reports & Travel
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Well my Dad and I have been trying since last Saturday to find these so-called “stocked trout” in the East Fork and Little Buffalo and our results have only yielded a large chub minnow caught on a size 14 red fox squirrel hair nymph and a little madtom that was kicked up by a rock my Dad stepped on. If you don’t know what a madtom is, they are little fish that won’t get very big and look like catfish… This one was about four inches.

Saturday it had just rained and both the Little Buffalo and East Fork were muddy. We fished a small branch off the Little Buffalo called Peter Cave Creek. It was very clear and very small. I don’t think there were any fish there besides minnows… Beautiful stream though.

Regardless of the lack of fish it was still nice to be out in/on the water. We had hopes, but it was still enjoyable to be able to spend some time with the Old Man (That’s respectful in some cultures) fishing for ghost trout in some very beautiful places.

I know that’s why they call it “fishing” and not “catching”…

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Joe;
Nice looking water, there must be trout in there!! Thanks for the report and the chance to see where you fish. Yep, a day with the “Old Man” beats all!
You can come over here and fish with a couple of “Old Men” anytime!

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Just a report to those interested in those ghost trout that Joe referred to. I PM’ed him but others may be may want to fish the area. I actually saw a couple of those trout 10-12 inchers and caught a rock bass. Beautiful area (Little Buffalo River). Wild Azalea is in bloom along with Mt. Laurel Along with who knows how many other flowering plsnts and shrubs. Be prepared to be startled by deer, beaver, turkey, owls, or who knows what while fishing there. Where I fished was barely 3 miles off the Natchez Trace Parkway on one lane gravel roads. Seen Joe’s Dad and one other car in 2 Hr’s. not too busy. GO FISH

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That’s my Dad in the photo. He’ll be 69 in July. He really isn’t in the best of shape with back and foot problems and it bothers me when he goes off by himself, but I’m glad he’s able to get out still. He has been pushing it this week though, I just hope he doesn’t push too hard.

ELHead is right about that place. It is a Wildlife Management Area and the roads aren’t much, but it’s worth going there just for the scenery. I haven’t really spent much time in Laurel Hill WMA except the lakes, but that was several years ago. I’ve only recently started going there and exploring when I found out about the stocking. With the way states have been selling off public lands, it worries me that it would actually happen here. I’d hate to see places like this fall to commercialization and so on. Maybe TWRA won’t let it get that way if they can manage to stick around long enough.

Jack- I may actually make it over there next weekend. I should have a little to spare for gas to put in the motorcycle to make the trip. My car averages 30mpg. My motorcycle averages 70mpg. 250cc’s may be small, but 70mpg makes it so much better.

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Joe -

That looks like a great place to spend some time, with or without the “Old Man,” and with or without catching fish. No doubt one of these days you’ll locate the “ghost trout” and add to grand memories you have of The Little Buffalo and its tribs.

John

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Same thing with Tumbling Creek. The state was supposed to stock it and we caught 2 very unhealthy-looking trout(almost grey in color with very little ‘rainbow’ down the sides). Didn’t see any more(and the water is very clear). I did get into some rock bass but that was about it. The streams look very similar. I did see a lot of suckers though.
My feeling is the locals run their washing machine water into the river. It will have a greyish-blue collor and foam up in spots.

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Hey Jack, is that “Grumpy Old Men”?

ELHead, another form of wildlife in the area is snakes. The largest copperhead I’ve ever seen was swimming across the Buffalo River (not the Little Buffalo). There also used to be a problem, at least many years ago, with some very aggressive, feral hogs that I have had the displeasure to cross paths with. I think that a lot of Tennessee’s feral hog problem eased up when the state re-labelled them from “game” to “pest”.

Still, the area is nice and used to be some of the best smallmouth water in the U.S. (I silently toast otter trappers.)

Ed

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Well, right up till Ed started talking about the big snake, I was thinking how content I could be, just sitting on a big rock, mid stream, watching the world go by.

Ifn you don’t mind Joe, I’d like to copy that picture to my desktop, and spend some time just dreaming.

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BOOYAH! Caught a trout today and saw several others!! Going back in the AM and then off to David Crockett State Park to raid the lake!! It was my first trout on a fly rod using a fly that Jack gave to me. Orange hackle and tail, orange/black flashy body… Not sure what it is, but it caught one. It was less than 12", but put up a good fight and came off the hook while I was getting my camera… How cruel is that? I waded up the Little Buffalo for about a mile and a half before it got close to closing time for Laurel Hill.

Here is one of the many really nice spots on this river.

If you’re wondering why I would be going to a lake when there are nice places like the Little Buffalo to fish, Lake Lindsey in the Crockett Park has some huge shellcrackers and I want to take a whack at them and possibly bring home a few.

Ed- My Dad was at Laurel Hill when a big story was unfolding about a copperhead. Apparently a copperhead came off the bank while a guy was fishing and snatched his lure. The ranger said the trees and bushes near the streams are covered up with them though I haven’t actually seen any… Yet… My Dad was at the checking station while this was going on and overheard the story. I think I’d let the snake keep the lure…

Betty- You can set that as your desktop pic if you like, I don’t mind at all. If you’re serious though, I can send you a larger version…

BBW- The trout I caught seemed healthy to me, but then again I haven’t seen too many trout at all. The color seemed right about it and had the rainbow. Fought better than most fish I catch also…

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I WANT MY FLY BACK!!!
Just kidding, nice photo Joe.

