Bowfin American Snakeheads

[HandGunner]

Thaught Id ask here. Were and what lakes can I find Bowfins and target them in the metro I live in Anoka County would love to try at it with some bows. Any specific lure and locations like lilly pads, shallow water? Do I fish them like bass? What are the lakes with the best bowfin fishing? Thanks in advance

[merkman]

Awesome fish to catch and release IMHO.

I fish them in or on the edge of the weeds much like northern pike.

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[ThunderLund78]

They wont pass by a struggling sucker. If you can find some clear, shallow weeds, just take a few minutes and look for them. they usually come cruising through slow-and-silent in patrol-mode. Put a sucker under a float in their area and they'll smack it.

[pushbutton]

Awesome fish to catch and release IMHO.

^^^^^^ this ^^^^^^

Unless a lake is overrun with them see no reason to take them out of the system. Well, unless your going to eat them. The best lakes I fish with the healthiest populations of a wide variety of fish are ones that have fishable populations of bowfin in them. For whatever reason, they seem to be an integral part of a healthy lakes eco system. As mentioned above, shallow weeds with a bigger live bait(6/7 inch light pike sucker) under a bobber is probably the best way to fish them. Also know a few really shallow areas like inlets / backwater, where you can sight fish them with artificials. They might be spawning areas, because you darn near have to drop the lure on their head for them to bite and the males are often full of color. Regardless, and while I do not spend a lot of time doing so, one of my favorite species to fish for.

[EBass]

Yup you can sight fish them like bass. They will also eat a hunk of hotdog. Why was I using hotdog? Well I was 12 at the time.

[JBMasterAngler]

Chisago Lake has a pretty good population of bowfin. They used to annihilate my ultra light gear while I was crappie fishing. My favorite place is the vermillion river out of Hastings though. There are some absolute monsters swimming around down there!

[HandGunner]

yea I see on youtube ppl fish them just like bass. I have only snagged one and step bro caught one on a senko in chisago when I lived their. Agressive fish seems like fun I did almost land one thinking it was a huge bass or pike tossed a soft plastic at its face set the hook, 3 seconds of violent splashing and the point of my hook was bent and no fish. I have noticed the chisago lakes do seem healthier in fishing and knowing their was quite a few bowfins in their. These ponds in blaine had them too though never caught them but as soon as I never saw them basking by shore the bass fishing also died a little.

[Twins Guy]

I've only caught them by accident but I have a friend who only fishes once/year and that is for his family's bowfin tournament I never knew they existed in concentrated enough numbers to target them. I do believe they take sucker minnow under a bobber approach. the ones I have caught put up a good fight. prehistoric looking critters.

[RK]

Doggos are a riot. Among some of my angling buddies, a big bass is cool and all, but as big dogfish gets you serious bragging rights. Awesome fight, and they can get pretty good sized.

I usually stumble across them while bass fishing, and you can sight fish them pretty effectively if the water's clear enough to see them before you get right on top of them. I look for them in shallow bays and rush beds, etc.

I've caught them on about everything under the sun, usually by accident bass fishing. They can destroy a spinnerbait in a hurry. I usually toss either a jig and pig or a lightly-weighted texas-rigged creature like a Beaver or a craw imitation at them, often because it's what I happen to have in my hand when I spot one while pitching for bass up in the rushes, but it's what i use when I go looking for them too. They eat a lot of crayfish (they actually have bony plates in the back of their throat they use to crush crayfish) and you can usually park a bait in front of them and tease them into biting.

Dogfish are pretty underrated, and when they are spawning, they're actually a really pretty fish - bright green sides and tails. Plus they're kind of an amazing critter just from a biology standpoint. They're a real survivor. Always kind of pains me when I see the bowfishermen shooting a lot of them. But I guess they need their fun too.

[NoWiser]

Dogfish are fun!!

Growing up at the family cabin us kids were taught to kill every one we caught. Once I realized how fun they were I started releasing them. I was bowfishing with a guy last spring and he likes to pile them up. I passed on the ones I saw. There were plenty of carp to shoot and I didn't feel right killing a native fish like that.

We caught the most with a sucker minnow off of the dock, although I caught them fairly often bass fishing as well. It was always fun when you were snorkeling around in two or three feet of water and all of a sudden found yourself on top of a 7 pound dogfish. A kid can swim backwards really fast if he needs to!

[leechlake]

we catch a few in shallow in the Spring but last Fall while crappie fishing a buddy of mine caught one. One guy netted it and they asked me what it was, I told them and one asked me how big it was. I looked at it and said, "I'd say it's all of 12 pounds?" While that was a guess I made based on its length and I kind of compared it to a walleye type fish, that night one of them looked up the state record bowfin and if the thing was 12 pounds it was the state record. We laughed our butts off wondering if with threw back a state record fish? I'd take any state record fish on my resume and I know what lake the fish is in and it's a very small lake. May have to go after it this year.

