Buffalo Carp

 

Paul Katsus is a Katy, Texas native with interests in all types of fishing. Paul Katsus likes to share information on the sport of fishing, especially in fishing opportunities for the average fisherman without a boat. Paul Katsus will share information on other species of fish that offer low cost options and easy access to the average angler. To distinguish the Buffalo Carp from the common carp, their backs and are tan or light brown and/or sometimes dark with a coppery or greenish tint. They have a light yellow varying to white belly. Smallmouth buffalo have large scales and are easy to confuse for the common Carp. The Buffalo Carp has one easy to tell difference – there are not the barbells around the mouth as in the common Carp. Smallmouth Buffalo Carp have a mouth that points downward, as opposed to the common Carp which has a mouth more or less like any other fish.

Buffalo Carp are commonly thought of as a “trash fish” by many anglers in the United States. In other parts of the world all varieties of the Carp species are valued for their sporting excellence, as well as, for their flesh. A Buffalo Carp can grow to surprisingly huge proportions, providing quite a fight. Pound for pound, the carp is greatly underestimated by American anglers for the thrills these huge fish can provide. Dough balls and canned corn can sometimes be used to entice these freshwater monsters into biting. When one is on the line the angler better be prepared for the strong steady pull these fish provide. Don’t expect a large fish leaping out of the water but what you can expect is the drag screaming with tension unleashed by these underrated giants.