Shandon Menix has been catching fish, especially smallmouth bass, from Buffalo Creek nearly his entire life. Menix, 9, is a student at Carter City Elementary who enjoys studying math, as well as a section of Buffalo Creek which runs right through his back yard.
He began baiting hooks and pulling fish out of the creek at an early age. “I was two,” he said. “My dad just showed me how and I got into it.”
He reports 2019 was a good year for fishing along Buffalo Creek, despite the stream’s shrinkage in recent weeks until rains returned last weekend.
Anyone looking for sweet spots to fish is advised to seek “ripples that lead to deep water” and a line baited with Menix’s favorite lure, a “Nedhead” with a Zman Trd attached. “You just watch your line and feel it bite,” Menix said, confirming he does not use a bobber on his line when fishing Buffalo Creek.
The latest fishing season began in May, Menix said, with most of his creek visits yielding at least two or three fish. His largest smallmouth bass from Buffalo Creek measured 19 inches.
Someday, Menix says he would like to try his hand at bow fishing.
With assistance from his sister, Shaylee, the young angler has an Instagram account to record his catches. Fans will find his photos at “Shandon Fishing Menix”.
When he grows up, Menix says he simply wants to go fishing all the time. A practitioner of catch-and-release, Menix said he rarely eats the fish he catches in the stream behind his house.
“I eat catfish,” he offered.
Menix is just the latest fisherman in his family to find Buffalo Creek an ideal place to wet a hook. His dad, Scott, began fishing the same waters 33 years ago when his mom’s father, Elwood Burge, guided him to the creekbank. The creek has not changed dramatically during his time on Buffalo Creek, Scott said, although there may now be fewer fish.
“There’s less than there used to be,” he said, shrugging and adding “I don’t know if part of that is being a kid and being excited, but I think there’s less now than back then.”
