fish

[ely]

 



here is a picture of a buffalo fish that was shot during a tournament on toledo bend lake.
it weighed 48#, which was enough to win a new bow and couple hundred bucks.

[beenthere]

Nice catch.  
What bow did you use?

What bow did you win?

[ely]

typically we use the oneida osprey to shoot fish, the bow we won was a fishhawk by AMS if i remember correctly.

[Raider Bill]

Do you like the Oneida bows? I used to shoot in a 30 yard league but never could get the Oneida to dial in right. Used a PSA D-1000.

[fishpharmer]

That's a good buffalo! 8)

Congrats on the win.  Nice boat too.   I know a guy that was into the bowfishing, had a big lighted boat with air propulsion like that.

Bill, I always thought those Oneida bows were cool.

[Mooseherder]

I've never heard of these monsters.
Looks like they could give you a run for the money, maybe even pull your boat around.

[ely]

MH, i think the record down there is 109 pounds for a buffalo. i seen the picture once. it was huge.

bill, the oneida bow is a very misunderstood bow, at times in the past the different owners were a bit shady in the business. overall it is the hands down best bowfishing bow on the planet, my opinion. there are other makers that have improved upon the design and i have no doubt they are all that and a bag of chips, but i have yet to experience them.

that being said the bow design and some of the older models needed a bit of tweaking both the bow and the shooters style. in order to get the best performance out of the older models a guy really had to invest alot of time in the learning curve on the bow.

most bow shops around me run backwards when someone brings them in. i once fixed a guys bow in my buddys shop right out in the floor after he said sorry buddy i cant help ya. they were impressed. like i say not many folks comprehend the lever cam bow design, nor do they want to.

fish,i bet i know your buddy that fishes with a bow, i have been alot of miles chasing those tournaments.

[Raider Bill]

I always liked the looks of them and having been born in Oneida where they are made I tried to use one in Comp. I think a lot of the trouble was the Pro shop didn't know how to tune them right for the precise shooting we were doing.
I shot next to a guy in finals one time that used a Oneida, his was tuned right. He shot a perfect 300 that day. I shot a 290.

[Just Me]

 DanG! Thats a lot of fish. We don't have those up here. Any good to eat?

I saw a catfish out of the Guadalupe that was 78 pounds. 11" between the eyes. Not a record but I was impressed.

I'll just have to stick to steelhead. Can't fish worth a fiddler's DanG, but I have fun trying. Haven't gone in a couple of years, but it looks like I will have some time this year.

[Jeff]

We might have them in the southern part of the state, but I'm not sure. Aren't they in the same class as a carp when it comes to table fare?

[doctorb]

Apparently it's often confused with carp, but better eating.  There's even a buffalo fish festival somewhere.  However, the CDC has noted some cases to Haff disease after eating buffalo fish.  Haff disease comes from an unknown disgested toxin that leads to rhabdomyolysis, the breaking down of skeletal muscle.  Found mostly in the Mighty Mississip and its tributaries.  As a fisherman, I had only heard of them prior to this post.  Never seen one.  Interesting.  I bet the one in the picture put up a little resistance before coming over the gunwhale.

[fishpharmer]

We might have them in the southern part of the state, but I'm not sure. Aren't they in the same class as a carp when it comes to table fare?

yes, at least in MS.

[Just Me]

 Fishfarmer

Are you able to keep your ponds fairly clear? The reason I ask is that I used to live in the Texas Hill Country and so fished the Guadalupe. The catfish were so, so as far as taste and texture, and had to be soaked in salt water to get the mud out of them.

Then I had to recore a dam up in the hills and had to let the water out of the old dam. So I took garbage cans and a net and when the water was down I loaded up the cans. The water was cooler, and it was clear. We had a fish fry, and that was the best catfish I ever had, no mud taste, very firm, and great cooked with just butter and salt. First time I ever fished with a D8 Cat.

Just wondering how you deal with that in a farm situation? I worked at a trout farm when I was a kid and we had to clean the ponds twice a year. Worst job ever! That was more because trout are sensitive and would die off if the ponds got too dirty than for flavor. It was one of those fishout places. I got cleaning trout down to 4.5 seconds.

