What kind of fish?

[City_Slicker]

Hello fellow fishermen. Well today I did alittle fishing on Birch lake caught a tiny sunny and thats it. But there was a big fish in the shallows. About 3feet. IT had blue fins and a eye on its tail fin. It also had a fin on its back that went half across its body starting from the tail. I tried catching it but it didnt bite on anything and ways does any one know what kind of fish this was. I thought maybe it was a Dog fish but I have never seen one.

Thanks

City Slicker

[Guest]

More accurately refered to as a bowfin, you indeed saw a dogfish. Most likely a male, as the tail spot becomes more pronounced during the breeding season. bowfin/dogfish are strong fighters, they are also toothy with a jawline that looks like a ripsaw. I never heard of anyone eating one, so I doubt there is little value there, If it was as big as you say, you may have been looking at a state record fish. Years ago in wisconsin, I managed to land a very large dogfish/bowfin and released it, after checking the records, I am sure it would have been a record as well.

[huskminn]

Those things put up an incredible fight! A very strong and very old (evolutionally speaking) fish.

[Guest]

State record Bowfin-10lbs 15oz

[City_Slicker]

Hey thanks guys. I kind of figure it was a dog fish. The think was HUGE!!!! I couldnt get it to bite on anything Worms,rapals,spoons and anything else you could thing of. The fins were real pretty on that thing. And no way I was going to eat that thing if I caught. I wasnt even sure what it was.

City Slicker

[Guest]

Wisconsin record, 13lbs 1oz. World record, 21-8 (in So. Carolina).

If taken 5 or 6 in Clearwater that were over 8lbs, and have no doubt a state record swims in Clearwater. They wake you up in a hurry when fishing walleyes with Lindy rigs.

[Guest]

The Bowfin is another one of them "Other kinda fish" that often get a bad rep, just because they are not considered top table fare.

Even though they may not be a likely fish to be seen on Martha Stewarts guest table, they are a very cool game fish in their own right. Tough fighters and actually very beautiful while dressed out in their spawning attire.

Given I is a guy who thinks catfish are "Purdy" the Bowfin deserve much more respect then they have historically been granted.

Maybe if Disney did a cartoon movie on them they would finally get the image they deserve?

I can see it now "Billy Bowfin" and his sumo chubby (proportionally and dietetically challenged) sidekick channel catfish buddy "Porky" fighting to get the respect they deserve from the cruel & taunting schools of walleye and muskie. A sure fire hit!

------------------
Backwater Eddy..><,sUMo,>

Backwater Guiding
"Ed on the RED"
(701)-281-2300

[email protected]

http://home.talkcity.com/ResortRd/backwtr1/index.html

[Guest]

LOL
Ya I think Disney IS working on that right now!
Eddy maybee you should be a screen writer too!
My wife hooked one on the river.She couldn't get it to shore so I went in after it.I had never seen one before and it was a very interesting looking fish but I have to say after looking at those teeth,I am never chasing one with my hands again!

[Guest]

That's a brave man that will go in after a dogfish!

[doubleUcubed]

Yup, they can spook some people for sure. I know I've told this before but a buddy was helping us clean the rough fish out of the trap at Rice Lake when he encountered his first "dogfish", it came to the surface in the net and let out the puff of air that sounds like a soft dog bark and the dude in his waders pretty much "walked on water" getting out of the trap!! Freaked him out for sure!! LOL Handled a lot of them between Rice Lake (Paynesville) and Diamond Lake (Atwater), kind of pretty but as others have mentioned a little different looking but strong fighting fish for sure!

[Guest]

I was stupid.Brave is when you know what you are dealing with!

[Guest]

eesh!!, dogfish, scary things when you've never seen or heard of them before. My first experience was fishing bass below Orwell dam and hooked into something big, I thought it was a northern. I saw it was a big dark fish, didn't have a clue what it was. When I got it close, it stuck its head out of the water, made that sound they're famous for, and smiled at me!!, don't think I've ever been as freaked out by a fish. Face full of nasty looking teeth. This one must have been somewhere around 10 lbs, big fish. I was more than happy when it shook off my crankbait, I really didn't want to deal with the thing. I later saw a couple of 'locals' pull a couple out, they took them home, one looked well over 10 lbs. Since I hadn't experienced them before, I tried to ask what they were, unfortunately they didn't speak much english. Thats the only one I've ever caught, now that I know a bit more about them, I'd like to catch another, maybe.

[Aqua Eye]

Hi guys and gals!
It never fails. We can be sitting in the middle of the cabbage patch working the sunfish into a "piranha" style feeding frenzy and then all at once,for no apparent reason, the bite is over.
If this ever happens to you, before you pull up the anchor take a good look around. I would say 75% of the time you can find one of those ornery natured dogfish cruising nearby. Bowfin seem to shut things down right now.
We find that the panfish start up again once the nasty intruder leaves, or in some situations - is removed. They are great fighters, especially in the weeds on ultralight gear!
Interesting topic-TROY

[This message has been edited by Aqua Eye (edited 06-26-2002).]

[RangerDog]

My wife and I were fishing for Bass on Lake Zumba. We where bobber fishing with sucker minnows. My wife had her line cut by something I thought it was a northern so I put a leader on for her. about 20 min later her bobber went down she set the hook and she had the fight of her life, about 30 minutes later I saw it surface and saw it was a bowfin and a huge one. I netted it and weighed it 13lbs+ We let it go she didn't want a picture with because of the way it looked. I didn't know until later that she had the state record. We fish Zumbra quite a bit and there are alot of big bowfin in that lake. Great fighting fish!!!!!!

[Guest]

ED-

just wondering if you catch many dogfish on the Red, I've never caught or seen one caught on the Red, although it seems they'd be in there.

BTW-anyone know what the ND bowfin record is?

[Guest]

Yup we do, mostly on the headwaters region and in the Southern tribs of the Red. We see a few on all the dams on the creel surveys we documented more in the South on average.

July is a good month to see them on the dams as they spawn. The Otter Tail River has a good suppy of them barking wonders. Orwell Dam is a place to get some big dogs too.

------------------
Backwater Eddy..><,sUMo,>

Backwater Guiding
"Ed on the RED"
(701)-281-2300

[email protected]

http://home.talkcity.com/ResortRd/backwtr1/index.html

[Big Bobber]

They will hit most anything if they are in an aggressive mood. 3 years ago we caught 3 in one week trolling crankers near rushes, last year we had a "double" throwing spinner baits, and this year I caught 2 using a jig and minnow, and one on a Carolina rig. Hang on if you hook one. It's really a rush until you see what it is.

[Guest]

Anyway to target them, or are you just gonna get one once in awhile throwing cranks for bass? A freind of mine wants to catch one just to see it, but I'm not sure how to go about actually trying to get one?

[Guest]

When I was working on Leech years ago, a couple from Minneapolis came screaming (well, sorta- those 15 hp rentals don't really scream much) up to the dock to show off the Muskie they had caught. Bowfin, 'bout eight pounds. Ugh.

[Guest]

North Dakota does not list a record for dogfish under any of its various aliases.

South Dakota lists a 12lb 3oz bowfin taken from Lake Sharpe in 1974.

So, my guess is you can get a bowfin record for North Dakota by following their guidelines for ID, certified weight, witnesses, etc., and making formal application. If Lake Sharpe in So. Dak. holds them, you can bet they are in Oahe and the Missouri all the way up to and including Sakakawea.