Oklahoma angler lands massive buffalo fish, obliterates record

An Oklahoma angler has shattered the state record for a type of sucker known as a smallmouth buffalo.

Hugh Newman, of Broken Bow, used a large swimbait lure to entice a 66-pound, 3-ounce smallmouth buffalo from Broken Bow Lake.

Hugh Newman poses with record-breaking smallmouth buffalo. Photo: ODWC

The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation announced the feat Tuesday, stating on Facebook: “Not only is this an incredible feat in itself, but it outweighs the previous record by nearly 20 pounds – the largest margin of any Oklahoma state record-breaking fish in recent history!”

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The previous record was a 44-pound, 2-ounce smallmouth buffalo caught in Lake Konawa in 2007.

Newman landed his behemoth – ODWC did not mention the date of the catch – after a lengthy fight on 8-pound test line.

They’re similar in appearance to bigmouth buffalo, but their grayish or olive-colored bodies are lighter and more compressed (with an arching back), and their toothless mouths are noticeably smaller. Their bodies boast large scales and the fish are sometimes mistaken for carp.

Smallmouth buffalo are prized by some as table fare.

For the sake of comparison, the International Game Fish Assn. lists as the all-tackle world record an 82-pound, 3-ounce smallmouth buffalo caught in Athens Lake in Texas in 1993.

Smallmouth buffalo, also called razorback buffalo, roachbacks, and thicklipped buffalo, are found largely in the Lake Michigan drainage and in tributaries of the Mississippi River, south to the Gulf of Mexico.