New Buffalo Record Set by Bow Fisherman

For the second time in less than three weeks, a North Dakota bow fisherman has set a new state record.

Derek Larson, Mandan, arrowed a new record buffalo on May 5 to follow up a new record common carp taken by Derek Barnick of Tappen on April 21.

Larson’s buffalo, pulled in from Heart Butte Reservoir on May 5, weighed a hefty 57 pounds 8 ounces and measured 45 inches. It broke the previous buffalo record of 54 pounds even, taken in the Heart River in 2011 by Keith Huschka of Dickinson.

Buffalo are a native fish sometimes confused with the nonnative and invasive common carp. State Game and Fish Department records indicate that Larson’s fish is the largest ever weighed in the state that was not a paddlefish or pallid sturgeon.