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Good on you! That first trout is something you’ll always remember!!

And, yes, I’m very serious! It’s beautiful!

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Sorry Jack… I lost all of them… Seriously, I should watch where I’m casting…

Today’s Report:
Was supposed to leave the house at 6:30 this AM, but left about an hour late. My Dad used his fiberglass Eagle Claw rod today for the first time (It’s been sitting in his gun closet for years in the original wrapping) since his last one got broke which was a Lamiglass Graphite rod. Well today was similar to yesterday as far as the fishing goes, except neither one of us caught a trout, but we could see a lot of them.:roll: I tried everything I had on me and nothing worked. I didn’t use the dries, so technically it wasn’t everything…

They were on the bottom in nice little formations just keeping together and minding their own business. As soon as they saw me, I’m sure one of them said, “There’s that sucker from yesterday” and decided not to take anything I cast to them…

So we checked out some other spots, where trout was stocked on the Little Buffalo, and found nothing at those spots either. However, I did find a nice deep spot at the northernmost stocking point and decided to wade across this stream so I could get to it, instead of walking up the bank. This is the most exciting part for me… As I crossed over, I tried to look for a way to avoid all the debris buildup which was situated right where I needed to go. Unfortunately there was no way except over it. Big mistake. Typically I’ve hear these debris beds are full of leeches. Thankfully this one wasn’t.

I took my first step on the bed and I sunk up to my ankle. (No waders or boots, just sandals and shorts) Well I figured that wasn’t too bad so I continued on. It got a little deeper here and there, but wasn’t enough to make me turn back just yet. I came to a nice large rock in the middle of it and got up on it. By this time, the debris bed was over my knees. I looked down and figured the debris wouldn’t be any deeper than before and stepped off on the other side. The water was cold this morning and I sank up to waist in debris with the water level just getting to my vest. It was cold enough and gross enough to take my breath away, but I managed to keep my expletives to myself.

So there I was, waist deep in debris and cold water and all that was on my mind was, “This feels nasty” and “Leeches!!” I managed not to scream and swear seeing as how my Dad and a cricket drowner were there watching. I also managed to make it down a muddy bank without falling, but two steps into the water, I slipped and almost went in. I managed to keep myself up, but it was rather embarrassing being in a linebacker stance in the water. After that, my fly rod went flying across the stream for a nice soft landing in some grass… I had to keep a little dignity to myself, but lost it all when I caught a chub minnow and twenty trees. As a matter of fact, I’m sure those vultures circling back there had found my dignity which was somewhere close to some flies I lost…

And then there’s the most often used phrase in fishing… It was nice to just be there…

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Ok maybe I’m cursed. Once again my Dad and I had a go at the stocked trout in the Little Buffalo. This time my Dad resorted to a spin reel and worms. I stuck with my fly rod as usual. Well, I came up with nothing, but am minus a couple of flies, which isn’t unusual. My Dad however, trolled the low-water bridge and came up with three trout, a minnow and an extra small warmouth. I knew that would have been a good spot, because of all the oxygen in the water.

The bridge acts almost like a waterfall and the water just pours over the top of it and creates a lot of air bubbles. I would cast parallel to the bridge and let my fly drift downstream, working it every so often. I caught nothing, but watched a guy do this last Saturday at the same spot. He was a little farther downstream than I was though.

I’ve tried a few nymphs, a midge, woolies, bead-heads, copper-johns (which I am officially out of now), and a little thing I came up with that looks like a bloody leech… Well, kinda bloody. I’ve used dries also and those produced nothing also… I’m in the dark here… I’ve been trying to think of what I was doing differently, when I caught that trout last week…

I was in slower moving water, which was about 3 ft deep and caught that trout on a very flashy wet fly… I was also casting upstream and letting it drift while working it. I’ve tried this over and over and still haven’t got another one… I know these trout are skittish, but this is a little ridiculous…

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I spent year helping out with the trout project on the little buffalo. Takes a serious fisherman to find that creek and long before GPS you had to have a really good map or know the dirt roads off the N - trace Pkwy. If you ever have time be sure to look for the placed rocks in the creek as well as the under cut banks that are secured with cable tied logs. Ever fish the cement weir way upstream? Lots of the placed rocks are actually situated upon blocks to provide additional shelter for the transplanted browns. Great little secret spot. Was shocked to see a post. Nice pics. Been along time since I have been up there.
Truly a jewel of a creek.

P.S. the veteran lake has some huge bream in it too.
:wink:

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Waders- I am glad you posted that. I did wade upstream from one of the stocking points and I did see the cement weir that you were talking about. Looks like someone got some bags of quick-rete wet and laid them down in a line. So there are browns in there huh? I’ve only heard of people catching rainbows out of there, so I’ll definitely be heading back to that spot.

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They tend to feed more on over cast days and late into the afternoon right as the sun drops below the trees. Look for the directional placed logs and rocks that were put into the stream bed to divert water and force water into certain parts of the stream. Over growth often hides some of the best holes. Always fish the logs. There are many logs that have large dug out shelters under the bank that were intentional. The browns (though few and far between) are usually there. They tend to weather the warmer summer months better. And you’ll likely notice the amazing temp difference when you get to the cave spring area- just air temp alone! My best so far was a 15" brown on the little buffalo. I 'll see if I can find the old site info that had all the pictures and diagrams of the stream restoration project. would be handy to have.

Definitely watch out for the snakes. Not just the copperheads a few rattlers and mocs too. They were always thick in there. Regards,
Waders