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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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 Read the full story

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 Read the full story

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. Read the full story

One of the philosophies of the website is to allow its users and members to learn about our rivers from the ones who are on them – for the ones who are on them. Use this form to submit a river description and have your name credited to the article. Contributors will also receive a free River Bassin’ shirt, hat or bumper sticker from the store. To be qualified each category on the form below must be filled out accurately and with good detail so that is just a few edits away from being posted on the site.

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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! Read the full story

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. Read the full story

The Flint River literally begins in aqueducts beneath Hartsfield-Jackson airport. Finally around the town of Woolsey it becomes floatable to kayak and canoe fisherman (unless we are in a major drought!). It is home to Georgia’s unofficial state fish – the shoal bass.  Shoal bass were once even called, by some, Flint River Bass. Aside from the shoal bass the river is unique in many other ways. It is also home to the rare and endangered spider lilly and numerous rare species of turtles and mussels. Read the full story

The Ocmulgee River might as well be called “anything wet flowing out of Atlanta” because that is literally what it is. However, despite being formed by three rivers (Yellow, South, Alcovy) that drain Atlanta and its suburbs, it is generally a cleaner and more nutrient rich river than you would think. I still wouldn’t be eating fish from the river five days a week or anything, but you know what I mean. It is not quite as scenic as the Flint River, but it is still a unique river experience in its own way. Read the full story

Since I moved to Greenwood, SC., I have begun the fun and exhausting task of exploring all of my new home waters. Sometimes I run into a stretch of river that seems lifeless, but other times I find a great piece of water where life abounds. The Saluda river, both above and below Lake Greenwood, seems to be a can’t miss for bass no matter what section you are on.

Above the lake, you will encounter two types of black bass – largemouth and redeye bass. The largemouth will generally hang out in the slower sections, while the redeyes inhabit the swift and rocky shoals. Read the full story