Today's Bowfin Fishing Report

Fishing for Bowfin

The most distinctive characteristic of the bowfin is its very long dorsal fin consisting of 45 to 50 rays, and running from mid-back to the base of the tail. The caudal fin is a single lobe. They can grow up to 1 meter in length, and weigh 7 kg. Other noticeable features are the black "eye spot" usually found high on the caudal peduncle, and the presence of a gular plate. The gular plate is a bony plate located on the exterior of the lower jaw, between the two sides of the lower jaw bone.

Bowfin are not considered a good food fish compared to more popular freshwater gamefish species. They are generally considered "trash" fish by sportsmen, and are scorned for their voracious appetite for more desirable species. They will occasionally strike - and sometimes ruin with their powerful jaws - artificial lures, but they generally strike on live or cut fishes. They also naturally consume copious numbers of live crayfishes in many rivers. When hooked, Bowfin battle powerfully, offering a tremendous fight to the angler. Bowfin should be handled carefully. They are an ill-tempered, pugnacious fish, and consider themselves a match for anything - including a human being. Once in the boat, they will make every attempt they can at biting the fisherman - and they have a mouthful of very sharp teeth.

Bowfin are indiscriminant and voracious predators, known to eat a variety of prey from insects and crawfish to fish and frogs. Compared to many other species of their size, they have a tremendous appetite.

The Bowfin goes by other names such as dogfish, mudfish, grindle, grinnel, lawyer, tchoupique, choupique.

Species: Amia calva

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