buffalo and carp

[popolarbear]

carp are showing up nicely in grays shallows now. a long line one after another of locals showing up to bow fish. fish dont even have time to gather, kid just keep spooking.


anyone have a half decient spot to get buffalo? id really like to shoot one. thanks stef

[Hydro]

Lots on south west side of harriet.

[popolarbear]

interesting. buffalo, is actually a sucker family, and not related to carp. state wide these species is gone from much of its original range and the dnr is not sure why, nor have any plan to study. very sad. for those who have tried it, the meat is excellent. also a very strong fighting fish. but difficult to catch. i would really like to swim with one. anyone have a spot to visit? cannon river vis around 3ft was suggested by one. other lakes they are nearly extinct.

[freedivernd]

It'd be a bit of a drive for you, but Lake Lizzie, up near Pelican Rapids, has some huge buffalo fish. I think the MN state record could live there. Be aware though, Lake Lizzie is a zebra infested lake.

We will be getting over there in the near future with the boat, just have to finish up some farm work before I can take the time off. We kinda go on short notice, but you'd be welcome to join us if it would work.

have small boat, but big guns. room for 1 more.. possibly two, but that about max's it out.

Fred

[popolarbear]

yeh fred, id take you up on that. how could i refuse? also im not greedy, happy with small specimen. any chance to get some priceless video also of said hunt/joint venture expedition?

stef

[freedivernd]

don't usually get this much advance notice to kill some buffalo fish.. maybe some drum.. Monday.. the plan is all day in the Vergas area. Boat should be running..

[stick500]

just a guess, but I imagine as the zebra mussels get more established in a lake, that's less plankton for big giant buffs

they probably have plenty to eat in the river systems, though

I just saw some big ones spawning about a month ago in the no-name lake above Staring in Eden Prairie- hardly clear enuf for any diving though

I think they're neat fish and it's too bad they get a bad rap 'cause most people think they're a carp

their body is super beefy and strong and they don't stink like carp when you bring them to shore

oddly enuf I've seen people catch them on yellow twister tails at dams- not snagging!

[popolarbear]

buffalo are not plankton feeders, i think mainly insects/invertebrates like the rest of the members of the sucker family. you sure they were buffalo? not many lakes have these. and getting less, they are disappearing state wide for unknown reasons.there is a cult following(of die hard anglers) that go around and selectively fish for them. they keep the methods and lakes secret but i think they use primarily small jigs like you said, and small minnows.

[stick500]

Popo, we're surprisingly both right about buffalos and their feeding

there are 3 types of native buffalos on the continent; the most common and the biggest are the Bigmouth buffalo, then there is the less common Smallmouth and even rarer Black buffalo- all three are in the sucker family

the ones I have experience with are the Bigmouths- I've caught 'em on hook and line and shot them with both my bow and speargun

here's what's on the Wiki page:
Bigmouth buffalo, unlike its close relatives the black and smallmouth buffalos, is a filter-feeder, using its very fine gill rakers to strain crustacean zooplankton from the water.



the smallmouth and the black buffalo have more of a sucker mouth and aren't filter feeders, having similar eating habits to suckers

so I guess we're both right- now we just have to run into a big one at Tonka!!

[popolarbear]

stick,a pal of mine lost a big unusual carp on tonka. he swears it was a silver carp.
hit me up this weekend. stef