Unusual fish

[DMC5]

I was at my Grandfather-in-law's cabin near Anandale this last weekend when a 18 inch or so Bowfin (Dogfish) came up to the dock and swam around a bit. We were fishing for sunnies at the time and three of us were dangling our worms in front of it to no avail. Anyone else see/catch any unusual fish like that?

Bowfin Pics

[Big Walleye 58]

Thanks for all of the info . Very interesting.

[Deitz Dittrich]

i catch quite a few of those thoughout the year.. they are one mean fish!!!!

[ewirz]

I would be too if I was that ugly

[Deitz Dittrich]

actually if you catch one in the spawn, I think they are probably one the most awesome colored fish out there... thier belly turns the most brillian bright blue you have ever seen.. very pretty.

[Ralph Wiggum]

We have bowfin aka dogfish around the dock a lot. A lot of times they'll hammer a spinnerbait, although a worm will generally do it. They will absolutely wreck anything they bite, though. They are tough SOBs.

[BobT]

I think they are a blast to catch. We catch them all the time in Osakis around 5lbs or better. Quite the scrappers.

I have never found any information about whether they are good eating. They appear like a scavenger in some ways but also like a predator in others (pretty aggressive teeth). I wonder if they prey primarily on shellfish such as clams. That would account for the heavy toothiness.

Bob

[lawdog]

So is a bowfin the same as a dogfish? I caught a big ol dogfish in the Mississippi when I was a kid. Grandpa hated em, cut their stomachs open with a knife and threw it back, just to get rid of it... Heck of a fighter though.

[Ralph Wiggum]

Yup, bowfin = dogfish

[DMC5]

There is more info at wikipedia, including a link to a colored one.. pretty cool

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowfin

http://primitivefish.com/bowfin3.JPG

Wish I coulda caught that sucker... Oh well. I'll make sure to toss out a spoon a few times from the dock next time I'm there...

[PierBridge]

Quote:

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actually if you catch one in the spawn, I think they are probably one the most awesome colored fish out there... thier belly turns the most brillian bright blue you have ever seen.. very pretty.

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Pretty fish.......NOT..........out of the river anyways..

I hate those things they look like a nice Walleye until they surfice.

Like Ralph said they destroy everything.

[frabillfisher]

Ya they usualy do get me thinking there a walleye then i get downright upset when i figure out wat it really is...there really easy to shoot bowfishing though cuz they dont get spooked very easily

[Muddog]

Take a look in the carp/real-gamefish, area for more info.

I think they are a very fun fish.

On day I saw two Bowfin that had around 20 Perch pinned to the shallows near a dam as they would swim back and forth waiting for one to make a break for it. Very fun.

[WildBill33]

Was out fishing on the Mississippi awhile back and caught one of these wasnt sure what it was now I do. The one I caught out of the river was discusting very green and ugly. Thanks for the info very interesting.

WildBill

[Wiskers]

They are a bit on the odd looking side. We get a few of them now and again on some of the lakes north of Bemidji. Pimousch lake and such. As a matter of fact I caught one a few years back on that lake and I believe it may have been a state record if I would have known better at the time. I caught it, took pics and weighed it and let it go, not knowing what it was at the time. Bummer. It weighed just under 10#. sigh sigh.. Oh well, I will just have to go back and try to find that fella again.

[Aquaman01]

I like catching them, and so do the kids. We have some pix of the kids with "dinosaur fish". The species is older than any other north american freshwater fish except the gar. The spawn coloration is pretty psychodelic!

Funny thing, though - part of this species' success is that their liver is poisonous to other fish, so the only natural predator a mature bowfin has is a bigger bowfin.

A guy who used to post put up a story about wading with a stringer of sunnies on his belt and a bowfin came up and started chowing on the sunnies!