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The bigmouth buffalo, the largest member of the sucker family, lives in most lakes and rivers. The
bigmouth buffalo is a dull brownish olive color with dusky fins. Like other suckers it has a long dorsal
fin, but unlike others it has a large oblique and terminal mouth. It is the largest of the buffalo fish
and reaches a length of more than 4 ft (1.2 m) and 65 lb (29 kg) in weight. The meat is firm, white,
flaky and good tasting, although somewhat bony. They are especially fine eating when smoked.
A combination of understanding the fish and the techniques used to catch them will help you to hook more
fish to the end of your line. Better knowing and understanding of the fish that you are trying to catch
will make you a more successful angler, whether you are fishing for trout on a river or surfing on the
beach or trolling on the open water.
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The bigmouth buffalo, (Ictiobus cyprinellus), also known as the gourd head, redmouth buffalo,
buffalo fish, bernard buffalo, roundhead, or brown buffalo, is a large species of the Catostomidae
or "sucker" family. Found in Lake Erie, Ohio, and Mississippi drainages from Canada to the Gulf of
Mexico, the bigmouth buffalo has also been introduced into Arizona and California.
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Description
Heavy bodied fish has gray to olive-bronze back with green-copper reflections. It has
black to olive-yellow sides, pale yellow to white belly. Its head is large and ovoid with a sharply
oblique, terminal mouth. No barbels or spines. Length: 12 to 41 inches. Weight: 1 to over 39 pounds.
Bigmouth buffalo are similar in color and shape to smallmouth buffalo, except that the mouth is not
oriented downward in typical sucker fashion, but rather straight ahead. It is the largest member of the
sucker family, growing to over 70 lb. (31 kg). In general body shape it very much resembles the carp.
The dorsal fin is similar, beginning with a tall lobe near the middle of the back and continuing to a
lower portion nearly at the tail. The carp has a single serrated spine at the beginning of the dorsal
fin, while the bigmouth buffalo has no spines in any of the fins. The toothless mouth is relatively
large and wide, and slants downward when closed. The upper lip begins almost on a level with the eyes.
Habitat and Habits
The bigmouth buffalo is a filter-feeder, using its very fine gill rakers to strain
crustacean zooplankton from the water. It sometimes feeds near the bottom, using short up-and down
movements to swirl the water and filter from the water the plants and animals that float near the bottom
or rest lightly on it. Bigmouth buffalo lives in still waters such as ponds, pools, impoundments. It
occurs in floodplain lakes with shallow waters, as well as large rivers, main channels, and backwaters
of small to large rivers. Bigmouth buffalo live in lowland lakes, sloughs, and big rivers with slow to
still waters and bottoms of mud, silt, sand, and gravel. The species may occur in schools. Young fish
seem to prefer eating bottom-dwelling invertebrates, while older individuals prefer crustaceans dwelling
in the midwater. They are especially abundant in flood plain and oxbow lakes. The fish is vulnerable in
shallow water and is often captured by spearing.
Spawning
Bigmouth buffalo appear to spawn in very shallow water during the spring, in April or
early May when water temperatures reach 60�F to 65�F. Eggs hatch in 9-10 days. Typically, the species
may occur in schools. Young fish seem to prefer eating bottom-dwelling invertebrates, while older
individuals prefer crustaceans dwelling in the midwater.
The fish will move to rivers, flooded lakeshores and marshes. They spawn in units of one female
surrounded by 2 to 4 males, in an orgy-like fashion; they move together through the shallow water in a
series of "spawning rushes" evidenced by the ripples and splashes made by bodies and fins; the female
sinks to the bottom and releases eggs, whereupon the males surround her and push her to the surface to
start the whole thing over again. The female is in the middle moving through the water creating ripples.
As she releases her eggs the males move in to fertilize the eggs. This process is a very loud and sends
water splashing everywhere.
A single female, depending upon size, can lay between 100,00 - 800,00 eggs. The fertilized eggs are
normally sticky and stick to the first thing they touch - usually weeds. Once hatched, they are on their
own and receive no care from the parents. The embryo's hatch in a couple of weeks and remain in the same
shallows to feed and become bigger.
Fishing Methods.
These fish are rarely caught by rod and reel, but successful anglers have used small hooks
hidden in dough balls. In addition to angling, bigmouth buffalo may also be taken by bow and arrow,
crossbow, snare, gig, spear and spear gun as long as none of these methods are practiced within two
hundred yards of any boat dock or designated swimming area. About 90 percent of the bigmouth buffalo�s
diet consists of small crustaceans. It also feeds on algae and other plant matter, but very seldom eats
insects, insect larvae, or other fish. Consequently, the species does not form a large sport fishery
since it will not take the normal types of baits. It is commercially caught on trot lines, setlines, and
hoop and trammel nets, and seines. Though it has numerous small bones, its good flavor makes it one of
the most valuable of the non-game freshwater fish.
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