The Great White Buffalo Hunter

[HaleDamage]

Ron and I went out fishing this morning at Clinton.
The fishing was great but the bite was slow.
We caught fish but most were short.
But Ron managed to get this Great white buffalo fish.
It took Ron about 20min. to finally get it close enough so I could net it.
When I netted it - I thought the net was going to break.
This net was not made for this heavy / sized fish.
Tried to get Ron to grab it out of the net..
No way. - The last time he tried that he about fell in when the fish smacked him in the head.


A super fun day cheers2

Rick

[Ozark88]

I remember the last time very well! Ron you are the Great White Buffalo hunter!!

[Crappie Chatt]

Dats a biggun fer sure!! <*)}}}><

[center12]

Clean them rascals right an you got the best wing meat ever

[Captain Dan]

That may have been close to the state record of 51 pounds. Did you weigh it? Bass pro or Cabela's may have paid for that fish for their tanks. did Ron throw it back in?

[Charlie365]

Well, he's definitely improving ! The Glen Elder buffalo didn't make it into the boat if I recall. This one got landed. Sounds like Ron needs to buy a scale for sure. I'm sure that one would qualify for a State of Kansas Master Angler Award !!

[Blackdog40]

That is a big fish.

[Craig Johnson]

Clean them rascals right an you got the best wing meat ever

Center12's post reminded me of the various roughfish recipes some KDWPT fish bios had put together. I've eaten them all and they ARE good! The recipes were put together by Leonard Jirak (retired KDWPT Fisheries Biologist) and Daric Schneidewind (current Milford Fish Hatchery Manager) probably in the early 1990's. Leonard helped me with a roughfish cleaning/cooking demonstration during the late '90's at the Springhill Fall Festival. Folks were very reluctant to try what we were frying up, but once they did we couldn't cook the fish fast enough! We also did a roughfish cooking demo at the Emporia Fishing Information Night (FIN) during 2009 and it too was very well received. We even had people that wanted to take the uncooked fish home with them so they could cook it themselves.

Those big buffalo have some really white meat on them. The ribletts are very good.

If your ego will let ya', throw one of those big buffs in the livewell sometime and give it a shot. Keep it iced down and treat it like you would a mess of crappie or walleye and I bet you'll be surprised on how good these fish can taste if properly prepared.

I've provided Leonard's and Daric's recipes below the pics of the roughfish cooking demonstration at the 2009 Emporia Fishing Information Night.

---

Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks

FRESHWATER SALMON
(CARP, BUFFALO, AND ROUGH FISH)

When most people catch a rough fish they automatically return the fish to the water without even considering it as a food dish. The misconceptions that society has placed on rough fish are mostly false. The rough fish species do tend to have a larger number of small bones in the fillets, but this does not mean the meat is not edible. There are a few ways to prepare the rough fish as a food dish that will change the common misconceptions most people have about rough fish.

Cleaning Preparations:

1. Fillet the side of the fish including the removal of the skin and scales.
2. Cut the rib section out and lay aside.

Cooking Preparations:

Patties:

1. Grind the fillet (without the rib section).
2. Add to approximately 2lbs. of ground fish:
-----a. One large egg
-----b. Two packs of crackers smashed (approximately 3/8-1/2 pound)
-----c. 1-2 cups of chopped onions
-----d. Any favorite seasoning
3. Make into patties approximately 2" thick.
4. Coat both sides with cornflake crumbs.
5. Cook in skillet with 1/4" oil at 375 degrees until golden brown then flip.

Ribletts:

1. Cut dark red strip out of back of rib section.
2. Cut rib section into 2-4 ribs per piece depending on size of fish.
3. Coat pieces in fish batter or coating and any favorite seasoning.
4. Deep fat fry until golden brown.
5. Remove let cool, eat like chicken, and enjoy.

Butterfly fillets:

1. Fleece (shave scales off leaving inner layer of skin so that pieces stay together during cooking)
2. Instead of making patties with the fillets take the ribless section and make many slices from top to bottom (not cutting all the way through within 1/16") slices should be within 1/8" of an inch from each other.
3. Take butterfly filleted fish and cut into desired sizes and deep fat fry same as ribletts.

*The ingredients and style of cooking can be adjusted to suit personal preferences.

Top Ten Reasons for Rough Fish Angling

1. Taste better when prepared correctly
2. Easy angling
3. Found in most rivers and lakes
4. Many larger fish available
5. Don’t have to fight for a good place to catch them
6. Doesn’t require a $30,000 boat
7. Fight more aggressively
8. Takes fewer to make a meal
9. Can be taken by more legal means than sportfish
10. No length or creel limits

*Prepared by Leonard Jirak and Daric Schneidewind for the interest of informing the public at demonstration

[Ronald Meeder]

I remember my dad fishing for buffalo on the river using cotton seed blocks. We ate them and they were good, they were steaked and fried in lard. Makes my mouth water thinking about it. The next buffalo might not be so lucky and not be released. They do put up a battle I should of not of landed that fish as I was using a light weight gold crappie hook. Thanks Haledamage for posting the picture.

[crappieslinger]

I was out at Pomona about a month ago and ended up catching a 29 pound Carp. We were trolling and I actually thought I got hung up so I handed the rod to my wife while I turned around and went back for my lure. The wife kept telling me that it was not hung up and eventually that 29 lber came to the surface! It was an awesome fish but we turned it loose to fight another day.