Angling for the lunker bass on the Buffalo River
7/14/21
What...no mustard? Speaking of hot dogs...I ate breakfast at Waffle House in Russellville. Then was the task of driving north just passed Jasper, where the Buffalo River was encountered and occupied. It was 5:00 a.m. and 70° on arrival to the the forest's edge. By dark of morning, access was made to the valley floor, and into the river I did go. By now the temp had declined to a lovely 66°. The water was too low for boating so my odds of encountering other humans were low...it was also the middle of the week. My breakdown spinning rod was assemble and a perfectly matched spinning reel was attached. My path was then in a northwesterly direction. Wading was a slick proposition in many places, but my footing remained firmly associated with the river bed. Many small bream/sunfish type swimmers were hooked and released. A few Yellow Bellied Speckled Rock Bass (smallmouth) were also enticed to the bait and landed handily. These ranged in weight from one to six pounds...chuckle. All were treated humanely and released. Fog was oddly sparse for the Buffalo River valley on this day...quite unusual, indeed.
The river was traced upstream for a time. The morning came with mostly sun and sparse quantities of clouds. Many trophy bass were pulled from the depths along the wet hike. The stream was beautiful, as expected. No creatures were encountered for me to wrestle with...disappointing. Eventually, a large bluff appeared on the right with a small one just beyond that overhung a deep pool. A large bend began here and curved to the left. This is where I made my exit from the valley and returned to the ridge, where my vehicle patiently awaited my return. At 11:00 it was a comfortable 82°. Four miles were covered on this outing.