[Tom]

Boy!  I bet those would make some good Salmon Croquettes.  ;D

[pineywoods]

We might have them in the southern part of the state, but I'm not sure. Aren't they in the same class as a carp when it comes to table fare?

yes, at least in MS.

I'll have to disagree with you there fish. Buffalo is not the same as carp. We have them both here, carp ain't fit to eat, but buffalo ribs is some fine eating. Got a bunch in the freezer. Only similiarity is both have lots of small bones in the filets. If there were health problems from eating buffalo, most of the folks in north louisiana would be affected.

[fishpharmer]

I won't disagree with you Piney.  I have never eaten drum ribs myself.  I would love to try some.  I know drum and carp are different species.  Drum are considered rough fsh in east MS, same as carp, so generally avoided on the table because of the small bones.  I have tasted carp.  They make good salmon croquettes ;).   As far as being healthy to eat, I have never heard of problems from either species unless the waterbody is polluted.

So I stand corrected.  Thank you.

[fishpharmer]

Just you,  most my ponds stay muddy.  I really don't think the muddiness has much to do with the bad taste.  Much research has been done as to the cause of "off flavor" as the fish farmers call it.  Most bad tasting catfish is caused by phytoplanktons in the water.  I have eaten many catfish taken directly from a "muddy" pond that tasted perfectly fine.  Since clear water has no phytoplankton, there would be no "off flavor."  The mud in a muddy pond is caused by suspended solids that aren't really absorbed into the flesh.   Here is a lnk that probably explains it better than I could....
http://www.uaex.edu/aquaculture2/FSA/FSA9051.htm

Eat more US farm raised catfish, avoid those dirty trout ;)
That's mighty fast fish cleaning too.

[Woodwalker]

If there were health problems from eating buffalo, most of the folks in north louisiana would be affected.

I've eaten a couple of different dishes from LA. and have been politely told not to inquire about the ingredients . Just keep eaten and praise the cook!

[Norm]

We used to shot buffalo down on truman lake in Missouri during the spring flooding. My personal best is 17lbs, nowhere near as big as yours. They do put up quite the fight though.

Now the hillbillies down there would swear you couldn't tell the difference between it and crappie....I sure could.  :D

[Just Me]

 Interesting article Fishfarmer. That makes sense, the Guadalupe was over 80 degrees water temp much of the year. I just wrongly assumed it was the mud. Maybe the salt water soak that the locals did was actually getting rid of the stuff in the article. There would be a brown covering on the bottom of the bucket after a days soak, so I took them at their word that it was mud.

Do you process the fish yourself into filets? Freeze them? You could have a heck of a garden with all that fish waste to compost in. We used to put the pond cleanings on the lawn with a setup like the Slurrystore spray setups farmers are using, and the lawns around the ponds were awesome. Too awesome, I had to mow the lawns too.

I got my fingers a few times getting that fast. The owner and I would race when we had to fill resturant orders. Smart on his part.....

You don't have to skin trout though.

[Reddog]

Nice fish ely, and nice boat.  8)

We might have them in the southern part of the state, but I'm not sure.

They are in the all of the Great lakes but Superior from what I can find.

[Jeff]

I believe you find them those 4 great lakes, but as I mentioned find them in the southern waters.  You don't catch buffalo in Northern Lake Huron or Michigan from anything I have ever learned.

[ely]

my grandmother was born in 1907. she ate the buffalo ribs first, then ate the rest of the buffalo afterwards. it was her hands down fav fish her whole life. eating them could be bad for your health though she only made it to about 94 and had all her own teeth when she passed on. :D

[Jeff]

My mom's favorite fish to eat was the lowly bullhead.

[ely]

i have eaten and will eat any fish that i catch, i guess my favorite is what we call perch here, generic term for sunfish, goggle eye, u name it.
my real favorite fish is the ones that have cornmeal on em and have just hit on a paper plate.

[Raider Bill]

My mom's favorite fish to eat was the lowly bullhead.

My Mom's too especially in the spring when they first come out of the mud all nice and hungry. I'm not sure what the difference is between bullhead and small catfish.

Up north my favorite would be walleye. Here it's Hogfish.

