Got me a Buffalo...Not the Mammal , the Fish

Mack in N.C.

Old Mossy Horns
Jeff and I floated the Great Pee Dee last Sunday. We caught a mixture of Cats, Stripers, and this Buffalo. I didn't have a net so i figured the best thing to do was to jump out and land it. I got Jeff to grab my canoe. I was going downstream and didnt want to put out my anchor as i was afraid the fish would make a run into the line thus getting off.

What a hard fighter!..this fish made several long , strong runs. Finally i got her in. She made my day. She hit a cordell Spot, and she was hooked in the mouth.

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stilker

Old Mossy Horns
Nice!...I used to work with a fellow who's bass club would make the trip once in a while down Pee Dee from Rockingham all the way to Georgetown,Winyah Bay.
 

CRC

Old Mossy Horns
Is that what they call a smallmouth buffalo?

They are in the French Broad River.
 

darkthirty

Old Mossy Horns
Smallmouth buffalo

A bigmouth has a mouth more like a grass carp. Only other buff it could be is a black. Without going into detail, a black is a lil more elongated (not true 100% of the time) vs the football shape of a smallmouth
 
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nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
OK, school me. What/where is the market for those things up north? I know you have seen the shows on TV where they net those jokers by the ton. They say most are going to NY. I am guessing Asian market? I know there is a smaller market in the SE for mostly crawfish bait and some eating.
 

darkthirty

Old Mossy Horns
Commercial fishing for buffalo is still goin on everywhere. Here in TN there is still a pretty good commercial fishery for buffalo. Even more so in west TN. Buffalo is actually pretty good. I cut up hundreds of'em to use as lake sturgeon bait when we do our fall sampling. The meat is very white. You gotta remember these are not "carp". They are a member of the sucker family. Common carp meat is very red and strong smelling. What buffalo I've eaten has been very mild and tasted fine.

If you've eat fish sticks from the frozen food section in grocery store, there's a high likelihood you have eat buffalo.
When minced and combined with whatever else, few people would know the difference. That's why most processed fish sold to consumers is marketed as "white fish".
Common carp market is mainly up north and holiday driven. There is a strong demand from the Jewish for common carp around certain holidays.
 
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CRC

Old Mossy Horns
Smallmouth buffalo

A bigmouth has a mouth more like a grass carp. Only other buff it could be is a black. Without going into detail, a black is a lil more elongated (not true 100% of the time) vs the football shape of a smallmouth

I did not think black buffalo were ever introduced into the Carolinas.

Thanks for the info.
 
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