Life and Wildlife along the Little Buffalo River

You’d think that in late November of a drought year, that fish would be hard to find. It is cold and windy and the pools are small, but the water is flowing (especially under the gravel). I spent an hour at the crossing below Parthenon watching the fish move around. I saw a dozen small Goggle-eye (Rock Bass), many Smallmouth Bass up to 15 inches, 1 channel catfish, many suckers, and a small school of shiners and other assorted minnows. The bass were not visible until I flicked a yellow jacket wasp that had landed on my coat, into the river. There was a mayfly hatch in progress also. It was an interesting hour:

Two juvenile smallmouth bass

smallmouth bass chasing a wasp