Where the Buffalo roam,

Bruce Jones


 Well here we go again. The cold weather is almost gone and the warmer days that we are having now are just a taste of the spring to come. The Hiwassee is fishing great and so are many of our regions tailwaters, but that’s all old new now. This year it’s going to be the warm water species that take the brunt of my fishing. Parksville lake has some great spots, the lower Tellico River and Tellico lake have some nice spot and smallmouth action. But bass are bass and they are everywhere. I’m looking for a couple of days on a secluded stretch of river. Yeah, imagine that on a southeastern tailwater. Where the fish are big and there’s not another person around, except maybe the folks I’m fishing with. And people always wonder, what can this be? Booffalo that is, of the smallmouth variety( Ictiobus bubalus orSmallmouth buffalo). Gray fins, big tails, with shoulders as wide as an elephants. Well maybe not that large, but big ok.

On the lower Hiwassee every year we have an awesome sucker spawn with both Red Horse and Smallmouth Buffalo. This usually only lasts for week or two but it’s great if you can find the fish. When the Buffalo spawn here it gets crazy on the water. Big cows rolling with smaller males on either side trying to cover. The water is churning and rolling from one side of the river to the other and there’s fish everywhere. The air even gets kind of smelly too.



The Dork fish.



This is a good average size.



Everett Kuglar

I usually use at least a 7 weight but a  9wt  works really well. I have used lighter rods in the past and you can get by with a stiff 6 weight, but you will be fighting every fish for at least ten minutes and have to hope that they don’t just get up and go with all your line. I started using heavier rods after the first year I started this. Myself and a friend of mine Bruce went out for an afternoon run on some fish. We had been catching fish steadily for a while and we even had to chase a couple down river to get them into the boat. Bruce had hooked up on a pretty nice fish and had been fighting it for a bit, I was getting ready to go for the net when the fish when it surged pretty hard and the 6 weight he was using snapped in the middle. It sounded like a small caliber gun going off and it was one of those times when there’s not really much you can do but shake your head. That's how it all started for me and it's been downhill since then.

The Buffalo run is what got me started in on fly fishing for carp and suckers around five years ago. These fish have been gaining in popularity over the past couple of years mainly do to a couple of facts. First, these fish are spooky. If you make a bad cast and line the fish, don’t expect him to hang around and give you another chance. Second, carp will test your gear. You think a brown will peel off some line? Wait till your hook your first carp. Your drag will scream as line peels out ripping through the water. Don’t pull on them to hard or all the work you have done so far will be for nothing when you brake off. Just hang on and settle in for a good fight, it will all be worth it when you can bring it to hand. 


Everett & Dorry




I will start going out looking for the buff and carp sometime in april and keep at it until I either can’t find them anymore or I’ve had my fill. Either way it’s good stuff. Here's a couple pics from the past couple of years.