Mile 341.1 - LBD Washout Bayou/Homochitto River

341.1 LBD Washout Bayou/Homochitto River

The Homochitto is the last of the major tributaries from the state of Mississippi, and ranks along the Yazoo and the Sunflower as one of the most worked-over by engineers and land movers. Historically the Homochitto meandered through the cypress forests of the floodplain and eventually entered the north end of Lake Mary, an old oxbow, and then exited the south end of the Lake to wander down to the Mississippi near Fort Adams. The Buffalo River also flowed into Lake Mary, and joined the waters of the Homochitto. In the overzealous flood control projects of the last century, the Homochitto was re-routed to flow due east down the old channel of Washout Bayou in something called the Abernathy Channel, and cut off entirely from its beautiful pathway through Lake Mary. The engineering caused massive erosion along the Homochitto resulting in some of the worst headcutting in the south. In 1906 the river at Rosetta was 96 feet wide with an average depth of 4.5 feet and a speed of 0.66 feet per second. By 1976 it was 328 feet wide, a foot deep, with a speed on 1.43 feet per second, according to Geological Survey measurements. Today only the Buffalo remains as a reminder of that not so long ago river channel. Keep reading further downstream for a description of the mouth of the Buffalo River, and possible access to Fort Adams.

Paddlers could duck into the mouth of the Homochitto for close up viewing of a stand of ancient cypress trunks still visible from the Glasscock Cut-Off. You could perhaps find temporary shelter in inclement weather, but be careful of its notorious Homochitto flash-flooding which can increase the flow a thousand-fold from its average 1156 cfs to 118,000 cfs following torrential rainstorms in the area. The mouth of the river is wide and exposed here, and the general landscape not very inviting. Two fishermen died near here in the after overloading their boat with fish and getting hit by a severe thunderstorm. You would find more interesting camping further downstream.

The 90 mile long Homochitto drains about 1200 square miles of the Mississippi Piney Hills, falling from 380 feet at its highest tributary to 33 feet at the Mississippi River Confluence. The Homochitto defines the southern perimeter of the St. Catherine’s NWR. (see entry for 352.5 LBD St. Catherine Wildlife Refuge). Several miles upstream Gilliard Lake is found just over the trees. The whole area is thick with wildlife and interesting paddling. Using good maps, GPS, and your intuition pick a route and follow your heart into some of the deepest intact wilderness around. A paddler with strong sense of direction and good survival skills could retrace the old channel of the Homochitto to Lake Mary, but only in high water, and with a good deal of bushwhacking.

For more about the Homochitto River, and its possibilities for paddlers, consult the classic book Canoeing Mississippi by Ernest Herndon.