We have drum in salt water too. Look very much the same as the OP's pix. Never ate one though.

[Magicman]

I ate "White Fish" when visiting the U.P. a few years back.  I don't know what kind of  fish that is, but it was very good.   (Don't tell fishpharmer)

[Norm]

Much depends on the water quality the fish has been living in for taste. I remember catching a 3# walleye 1st thing after ice out. I put it in my live well drove back to the campsite, filleted it, breaded it and ate it. Very tasty.

A few years back I caught a nice catfish in the middle of summer on a lake north of Des Moines. I did the same with it, took one bite and threw it out.  :D

[Tom]

I ate "White Fish" when visiting the U.P. a few years back.

I don't think you can say that down here, magicman.  :D

[Magicman]

I do know that I didn't know what I was ordering/getting.  I just took a chance.  Kinda like ordering a pastie.

[Tom]

You mean, a potato sandwich?

[Just Me]

I ate "White Fish" when visiting the U.P. a few years back.  I don't know what kind of  fish that is, but it was very good.   (Don't tell fishpharmer)

Here you go....http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10364_18958-45680--,00.html

White fish is a term used in the fisheries industry for lighter filets, but it also a specific fish here in the great lakes. If it was here, it was the real McCoy, kind of like Michigan's Lobster.

[SPIKER]

I've ate just about every kind of fresh water fish, even had CARP & SUCKERS, though fresh water drum (AKA Sheep Head) naw I am afraid to toss them things in the garden from fear of "slime disease" growing in there.!   Bull heads are great usually hard to get one much over 10" they are often called "yellow bellies" here used to catch a bunch from under our park river bridge, it was laid up lime stone blocks about 6' long and 4' high by?? deep.   we would crawl under the road deck drop a line/worm down (maybe 15') to between the cut blocks (gaped about 2 ~4")  wait 2 or 3 seconds and one would bite.   weeks on end we would go back & catch 2 or 3 of em 10~12" long skinned out about 3/4 lbs as they were really fat from craw fish & minnows.   they were the best eating early spring after july the creek flow would drop and it was easy to fish em out/down.   They were smart enough to know to watch for people under the bridge too as you could drop a line in while wading and they would not bite.   climb  up under the road deck and catch 10 in a row still with water running off your pants :D

I like Small Mouth out of Lake Erie & Black River (up stream of all the rail road crashes)   as they stay deep in cold water even later in summer they are still firm & tasty.   Rock Bass are OK too if caught early.   We used to catch a lot of white fish/white bass out of lake erie early spring watch for the seagulls diving as the white fish/white bass would be pushing up a school of emeralds pre-spawn and toss in a FOXY MINNOW jig and nail them as fast as you can catch.  then they run for deep after filling up and or wiping out the school of minnows.   We brought home a lot of them when fishing for walleye.  see the birds then troll after them cast to the white fish until ya got a bunch.  then back to walleye and or small mouth fishing.    That is what my brother & I were doing when my sister passed. we hardly gone fishing since then & now this fall he passed so I lost my fishing buddy :( :'(   I took my nephew fishing 2 times once was to spread some of his ashes in one of our favorite fishing holes, something he would have loved...   Kind of lost my heart for fishing now. :-[ :(

Mark

[sandhills]

Spiker I'm very sorry to here about your brother, I don't know anything of your personal situation but I'd take that nephew out every chance you get, who knows it might do a lot of good for both of you, for some reason fishing seems to do that, and at least me, I'd want my buddies catching one for me every now and again.

[doctorb]

Echoing Sandhills sentiments.  Get back out there and do something your nephew and your brother would both appreciate.

[Magicman]

I accompanied my only Brother on his last two Colorado hunts.  We both knew that each might be his last.  My Son goes with me now.  Who knows, each may very well be our last one together, but we have no intention of not going.

I carry my Brother's memory with me on every trip, and the memory of those special times together will never die.

[Jeff]

I ate "White Fish" when visiting the U.P. a few years back.  I don't know what kind of  fish that is, but it was very good.   (Don't tell fishpharmer)

Whitefish is not a color, it is a species.

[SwampDonkey]

Big old 61.5 lb Muskie on ice. ;D

http://www.fishingfury.com/tags/nackawic