A Texas angler has been awarded a state catch-and-release angling record nearly three months after landing a massive smallmouth buffalo at an Austin reservoir.
Texas Parks and Wildlife announced the record Friday via social media, stating: “Look what’s still swimming in Lady Bird Lake. At 71 lb, this Smallmouth Buffalo is a new state record and was released to grow some more.”
Austin Anderson reeled in the enormous fish, a member of the sucker family, on June 10.
For comparison, the state rod-and-reel record for smallmouth buffalo (not released) stands at 82.22 pounds for a fish caught in 1993 at Athens Lake. That catch, by Randy Collins, is also the current world record for the species.
Smallmouth buffalo are native to the Mississippi River and its major tributaries and surrounding waters.
From Texas Parks and Wildlife: “The species is also found in Gulf slope drainages from Alabama to the Rio Grande River drainage. In Texas, smallmouth buffalo are found in most large streams, rivers, and reservoirs exclusive of the Panhandle.”
They’re similar in appearance to bigmouth buffalo, except for a lighter coloration and “distinctive sucker-type mouth.”
Smallmouth buffalo, which can live 100-plus years, are sometimes misidentified as common carp.