The Bowfin or Amia calva are caught quite often, but are not considered to be one of the finest fish to eat. This species of fish is the only remained kind of Bowfin fish alive today but they are known by many names including Dogfish, Tchoupique, Mudfish, Grindle, Grinnel, Swamp Muskie, Cottonfish and Lawyer. They are often caught in the north east part of North America including Tennessee normally in shallow slow moving waters and rivers. In fact, these freshwater fish can go to the surface and breath when water conditions become poor.
Bowfins can reach lengths of almost 4' and will sometimes weigh over 20lbs so they are fun to catch and are edible. If you want to catch Bowfin you should consider the fact that they are known to munch on crawfish, frogs, insects and small fish and are often very hungry! Much like the Bluegill these fish will protect their eggs and small fry. Once hooked Bowfins are excellent fighters and never give up. Watch out they like to bite! You can see a Bowfin in action below toward the end of this video...If you have any tips about catching Bowfin please leave them in the comments below...
ive caught them in scovals pond in wolcott ct and ive used crayfish and or nightcrawlers on a splitshot fished on the bottom,, they are an awesome catch and do have big teeth like a pickeral,, cool fish and a real neat tail,,fun fish,, i call them green monsters,, cause they fight like a monster and are pretty scarey up close..lol,, good stuff,,
ReplyDeleteThis fish fights like no tommorow, and seems to be attracted to shiny things that twirl. I caught one the other day that had to be at least 18 lbs, and learned that fishing line can be much stronger than what the box says! They also seem to have a bad attitude and aren't afraid to use their set of razor sharp choppers. Even though most fisherman hate to catch this fish, I dont care if I make myself look stupid this is my new favorite fish to catch!
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