[11][6][4][10][3][2][5][7] The coloration of smallmouth buffalo ranges from shades of gray to brown and coppery green dorsally and pale yellow to white ventrally.

[9] The smallmouth buffalo is a hardy fish that frequents clear, moderate to fast-moving streams, but has been occasionally known in some lakes and ponds.

The smallmouth buffalo's diet is primarily that of a detritivore, using its ventral sucker mouth to pick up vegetation and other organic matter from the bottom of its habitat, often scraping algae off of rocks.

The lifespan of a smallmouth buffalo was historically not well known because of limited study on their otoliths and a reliance instead on other structures (e.g. scales, fin rays, gill plates) that are inadequate for age analysis.

[3] Although historically and derogatorily considered by many to be a rough fish, smallmouth buffalo are native to North American ecosystems, are the most common commercially sold freshwater fish in the United States, are sought after by traditional anglers on rod-and-line,[13][2] and they have rapidly become sportfish as modernized night bowfishing has become increasingly popular since 2010 - a sport that targets this species among others.

[11][6][4] Management of this species is in urgent need of reassessment as essentially no agency is tracking the ecological impact of modernized bowfishing, and there are virtually no limits on harvest.

[2] An 82 lb 3 oz (37.3 kg) fish taken from Athens Lake, Texas on May 6, 1993 by angler Randy Collins stands as the International Game Fish Association (IGFA) all-tackle world record for the species, while a 63 cm (2.07 ft) specimen caught on May 16, 2022 in Livingston Lake, Texas by James Schmid is the current IGFA all-tackle length record.