bowfins and bass

[HandGunner]

seeing how a guy on youtube who post bass vids started posting more vids of himself bowfin fishing than bass fishing, it seems bowfins are verymuch like bass in his vids he catches bowfins with spinner baits and topwater baits as well as swimbaits and cranks. I noticed a body of water i fish does has some bowfins long snakey bodies in the water would lead me to that conclusion but i never seem to be able to ever catch them. any thaughts and tips? would like to feel a fight from a bowfin they seem mean and vicious like snakeheads. i do believe i did snag one once too as i was bass fishing saw 2 of em by shore and tossed the T-rig in front of their face looked like he took it but i guess not set the hook he pulled and i ended up with a bent hook

[davidbigreelz]

ild love to get into some bowfin too, i for one think they are quite a pretty fish(if you like em ugly lol) but i think they are very much a cold water fish too. As in during the warm water months they go deep. So the time of year when they are mostly shallow is when you might be hardpressed to convince a CO you are bowfin fishing casting those lures. But If they are in the livewell and there aren't any not-in-season fish...

I just know the only 2 i have personally seen caught came from an old "not so much anymore" fishing buddy who was very much illegally casting spinners for pike and bass into the shallows right after ice out.

My parents got a place a few miles from Ron's and at a few different community events ive heard him say that put side by side most people will never know between a walleye and bowfin fillet.

[thatoneguy]

i catch bowfin pretty regularly in the summer in less than 5 fow. definitely not only a cold water fish!

[davidbigreelz]

can you tell me where? please lol, you can pm me?!? lol just kidding i wont make you give up your spots. i really would love to catch some though, i have never caught a bowfin, they don't have em where i grew up. I just always read/been told they go deep in the summer.

[mainbutter]

Mention bowfin around a stereotypical Minnesotan, and you'll hear him complain about them being ugly and full of teeth.

Then he'll go off to fish for walleyes.

I'm still looking for my first bowfin. I haven't had any luck, and have a feeling if I was more serious about it, I wouldn't look anywhere north of lakeville, they seem more populous southward.

Then again, I saw a corpse of a big one tossed on shore that would have easily broken 10lbs on the shore of Mille Lacs a few summers ago. Sigh.

Personally I think bowfin are a beautiful fish, and you won't find anyone who has tangled with one that says they are weak and not sport-worthy. I wish I could have one in an aquarium so I could watch it every day.

[Craigums]

but i think they are very much a cold water fish too. As in during the warm water months they go deep.

I don't know alot about bowfin, but I know this is not correct.

[davidbigreelz]

this is a map of the NC bowfin catches and locations, maybe thats why i always thought it was a coldwater fish.? Just didn't see or hear bout em too much down there.

[RK]

Hiya -

I never, EVER pass up a shot at a doggo. (Bowfin = dogfish = doggo). When I fish with some of my buddies, you get way more cred for a big doggo than a big bass. I usually catch 8 or 10 throughout the summer, sometimes more depending on where I'm fishing.

Dogfish are really remarkable critters. The family the belong to has been around since the Jurassic period, and the dogfish is the only surviving member - they're a prehistoric monster in some ways. They thrive in shallow, warm water, and can actually gulp air to breathe in water with low oxygen. They get the name dogfish because when they gulp air it sounds a little like a dog barking. When I was a kid there was a federal trapper who lived by me, and when the guys that commercially netted rough fish from some of the local lakes came around during the winter, he'd go get any dogfish they netted from them to cut up for bait for his traps. He'd put the doggos in a barrel with no water at all, and they'd stay alive in there for weeks in his garage. It was kind of creepy.

They're also pure predators, although some people seem to think they're bottom feeders just based on their appearance. They eat fish and especially crayfish. They have incredibly powerful jaws (they'll mangle a spinnerbait in seconds and crunch crankbaits) and have a bony plate in the back of their throat for crushing crayfish shells. Never, EVER stick your finger in their mouth. They also have pretty sharp gill plates.

I catch doggos up in the rushes and cane fishing bass. If you can see them before you spook them and get a bait in front of them they'll usually hit it. On calm days early in the summer you can cruise sandgrass flats and the edges of rush beds and sight fish for them. Later in the summer you can find them in weedy slop bays. They're awesome fighters, although like I said, if you catch one on a lure other than a jig or Texas rig you can pretty much kiss it goodbye. Last summer, I had a dogfish wake a buzzbait all the way to the boat before it hit. Was sure it was a little muskie until it got close enough to see it. Never had one do that before, and it was pretty cool.

They're also, believe it or not, really pretty fish, especially when they have their spawning colors - they can have a bright green, almost chartreuse stripe down their sides.

There are dogfish in most of the lakes in Minnesota, and some - Leech being a prime example - have some giants. They're really a cool, under-respected critter.

Cheers,

RK

[mabr]

Like RK said, usually catch a few each year fishing for Bass. For me its always been in slop in the heat of summer. Cool fish but real hard on lures if you get it back at all.

