On average, they weighed between 1 and 4 pounds. Their mouths pulsated on their underbellies.
Whisker-like appendages - called barbels, which are sensory features that supplement the fish’s tiny, beady eyes - poked out from underneath their oblong shovel-shaped snouts. The creatures were prehistoric: Several fins protruded from their small body covered in tones of tan and olive. “I’ve seen 10 a minute … I’ve seen six or eight (fish) in a net at a time.” “This is not even a good day,” said Chris Mack, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources fisheries management biologist who expertly maneuvered the boat that day.
