I stopped and talked to the netters today as they were filling a semi full of live fish for a ride to Brooklyn NY. These were Buffalo destined to a Chinese fish processing plant to be butchered and served in resturaunts. The carp also go to NY, but are shipped on a different truck and are in fact sold to resturaunts and fish processing plants to make fish products.
These Buffalo were absolutely HUGE!!!
Cool pictures, thanks!
Chris
How much longer does the netting go on?
It would absolutely blow you away if you knew the value of those buffalos. Its possible they handled the buffalos better than the walleyes.
Carp and sheepheads are by products of the netting operation and considerably less valuable than the buffs.
i watched a crew do that on a lake this winter, it thought it was pretty cool how they were netting through the ice. i kinda wanted to go grab a regular rod and make use of the huge hole they had cut.
Commercial fishing gets a bad rap but here on the Mississippi it may help the game fish and is a great source of protein . If you buy into the theory of bio-mass or caring capacity, by removing the rough fish there should be more room for game fish. The Mississippi is very fertile and can support a lot of life so it would be hard to prove but I do support commercial fishing for rough fish. 
John
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Chris
How much longer does the netting go on?
Not sure…but their corral nets were gone as of yesterday.
You are correct that there is a theoretical carrying capacity to any body of water. But, it is not correct that removing rough fish provides more “room” for game fish. YOY buffalo provide important forage for YOY walleye. They are a native fish that has co-evolved with walleye, so they have little diet overlap.
If the theory of “carrying capacity” works in the way you suggest then walleye fishing could be improved greatly by removing yellow perch from lakes. Of course we all realize that is ridiculous – what would walleyes eat with out perch? In reality, buffalo are less predatory than perch and so should have LESS diet overlap with walleyes. Theoretically, you could increase walleye biomass by removing perch and stocking buffalo.
If all of this is true – why do rough fish get a bad rap? In my mind – sucker lips. If you look at what people call a “rough” fish and what they call “pan fish” the difference is in the lips! There isn’t a single “sucker” that people really respect. People blame everything on them – eating walleye eggs, muddy water – and none of it is true. All NATIVE fish are an important part of the ecosystem.
That being said, commercial fishing on the river is sustainable and managed by the DNR. They aren’t doing any harm and are putting the fish to good use – not leaving them on the bank to rot. Interestingly, buffalo are the most valuable fish that they target. They are supposed to make excellent table fare – and if I ever catch one from clean water it is going in the frying pan.
I’ve bow fished Buffalo on the Mississippi in the Grand Rapids area, very clean water. The meat is a white meat. I’ve never had it myself but I’ve heard it is super boney. Hence it being less than desirable.
I find it very interesting to learn this about “rough fish”.
Welcome Tyler. You and Outdoors will probably be besties after your first post. 
Ruger,
I actually like to catch them on hook and line. As you know, they put up a good fight.
If you didn’t eat them, what did you do with your buffalo?
The FW and I caught a few on the St Croix. It was the highlight of our day when we did. Eight to ten pounds of pure bulldog on the end of the line! 
A quick picture and a few moments trying to get the FW to kiss it…and off it would go.
I would support netting if they would have to put the flat heads back and take some of them walleyes out. But I hear they aren’t worth much. 
This post struck home this last weekend, when I boated a 34inch buffalo while fishing for walleyes. You shouldve seen and heard my buddy when I told him to go up and get my fish out of the livewell,
Anyway, I had decided that I was gonna fillet this dude out and feed it to my racing buddies after the races one night.
Anyway, after spending about 20 minutes on one side, I put the balance in the trash can. Did somebody say bony? Wow, these critters will make a northern look like an jellyfish. Lots of red meat to sort thru also.
There is a fish processing place in my hometown that ships live buffs to NY City several times a week. I talked with the head of production and asked him how they process Buffs when they dont ship them live. He told me that they take the head off, gut them, and then send them thru a “press” that presses the meat off the skin and separates the bones. What they end up with is a “mash” of sorts, that fish products are made out of . I told him what I did, and he said. heck, all you had to do was tell me you wanted some and I’d save a bag. I’m still thinking about all the red meat and how that gets sorted out of this “mash” . Maybe the red meat isnt a factor with Buffs.
I guess Ill find out soon enough.
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Ruger,
I actually like to catch them on hook and line. As you know, they put up a good fight.
If you didn’t eat them, what did you do with your buffalo?
I love catching them! They fight like devils and will hit ringworms in the spring so we run into them on the Mississippi River while fishing for walleyes. If I’m lucky enough to come out on top at the end of the fight they all get released. I’ve never considered eating one.
That photo always puts a smile on my face!
It looks like one of those fish pillows! 
Thats a monster James!
I was alone when I caught mine. Theres no way youre gonna hold that fish up and take a picture all by yourself. This is as good as it gets for now, and yes, they will give you all the fight you want, even in 35 degree water.
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Ruger,
I actually like to catch them on hook and line. As you know, they put up a good fight.
If you didn’t eat them, what did you do with your buffalo?
Fertilizer in the garden.
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