[mainbutter]

this is a map of the NC bowfin catches and locations, maybe thats why i always thought it was a coldwater fish.? Just didn't see or hear bout em too much down there.

But then again, they also thrive in some places in Florida.

[Slob_Samurai]

Seen plenty of doggies in the shallows, whip a spinner or crankbait at them and the fight is on. Beware of the gator rolls next to the boat, seen a few snap spinnerbaits. Doggies are ferocious, and will destroy lures but a blast to catch and target before opener.

[davidbigreelz]

yea im just saying i never really heard of em being caught where i was so i didn't really know much about em, just what i had heard from others(thought i clarified that a few times...), but if you look on the map, or more specifically know the places on the map, you can see they are all backwater tributaries, and mudholes lol so i guess that makes sense.

[slopmaster]

I catch probably 5-6 a year usually around pencil reed beds or in the slop as many have stated. I go on vacation every year with my fiance's family on a Alexandria area lake and we actually have a money jar that you have to put a dollar in for each dogfish/bowfin caught. Than at the end of the week whoever has the most gets the pot. In one weeks time i've seen 15 dollars in there, but usually its around 5-8. I've personally caught them on jigs, flukes, spinnerbaits, cranks, t-rigs, and even a frog. Their fun to catch and like RK stated if you see one pitch a t-rig or jig by them, its a lot less expensive that way.

[Bushwacker]

I have caught more dogfish in the past few years than I can count. 90% of them were mid-July to August in 3 feet of water or less. They will absolutely destroy a hollowbody frog or buzzbait. They will usually wake the bait for a few yards before the strike which makes them all the more fun. They are also fun to sight fish with a white tube. They are a very fun fish to catch, except during a tournament when you think you have the state record bass hooked on a Spro frog....... watch out for their teeth, they are very sharp.

[pikestabber]

Yeah, definitely a shallow water fish. They cruise the same areas as bass do...along the edges of rushes and reeds looking for panfish and perch. We catch them frequently in June/July in 8' of water or less while targeting panfish. Good fight is an understatement!

[Meat-Run]

RK beat me to it but Leech has ton of dogfish in it and there BIG too. I know of one particular bay they spawn in and take residents and would be nothing to catch 10-15 in a day. If you truly want to catch a dogfish tie on a pig'n jig with some Uncle Josh pork rine, they can't resist the smell and taste of pork, hands down the best bait for "doggos"

mr

[Wayne Ek]

This one came during a bass tournament, on a drop-shot in 20-feet of water. We had already stuck a couple of good bass and I was sure this was the big one... still a ton of fun.

[Comit 2]

OK I'll bite!

Bowfin are a lot like Tarpin! They use there air bladder as a lung. So you can often see them gulp air off the surface of the water. With the ability to to get oxygen from the surface they have a huge advantage in water 80 degrees or better (low oxygen). They will push bait fish into shallow water and pin them to the shore line. This makes small dams prime spots for Bowfin.

Bowfin have small eyes so bright colors, a lot of flash and vibration will get there attention. In early June they spawn in the weeds in shallow water (Bass spots). Male Bowfin will (the one's with the spot near the tail) take on a green coloration.

Someone said earlier that some people don't like Bowfin. take a look at this post from the Carp/ real fish forum. http://www.hotspotoutdoors.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/2810255/Cannon_River_Bowfin#Post2810255m

[Deitz Dittrich]

hate to say it, beautiful fish.. love them. hate when they mess up my gear, but, those are one badd arse fish!

[Craigums]

Amazing colors on that doggy Comit2...I take it thats a spawning male?

[Comit 2]

Quote:

Amazing colors on that doggy Comit2...I take it thats a spawning male?

Yes. I caught it a few years back when I was Muddog.

The Bowfin that Wayne Ek posted is a female. There is no spot near the tail.

Do not count on a jaw spreader to keep there mouths open for hook removal. Maybe a block of wood.

[JP Z]

Love me them Bowsers!!! Boy they are fun, and just well..... fun! But oh boy do they seem to "hate" spinnerbaits, as in destroy them beyond recognition.

[MN BassFisher]

Dogifsh are a blast, they put up one heck of a fight. They can really mess up your tackle, they will bend spinners, chew up frogs, and straighten hooks. From experience, I won't be reaching for the net anymore when I hook into one - when you get 'em in the boat they tend to alligator roll and if you have exposed hooks they wrap up your net pretty dam good! Someone else noted already - they will easily close jaw spreaders too. Up near my cabin is the only place I seem to hook into them, but I tend to catch atleast 1-2 a summer.

[Hoffer]

You can catch all the Bowfin you want in the back NW bays on Indy. We have caught what i think may be close to state record Bowfins back there. This is in the middle of the Summer - when the weeds are so think the only thing you can work way in the back is a topwater. They will hit that. When we catch them we are bass fishing. You can almost always site fish them back there. If the bass fishing is slow - we sometimes will spot a Bowfin and then just toss the topwater right to the area. Sometimes it takes a few attempts - as they are not as adept at inhaling a topwater as a largemouth is. But hold on when you get one on...pound for pound they are quite a battle.