The bigmouth buffalo is a large-bodied native fish. Their large scales and broad body shape make them look a bit like carp, but carp have barbels (whiskers) near their mouth; bigmouth buffalo don't. Their eyes look very different from carp eyes as well - they look like black marbles. Many bigmouths have a distinct bluish tint to them, but this is not a reliable identifying characteristic. In some waters, they might appear silvery, brownish, or grayish. These large, powerful native fish that have earned a reputation for being both tough to catch and very tough to land.
Bigmouth Buffalo are NATIVE filter feeders that compete DIRECTLY with the invasive Asian Carp. They should not be killed unless it's for food, because every bigmouth buffalo you kill means more invasive Asian Carp infesting our rivers. Please, show some respect for our great American waters and refrain from killing bigmouth buffalo unless you plan to eat them.
Other Names: roundhead, common buffalo, bullhead buffalo, stubnose buffalo, slough buffalo, trumpet buffalo, gourdhead, white buffalo, lake buffalo, pugnose buffalo, mud buffalo, blue buffalo, redmouth buffalo