Bigmouth Buffalo Fishing Guide

The bigmouth buffalo (Ictiobus cyprinellus) is a large, native North American fish belonging to the sucker family (Catostomidae) — not a carp — and one of the most ecologically and historically significant large river fish of the Mississippi River basin. It is named for its large, terminal mouth and humpbacked profile somewhat reminiscent of a bison. In 2019, researchers published a landmark study demonstrating that individual bigmouth buffalo can live to 112 years or more, making them the longest-lived freshwater teleost fish ever documented and overturning the long-held assumption that they were relatively short-lived. Despite their size — reaching 80+ pounds — bigmouth buffalo are filter feeders that consume zooplankton and are rarely caught on hook and line, making them nearly invisible to most sport anglers. They are important commercially in the Mississippi Valley and are highly prized by Asian-American communities for their flavor; they are also targeted by bowfishers throughout the South and Midwest.

Bigmouth Buffalo is a freshwater species.

Habitat

Bigmouth buffalo inhabit large rivers, oxbow lakes, floodplain lakes, and reservoirs throughout the Mississippi River drainage from Montana to the Gulf, as well as several other major river basins in the central US. They favor slow, turbid, productive lowland waters and are often found in large schools near the surface in open water during feeding. They tolerate a wide range of temperatures and conditions.

Diet

Bigmouth buffalo are predominantly filter feeders, consuming zooplankton — particularly Daphnia and other cladocerans — filtered from the water column using gill rakers. They supplement this with aquatic invertebrates and algae gathered from the substrate, using their terminal mouth to vacuum the bottom unlike carp, which have subterminal mouths.

Fishing Techniques

Best Seasons

Spring, Summer

Size & Records

Average weight: 20 lbs. World record: 123.45 lbs (Abernathy Lake, Minnesota, USA (2021)).