Author: Herschel Finch (doahriverrat)…

About the river: The main stem of the Shenandoah River begins at the conflux of the North and South Forks at Riverton, VA.  Riverton is actually a part of Front Royal, VA (my hometown) these days. But back in the day, it was a separate town and was a main stop for the flat boats I mentioned in the South Fork article. Here at Riverton, the flatboats would be unloaded, goods sold and even the boats themselves would be knocked apart for the lumber they contained and the lumber then sold, because you sure as heck weren’t getting a boat that was 12-14 foot wide and up to 80 feet long back upriver! Many houses and out buildings in the old parts of both Front Royal and Riverton contain structural beams and timbers with tell-tale mortises, holes and square joints that were used to hold the boats together.

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The South Carolina/Georgia sections of Riverbassin.com would like to present our next rodeo, The Georgialina Border Bash!  We will gather on the banks of the Savannah River on the border of Georgia and South Carolina to enjoy food , fun, fellowship, and Riverbassin!

What: The Georgialina Borderbash will be a fishing and camping excursion for registered forum members of this site and their guests. To become a member simply register for free on the Riverbassin forum. Continue Reading

About the river: The North fork of the Shenandoah River is an entirely unique river. Where the south fork is wide, with lazy sweeping bends with wide vistas and scenic views of the Blue Ridge and fairly benign in nature, the north fork tends to be narrow, winding, heavily forested with overhead tree canopy and have some chutes and drops that can be downright dangerous at certain water levels. You can float the south fork all year round, regardless of gauge levels, although I don’t recommend trying it above Continue Reading

Submitted by: Herschel Finch (DoahRiverRat)

About the river: The Shenandoah is actually 3 distinct Rivers: The south fork, the north fork, and the mainstem. It’s easier to write about as three separate rivers so I’ll begin this series discussing my favorite (and my ‘home’ water), The south fork of the Shenandoah River.

The Shenandoah figures large in American History and especially the during the years after the Revolution and the westward expansion into the interior. The Shenandoah Valley was never home to vast numbers of indigenous Americans. It was used more as a warring and hunting ground and the river itself as a fishery. Many old Indian fish dams are still present on the river (all three sections) and were used by the colonials and well into the 1800s as well. You’ll recognize them as being Continue Reading

By: Phillip Scearce  aka “Pip”

On very RARE occasions I get a weekday off where my wife and kids have work and school.  This was the case one day in November 2008.  I had the day to myself!  What to do?  Take advantage of the beautiful Florida weather and go fishing, of course!  So I called up my fishing buddy, Daniel Bass (great name) loaded the canoe and we headed up to High Springs Florida, in Alachua County, to fish for Florida’s “Bronzeback” Bass, the Suwannee bass, on the upper Santa Fe River.  Continue Reading

By: Jeff Scoggin (AKA Deepstep)

About the river: Stevens Creek, a tributary of the Savannah River, winds its way slowly through the counties of Edgefield and McCormick, SC. The landscape of the river changes vastly over its length from deep gorge like settings to rocky shoals and even lined by cypress trees in some areas. The floatable sections of the creek really begin below the confluence of Steven’s and Turkey creek, and end in a vast stumpfield as the waters combine with the Savannah River as it continues its course into North Augusta. Continue Reading

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When you can actually get on flowing sections of this river, that are true river and not lake, they can be pretty productive. The problem is the river system creates so many lakes that it has more lake shoreline than river on its way to the ocean. If man had not disturbed much of the true river by creating lakes, this may have been one of the most scenic rivers in the country coming out of the mountains and into the piedmont. Even though it is a big river, it is one of the most used water systems in the country and therefore runs lower than ever these days. You may find yourself scraping the bottom in many shoal areas, especially during the summer. However, the good news is that there are still bass living in the river! Continue Reading

About The River:

The Broad River begins way up in western North Carolina and tumbles its way all the way down to the capital city of Columbia, SC, where it joins with the Saluda to form the Congaree. Along its route to Columbia, it is dammed up several times, although never into a big impoundment. These small dams are there more to produce power than to make recreational lake opportunities. At times I despise dams on rivers, but the truth is that if they were not there much of the Broad could be completely silted in and we may not have the fishery we do today. Finding access to the Broad can be difficult, and the numerous shoals make it a challenge for motor boats. This is a good thing if you are a kayak or canoe fisherman. Continue Reading