Hey Bagman,
Tersh and I had another productive trip to Okefenokee this month in spite of the fires. We were there the week before they moved into the Swamp and the Cypress Trout were biting big time. With the ultra low water levels right now, all the Bows are congregated in the canals and it’s really a lot of fun. No records this trip but lots of big guys. Caught quite a few on clouser flies but Mepps on spinners are still king.
Jim S, 05/07/07
BAGman,
My name is Beth E and my husband is Richard E. We are both from South Georgia,and would love to join your group! We had our first experience with Bowfin in the Okefenokee a while back, and we are hooked (no pun intended!). We caught several of them and released the ones that we could, but three we kept because they beat the heck out of themselves in the boat. We took them home, determined to eat them so that they would not go to waste. We actually didn't know what we had until we got home and found your website, though we suspected they might be bowfin. I have never caught anything that fought like that!
We actually had bowfin for dinner tonight, fried crispy, and it was DELISH! What an under-rated fish!
Here are pictures from our trip to the Okefenokee :-) We actually caught about 10-11 of the rascals ranging in size from about a foot (which we released), all the way up to the three big jokers that we kept. We caught all of them using just standard spoons with no frills, and 30 pound test on a regular rod/reel. My husband wants to go back and try to catch some with a fly rod! Should be a blast!
Thanks again!!!
BethE, 04/16/07
Well we're really tickled to have found your site! We are sort of
amateurs at fishing, having just started this past year, but we are addicted
already! Our favorite hangout is on the Canoochee River, property of
Ft. Stewart, (3rd Infantry Division) GA, near Savannah - beautiful,
quiet and serene. Our aim was to catch catfish....but then, we started catching
these strange looking fish - with teeth! Real fighters too, sometimes
even got away! As amateurs, we had no idea what the heck they were and we had no
camera with us. I, Vickie, caught the biggest one so far, measuring 18
inches long. Michael wanted to bring him home, but I wouldn't let him.
I made him let the poor thing go. I had heard something about a
'mudfish', 'grinnel' and it being some sort of prehistoric
creature...had to look it up on the Internet out of curiosity. That's
how I found your site - and all the other names, including 'Bowfin'.
It's great to read all about them in the other stories and verify what
we have seen with pictures shown.
So, we will take our camera with us next time and take pic's to share
with you if we catch any more. So far we've caught 2 in the past week
- Michael's got away, and the one I caught we let go.
Thanks!
Vickie & Michael, 10/31/06
We just did another trip in the Okefenokee Wildlife Refuge in Georgia. Cypress
Trout are biting like crazy in there as the water levels have been low. We
didn't catch any more world records on the fly rod this trip but caught lots
of 6-8 pounders with attitudes. This is a beautiful place and a great
fishing trip for not only Muds but lots of Chain Pickerel and Warmouth.
White Clousers and red/yellow bendback flies are hot and, as always, Mepps
Aglia streamers are fantastic.
Jim S, 09/11/06
BAGman,
I had a slow weekend, but was able to bring in one smallish fin along with
a few good sized jacks. This male weighed in at 4lb 7oz, but put up a
good fight none the less. Hopefully there will be more pics to follow.
DerekH, Georgia, 05/23/06
May 2006
I was glad to find your site. We thought we were the only crazy people who
chased Bowfins! I actually just caught and submitted a pending IGFA world
record on the fly rod in 8lb tippet class; around 8lbs.
I have a partner, Tersh H, who spin fishes and has honed it down to an art. The
surprising thing is that I don't see much mention of the area we go which is
International Bowfin heaven; Okefenokee Swamp. I'm including several pics of Georgia Cypress Trout. Most were caught on the fly but we also catch them on light spinning tackle.
It's kind of been our secret for years but if you really enjoy catching
Bowfin, you've got to do a trip to the Okefenokee Swamp. We release
everything we catch and try not to even touch them. We just don't want a
bunch of knuckleheads in there killing the fish. This group seems pretty
considerate though.
Lots of 4-8 pounders and we've hooked one that may have gone 20(on the fly!)
but didn't have a net and couldn't turn him to the boat. After 30 minutes,
he broke the hook. Like all fish in the swamp, the bowfin are very dark;
almost black due to the tannin stained water. These fish are used to
running from Gators so they move quickly when hooked.
We believe they do so well because there are absolutely no b@$$ in the
swamp. The PH levels changed years ago and all the b@$$ disappeared. There
are very few, only small catfish as well. As such, the Bowfin is the
largest predator fish in the swamp.
The same water also holds the world record Chain Pickerel. There's a guy out of Alabama that I've been battling for fly rod records onthe Bowfin for a while. We'll get your Georgia page up to speed if you'd like.
Jim S, 05/19/06
Greetings.
If I had not stumbled by accident upon your excellent and informative website two days ago, I would not have known what this fish (that I expected to be a 10 pound b@$$) really was. Certainly deserving of the praise she receives on your site, this fish fought like a champion! I caught her on a live shad in a shallow Chattahoochee tributary (Uchee Creek area). I am an instant bowfin fan!
The spot is on the Georgia side of the Chattahootchee on a shallow flat about a mile or so south of Uchee Creek, near the place Oswichee Creek hits the Chattahoochee River. The flooded area around the creek may not be substantial enough to show up as blue on the map, but we were in there about 30 yards from the channel, and the area was about 30 yards across, tapering down to almost nothing about 150 yards from the Chattahoochee's main channel.
I would definitely call it a Georgia fin, but I suspect he may have dual citizenship.
Keep up the great work on your website!
Ty F, Ft. Benning GA, 05/16/06
I wanted to send you a photo of a Bowfin I caught this past Sunday. She was around 28-30 inches long and weighed in at 7lb 7oz. There's a small creek called Sandy Run that feeds into the Ocmulgee river here in Warner Robins GA (just south of Macon). The land around
the Ocmulgee is very low and prone to flooding. As a result, there is a lot of great Bowfin habitat. I'm also sending you a picture of a small male that I caught yesterday. It shows the flooded areas that I'm talking about.
For the record, I spent last year chasing down Chain Pickerel, aka "Jackfish", hence the nickname. The Jack's are tough fighters; pound for pound at least equal to the Bowfin, but the just don't get really big. It was quite a thrill to catch a 7-pound Bowfin on relatively light tackle.
Great site!
Jumpin' Jack
DerekH, Georgia, 03/16/06
This
9 pound, 14 ounce fin was caught in Georgia
on a large shiner while fishing for b@#$. It hit right before dark. A
few minutes later my father-in-law caught an 11 1/2 pound largemouth,
but we were so excited about the bowfin that the pic of the b@$$ never
came out.
GeoH
