# Smallmouth Buffalo's in cold water?



## RiverRat

Hey guys, 
Im going to TRY to put together a game plan to target some Buffs during the colder months when the action all around is slow.
Last winter early spring while carp fishing ,after a few carp i would start to get "funny" shy bites and couldnt figure out what the heck was going on. After a few trips of the same thing and then SEEING these fish roll over my baits it didnt take me long to realize that the chum i was putting in the swim would draw the buffs and they would push out the carp.

I tried(half heartedly) to come up with a rig to catch them, but only managed a few nice ones..with a poor % of hook ups.
As it got warmer the bite was half and half between the carp and buffs but i still could really get on them real well.

A recent trip to the Ohio river brought a full day of carping because they changed the gates around(which changed the current) at the dam and the spot i heavily chummed the day before turned out to draw loads of carp in.
Well we had a ton of carp action with each of us 3 landing atleast 20+ carp, but then the bite changed and the fish started to hit very lightly(which before they were running hard and fast). After all of us tried our best to hook these wary "carp" it dawned on me that these were no longer carp bites, but BUFF bites. We were all 3 killing carp on the method with home-made weighted feeders and a great river mix that has been doing VERY well for me this late Summer/Fall.

My buddy Dave had enough and broke out his light action 7ft rod spooled with 8 lb line that he had been catching whitebass & hybrids on the day before, he rigged up with a #6 Owner with 1 kernal of canned corn and a few small split-shots about 8-10" above the hook. It was'nt long before he started getting great hook ups that resulted in crazy fights from these avg. sized 6-8 lb Buffs...well trust me it only took a few fish to get me and my buddy Jake to break out our light action combos and join the craziness.
The current was just slight enough to bounce/drag the kernal of corn along the sand bottom and all you would feel is the "tick" on the line on the bite....set hard and fast and a drag screamin run would result. Our hook up % went up very high and as an added bonus as you were "drifting" for Buffs instead of a "tick" it would be more like a "BAM" and a carp was on....which was a complete blast. We would also throw out a small handful of freebies then cast in the middle of them. 

Im not going to go that far in my Buff quest around here because the area i fish around here is littered with wood in the water and light line will NOT last.
I plan to just scale down my end tackle with a smaller sized hook(compared to normal, but NOT light wire ones, i learned that lesson already!), small home-made 1/4-1/2 oz weighted feeders(using same old method mix).
I have personally seen very large Buffs in this spot and know they are bigger than the two 30 lb carp ive caught from this same swim.

I know there is not a lot of info. out there about fishing for them exclusively, but so far from what i gather most guys fish for them with small hooks and small baits, so im going to start with that and refine my tactics as i see fit.

Anyone have any other suggestions or thoughts on catching Buffs...maybe types of sweet baits, other rigs, ect?

Scott 

PS i heard of another 50+ lb Buff being caught out of Hoover, 1 1/2 hr fight on 4 lb test, caught on a Berkly GULP bait..lol....looks like we might have to get a group together next year to hit that place hard for trophy Buffs....to show them Texas & N. Carolina guys we too have them!


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## crappielooker

hey..when are WE going to fish??


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## RiverRat

Yea no kidding...whats your plans for this week?
Im off weds-sat, BUT i can only manage early morning-early afternoons because weds evening, football practice..thursday, trick-or-treat night...friday evening, football practice..saturday late afternoon, my boys play there final game of football(they are ranked #1 and are playing the #2 for the "mini" super bowl for WYAA Juniors.
After this week, no more football until next year, so i'll have even more free time starting my first day off next week thurs-sun.


If it was'nt for whats going on this week, trust me i'd be heading right back to the Ohio river...with water temps. still holding in the low to mid 60's there, them fish are going to be feeding heavily til the next cold spell. Plus with the great temps. we have had this week, the water temp. will rise slightly..which is even better.
We hit a good spot on the river....but as we sat there thursday, all of us agreed that another spot that we fish probably would have produced much bigger avg. fish(flat next to a very deep wintering hole). I might head to out there next week if everything goes right river doesnt come up too bad with the coming rain?
Scott


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## RiverRat

It would be an honor to share the bank with the "Ohio 2004 Carp King"...maybe i could learn a few things...lol


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## flathunter

Hey Scott, just put on a big treble hook and snag those suckers


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## crappielooker

LMAO  whatever dood.. i'm thinkin about finding a crown or something similar made and handed down to the next year's king..
mornings sounds good..just call me and get me up..  got all the baits already to go..