[thatoneguy]

Like others have said, doggos are just a blast to catch! Every summer there are a few times when I set the hook into what I'm sure is a 7-lb bass and it turns out to be a big dogfish. Ferocious fighters, and keep your fingers clear of their teeth!

There are a few particular bulrush beds on Leech that are consistently full of dogfish, and a jig with a craw trailer almost guarantees some good action. Fun fish!

[solbes]

Caught and released a 29 incher on the Opener with a white X-rap a few years back. Dang near broke my Avid Medium rod as it dove under the boat. Of all the fish I've actually boated, this one put up the best fight. I was shaking a bit just from the adrenaline rush. Of course I thought I had a monster pike until it showed up near the boat. Not sure I'd call it pretty, but wish I would have had a camera with me for the memory.

Agree with Leech above, the State Record bowfish is very gettable. Just wish they had a way of verifying a live fish so it could be released.

[Mike_Bennewitz]

I grew up on Sugar Lake in Wright County. There are TONS of Doggies in there! They are often hidden fairly well as there is a major milfoil problem going on there, but it makes great habitat for them. There is a spot the size of a football field that is 2-4 feet deep, muddy/silt bottom, with cattails and lily pads mixed in. We discovered that spot looking for bass and spawning crappies one year, but I caught 10 or 12 Doggies pushing 8 to 10 pounds. I have seen one or two that I could have SWORN were smaller Muskies laying around sunning themselves, so a State Record is possible there too.

Here is where I feel like crying...Last July on Sand Lake near Deer River MN I was fishing pike with a 6" paddle tail bait in pearl white with a black back. I thought the largest pike for the trip had inhaled it while I set it off the edge of the boat to find my pliers for a friend who had a fish. Turned out to be a gigantic Doggie! The bittersweet part is our digital Rapala scale got it at just over 13 pounds. That same scale read 16 pounds on a pike later on and that same pike was dead on 16 at the two scales back at the lodge. At least someone else will have a shot now as she swam off great!

[HandGunner]

My idea video yourself weighing the fish and later then video yourself using the same scale with a few weights and verifying it at the post office or some place with a cert. scale

yea bowfins always got to me watching the river monsters episode on snake heads in florida Im like, hey we have real american versions of those! To me they are really the most ferocious native fish in america, a bowfin can tear up a spinnerbait why cant a pike? because they are mean SOB's! very mean and overlooked as a trophy/sport fish

[FshBloodRiverMud]

I love bowfin, don't catch many, actually have only caught 1, 27" though.

Too bad there are a lot of people who kill them upon catching them.

[HandGunner]

Kill for what? Do people think they are real snakeheads or what? Native means they belong here not invasive like the asian carp jeesh

[river rat316]

They tear up lures in a hurry, was fishing a brand new Spro popper frog one day and the second cast I took with it a dogger hit it and chewed it up so bad my ten dollar frog was a worthless ple of sinking plastic after that. I have caught some big doggers in the river, they are a blast!

[Slab_Supper]

Try the Cannon River in Morristown

[fishuhalik]

Kill for what? Do people think they are real snakeheads or what? Native means they belong here not invasive like the asian carp jeesh

For a long time, people were told it's illegal to release rough fish, native or invasive. That law was rescinded more years ago than most of the people on this forum have been alive, but that dumb mindset is still there

[HandGunner]

I have never caught a asian carp before would like to. Anything invasive I would kill off anything native I leave alone, always wanted to go on a boat on the sippi and have all the asian carp jump and fly in the air stuff while Im holding a sword going ape $h!t

[Aaron Carrell]

Dogfish, pound for pound, are absolutely the best fighting fish I've ever caught for sure.

I'll throw in there that if you want to target them, Shields lake in Rice Co. is absolutely full of them. During my bass league last year we boated 7 I think? Biggest was right at 30" no less and a beast. Find the shallow bays or cast right up to the reeds on that lake and you'll find em. Oh, most of these were caught with swimbaits or chatterbaits btw.

Some of the neatest looking fish I've ever caught for sure if you get them at the right time of year!

[Comit 2]

They will spawn soon. Most years at the end of May, early June. This year you will have to adjust for the cold spring. Bowfin spawn along weed liness.

Bowfin will push bait fish up small streams so look for small dams that will cause them to bunch up. Bowfin gulp air off the surface and this is a dead give away that they are in the area.

Do not over harvest!

[theiceman]

Growing up on Upper Hay Lake in Crow Wing County I got many of them growing up. When I was 15 I can't one that went 17 three and didn't think nothing of it we just did what we always did with them and buried on by my grandfather's garden. For a while I thought I had the walleye a lifetime on the brown shine down in the water I almost cried seeing it was a dogfish. It wasn't until couple years later they saw the state record was only 10lbs 15ozs but I wasn't sure if I want to be known for catching the state record dogfish. I release all of them now I figure a big healthy dogfish eats enough little panfish just has a big pike does.

[Comit 2]

Quote:

Dogfish are pretty underrated, and when they are spawning, they're actually a really pretty fish - bright green sides and tails.

Male in spawning colors.

a nice female.