Despite being part of the Duck River watershed, the Buffalo River is quite different in character than the stream it feeds. Along with being significantly smaller, it is clearer and rockier, with more ledge habitat. While it contains no real rapids, it's full of gentle, rocky shoals, many of which have deep holes immediately below them. Those holes offer fine catfish habitat, as do deep runs along bluffs that bound outside bends.

The Buffalo is a popular canoeing destination, and a canoe is the ideal craft for fishing it effectively. Some sections also can be floated in cartop johnboats, but during the summer, when water levels tend to be low, anglers are apt to spend a lot of time dragging boats across shallow rocky areas.

The Buffalo winds through private lands and has no developed boat ramps -- probably because of its relatively small size. However, bridge crossings and paralleling roads provide good access to most sections of the river.

HOLSTON RIVER
The Holston River forms at the confluence of the North and South Forks of the Holston in northeastern Tennessee. A good-sized stream from the point where it officially forms, the Holston offers good opportunities for catfishing both upstream and downstream of Cherokee Lake, which impounds the Holston near the mid-point of its run.

Upstream of Cherokee Lake, the Holston is best known for its heavyweight smallmouth bass. Downstream, a fairly new tailwater trout fishery has attracted the most attention in recent years. However, both sections are loaded with channel catfish, especially in deep runs between shoals and along steep outside banks everywhere the river twists to the left or the right.

A few miles of the extreme upper river are closed to all access because the river cuts through the property of the Holston Army Ammunition Plant. While there is limited shoreline access upstream of the plant where an angler could fish, most practical fishing access begins below the HAAP property. From downstream of the plant, the river can be floated in canoes or cartop johnboats, and much of it can be navigated with jet boats, traveling upstream from the upper end of Cherokee Lake. During midsummer, however, vegetation gets thick through much of the river, making jet boat navigation challenging.

An alternative approach is to wade shoals and fish deep holes immediately below them or to fish holes from the bank. Some anglers combine floating and wading, using canoes or johnboats to get to good-looking shoals and then wading to fish areas thoroughly.

Commercial dip baits work well for stationary anglers because particles break up and move downstream, causing the bait to also serve the function of a block of chum. Other traditional channel cat baits also work well when fished on the bottoms of the deepest holes in the river.

Downstream of Cherokee Lake, the Holston flows more than 20 miles before adding its flow to the French Broad River near the upper reaches of Fort Loudoun Lake. This section varies dramatically in character based on the amount of water flowing through Cherokee Dam. When the river is completely down, a johnboat will barely scrape over some shoals. With at least a couple of turbines turning, much of this section of river can be navigated even with a prop boat.

Again channel catfish are the main attraction and dominate cat populations. Cut shad or skipjack herring make great bait choices in the lower Holston as baitfish move up from Fort Loudoun and sometimes get poured through Cherokee Dam. Anglers either can anchor along the edges of holes, laying baits on the bottom, or drift through deep runs, bouncing three-way rigs beneath or behind them.