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## GMR_Guy

Next year, I plan on spending a few days at Hoover chasing those buffs and carp.


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## RiverRat

Well i hit the ole Scioto today.
Ended up with 6 carp(lost 4 other ones) & 3 Buffs, but dang i missed a lot of them, they were hitting very light and it was hard to get a good hook up.

I might head back out in the morning if its not raining to bad.

Scott


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## Fishman

Scott I was just getting ready to post a topic about Buffolo fishing and then I saw this topic. Living down here in SW Ohio, there isn't much to fish for, at least no where that I found worth fishing. I do know of a place that is loaded with buffolo there. I've carp fished there, with sweet corn, and never caught a single buffolo. On the Ohio, carp fishing, I have caught buffolos. Is there any sure fire tactic that really key onto buffolos? I'm very interested in hearing about this, cause if I can find a way to get them to bite I'll finally of found something worth fishing for down here


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## RiverRat

Hey Fishman, long time buddy!

Well it seems where i fish on the Scioto it holds lots of Buffs, along with lots of Common carp.
If i fish single baits and dont chum, i can catch only carp...but if i chum i'll bring in the Buffs.
Even handfuls of sweetcorn will get them going, but when i chum my "method" mix, they come in schools.

I think sweetcorn as a hook bait is good...small hook with kernals right on the hook is best for Buffs. Also dont look past chick peas as a bait too.....if you soak them in your favorite flavor they will get soft enough to possibly put a hook through...you can even break the pea in half to make it easier.
In my method mix i use a strong fish meal, but you can always just go to Tractor supply and buy a bag of pond pellets($6), grind them up and use them.
Another great chum they seem to like is cracked corn from a local feed store.....i soak mine over night, or let sit a few days to ferment(best).


The spot i fish is 25 ft and has a shelf of 5ft.....the biggest Buffs i have seen roll over the deepest water right in the main current, i fish the shelf thats in the slack water...but i tend to get most of my Buffs along the current edge.

Hope this helps..if not i can try to give ya more tips...but remember i can only call them in on my spot and still have a hard time hooking these fish...my hook-up % on them is very poor.

Scott


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## Fishman

The day that I noticed a lot of buffolo at the place I spoke of above, they wern't hitting corn at all. I'll try for them again, seemed when I was fishing they we're more interested in spawning, which I'm sure is why they wern't biting.

So I take it you're still catching them in this cold weather?


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## RiverRat

Yea, im still bring them into my swim even in the dead of winter.Im going to try to target the big boys this winter, but might have to weed through the smaller ones to get them?

My biggest this year is 17lbs. , but thats nothing compared to t5he size ive seen in the same hole.

Also, dont over look redworms(smaller than nightcrawlers) as they will hit them very well too.

Good luck and let us know how you do.

Scott


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## Fishman

I guess I'll have to give it a whirl next chance I get, the area I'm speaking of is the spillway at East Fork, its loaded with Buffolos - at least during spawning season


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## RiverRat

If there still not in the spillway, drop down to a nice deeper pool down stream and try there......but if i find a nice current line, i usually find Buffs, they seem to prefer current.

Scott


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## cwcarper

Forgot all about the spillway at eastfork...i've never caught any out of there, but Da King hooked into a huge one (30+ lbs was his estimate i believe) while fishing for smallies and was not able to land it. Can't remember what time of year it was, so hopefully he'll see this post and chime in.


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## TimJC

cwcarper said:


> Forgot all about the spillway at eastfork...i've never caught any out of there, but Da King hooked into a huge one (30+ lbs was his estimate i believe) while fishing for smallies and was not able to land it. Can't remember what time of year it was, so hopefully he'll see this post and chime in.


That makes me wonder if I should head that way today. Isn't the spillway there small (length-wise) and very rocky? I haven't been there in years, and I have only thrown inline spinners down there for crappie and whitebass.


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## Fishman

Tim, I'm free Sunday if you're interested in checking it out. The times I have fished there snags wern't to bad. Yes its very rocky, and at the tail end its skinny. The main pool is "fairly" large, larger than most spillways I'm use to in northern Ohio anyways.

(I'm comparing them to say Charles Mill spillway, Plesant Hill spillway, and Clearfork spillway)


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## Fishman

I can honestly say I've seen some 5-10lbers snagged there on rooster tails. Snagging purposfully is illegal below dams though.


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## TimJC

Thanks for the offer but I have to work on sunday. I have saturday off but I'm unsure whether I'll be fishing or not yet.


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