Bowfin (Amia calva)

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...

Spiny Dogfish (Squalus acanthias)

The Spiny Dogfish or Squalus acanthias is actually a shark, in fact its one of the most common sharks in the world. This fish has many different names including the Spurdog, Piked Dogfish, Skittledog, Spotted Dogfish, White-Spotted Dogfish, Codshark, and Thorndog.

The Spiny Dogfish has spines on its body that is uses for defense. Be careful if you are near one of this sharks as these spines are poisonous. They will curl up their backs to strike the would be predators. These sharks have flat grinding teeth in the front along with sharper teeth towards the back of their mouths.Spiny Dogfish are often found in schools, that sometimes can even number in the thousands! They are normally only about 3' long and weigh around 10lbs. The Spiny Dogfish can live to about 30 years in age maximum.

They look very similar to other Dogfish, but you can tell them apart by the row of white dots that run along its sides. They also have the sharp spine that we talked about early. These spines are found in the front of its dorsal fins. When they are first born the Spiny Dogfish has a sack that is attached to its body. Over time this will simply fall off. To check out a baby Spiny Dogfish in action watch the video below...



Spiny Dogfish are often used for food in several different places around the world. If you have any recipes, tips, or other facts about the Spiny Dogfish that you would like to share please leave them below in the comments.