Fish ID?

I think that this is a small mouth buffalo but I have never caught a buffalo before so I could definitely be wrong. Put up an awesome fight! Caught using a JIGLYF jig on 6lb monofilament and a light action rod when fishing for white bass on the Brazos river. I've only tried frying the ribs so far, the meat was firm and all 3 of us that tried it thought there was no fishy flavor at all.

Either a Smallmouth or a Black. Hard to tell the difference at that size and they're both present in the Brazos! Smallmouth are much more common and that's what I'd go with

That's what I was thinking, thank y'all! If you were to target these fish on hook and line what would your method be? I'm loving this white bass run but I can see buffalo all over the place pestering the white bass that are holed up, and they make for a much better fight! Having some buffalo bait in my bag would make for a more interesting day of fishing on days that the white bass aren't biting.

Either TXMultiSpecies or Barry Osborne could make the proper call. I will go with what has already been said above.

The rest of the meat is going to have Y bones in it, but there are ways around that. Definitely held in higher regard than eating carp.

Awesome fish Lonestar Angling! Congrats

Side note: that's the first-ever buff that I know of caught on a JIGLYF jig
JIGLYF jigs Catching anything that swims

The mouth shape, size of the mouth in relation to the size of the eye, and body height to length ratio, indicate it is a black buffalo. Black buffalo are common in the Brazos from Lake Granbury to Lake Whitney. I would go with black buffalo (Ictiobus niger). But the whole black buffalo vs smallmouth buffalo issue still needs extensive study, especially in relation to hybrids.

Thats really cool Lonestar Anglin! Those jigs are deadly

I was really in between on this one. Big agree that they need to further study the differences between the two. Interesting to note that on their website TPWD doesn't list Black Buffalo as being in the Brazos, only in the Red, but they are listed on Fishes of Texas!

So I went and drew some lines, lol. It seems this is a Black! The body length is 3x its height, the mouth is larger than the eye, and its head shape is long.

Follow this video exactly and you'll get 'em!

Wow, thank you for the extensive ID Osbornfishing and TXMulti-Species! I will be following the video instructions from C&C next time I get out on the Brazos. I ate some of the bony meat today for lunch and it was actually really good too, I cut it into sections that had 3-4 bones each and picked them out as I ate, they weren't an issue at all to me. The fragile and almost invisible bones you get when you don't cut them out on sunfish or trout are much more difficult to eat around than these long, sturdy bones. I soaked the meat in salt water for 20-30min before breading. Ended up tasting more like chicken than fish, surprisingly? Big thank you to gar1970 and Pot Licker for the great jigs as well, they are the first hand tied jigs that I have ever used and they have been a blast to fish with!

Your welcome Lonestar Angling thank you for giving our jigs a try

im not much of a fish eater but i have tasted carp and buffalo and actually found the carp more appealing to me . the mildness , the texture and the moistness of the meat made it better tasting to me . the buffalo had a more fishy taste than the carp . give it a go next time and see what you think

Whenever I get ahold of one I plan on giving it a try whiterockjesse, I find most "trash fish" I've eaten have actually tasted just fine. Do you remember what type of carp you tried, by chance? I hear grass carp are more desirable than common carp for table fare.

It was a common about 4 lbs .yes I also heard the grass carp was better tasting but never tried it ...purtis creek has a fair share of the grasses. You will catch 20 to 1 there
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Wanted to post an update to let y'all know I hooked into some carp today while fishing for buffalo under PK dam. Had 3 on but lost one of them right at the bank. All three put up amazing fights, making full use of the river's current to peel drag from my reel! It was a blast. The two I landed weighed just over 5lb each. Went through my typical fish prep (bonk & bleed by the water, fillet at home) and fried up a late lunch of carp. Every piece that I ate fresh and hot was delicious! Once cooled the flesh was less flaky and very slightly fishy but nothing like wives tales had me believing. From now on I think I'll be throwing some homemade dough bait/pack bait any time the fishing is slow or I want a good fight Tight lines and a big thanks to all who helped me get these fish!!

so what was your conclusion as far as which taste better ,the carp or the buffalo ?

I'd say that buffalo had more of a gamey flavor but the carp was more fishy to me. I preferred buffalo overall but had no problem with carp, and my taste tester had no complaints either