BAGman,
I just caught my first Bowfin today. I've been watching them swim by my dock for quite some time and didn't really know what they were, until I did some Googling and ran across your cool site a few days ago.
After watching a Bowfin snap up a dying sunfish I had thrown into the water, I decided a small fish was a good choice for bait. So yesterday I stopped and bought me a bait caster, some 20 lb. braided line, some #2 hooks and a steel leader. I had several of these fish grab my line and they always snapped the line within seconds, so I was going to be prepared!
Tonight I caught an 8" small mouth b@$$ and decided to give Bowfin fishing a try. First I hooked the bass through the mouth and gill and tossed in the line. Within a couple minutes I had two Bowfin's sniffing around. The first one snapped it up and I let him run and run, but eventually when I tried to hook him, he dropped the bait. I then tried again and had another on the line for a minute or so and the same thing happened. I figured my luck had run out, but I decided to rehook the b@$$ just under the dorsal fin this time and throw him back in. Within a few minutes I had a big one and gave him plenty of time to swallow the bait before I hooked him. What a riot! After 5 minutes or so of playing this beauty, I landed him. 30" long!
My only disappointment was getting out the hook, which was very deep. It took a long time and a lot of work. When I released him, he floated to the bottom. After a couple hours he disappeared, so maybe he made it after all.
July 2, 2008, Oswego River, Hinmansville, NY
Everet, 07/03/08
Friday 20th, Bashakill, Bridge on Haven Rd.
Another tough night fishing. Fished from 11:30pm to 3:30am and I caught a single bowfin that night and my brother caught a bullhead. We found a bowfin on the side of road that someone had killed.
-- NJ --
Saturday 21st, Hainesville, SKUNKED!
Osama Bin Bowfin, 06/23/08
June, Friday 13th
Bashakill
Bridge on Haven Rd.
Brother and I went out fishing that night. Fishing was a bit slow, but I caught three bowfins and he caught 2 bullheads. All the bowfins were close to 24 inches, but just shy by a few inches. Pictures of the fish that night next to my size 12 boot.
June, Sunday 15th
Bashakill
Pull-in just past the dam on South Rd.
Friend and I went fishing that night. There were already people fishing the bridge on Haven Rd.; so we decided to try a different spot. We fished down at the spot just after the dam where you have to park and walk down the trail to the concrete block. Another slow night of fishing. My friend didn't catch anything and I caught two bowfins. Once again, the bowfins were all close to 24 inches, but just shy by an inch or two.
Osama Bin Bowfin, 06/20/08
Hello BAGman,
My name is Dustin B; I just got out of the U.S. Marine corps after 8 years and moved to upstate New York (Ogdensburg). I average probably about 20-30 hours a week on the water bass, pike, and walleye fishing. Today, I went just under the town dam into a little intake and looked into the water where I seen a massive 2ft-2.5ft fish in the shadows I tossed everything I had at it initially thinking it was a northern pike because the fins were down. A short time later I hooked into another fish just like it on a free floating Senko worm. I mistakenly identified the fish as a snakehead from the rough sketch NY state puts in their fisheries books and not knowing of the bowfin species. The local department of environmental conservation officer stopped by the house and shortly after, and identified it as a bowfin. Hate that the fish had to die due to my ignorance, so I researched the species and found your site very helpful. I hope to catch the big one I saw today in the near future. It would likely be a NY state record for a bowfin but I can assure you it will be returned to the water safely this time. I've enclosed a picture of my first one and I got to agree they put up one heck of a fight. Thank you for your site it helped me out a lot.
Dustin B, 05/19/08
Fishing Report for Saturday 10/20/07 at Bashakill, NY
Saturday night we went night fishing at the Bashakill. Temp was about 45 degrees. We didn't catch any bowfins, but my brother caught one bullhead. He missed several bites, but we are pretty sure most of the bites were small bullhead from the way they were biting. However, there was one bite that he lost in the weeds. There was only half a minnow left when he got the end of the line to the shore. Most likely that was a bowfin.
Osama Bin Bowfin, 10/22/07
This 8 lb. 13 oz. Bowfin hit a white/chartreuse Chatterbait on Friday
afternoon, 10/5/07. Same spot as the one last year and the year before. I somehow manage to catch one per year.
JeffM, 10/08/07
Bashakill Update 9/23/2007
Went to the kill last night and brought my whole family. The water was rather higher than it usually
is, and it was overcast an windy. We arrived at about 5PM and the fishing was o.k.. We caught some b@$$ and
catfish, but they were small and we threw them back. My wife hooked a 4-lb bullhead later that snapped her
pole right in half. At about 7PM we caught 2 very aggresive 3-4lb bowfin, which faught like champs, but
we won.....lol. I caught a few more bowfin up until 930 PM, and lost several more after that. One fin
even almost took my pole in the water, snapped my line, and ripped my lighted bobber off. The lighted
bobber went under with the fin and NEVER came back up. ALERT: Keep an eye out for other anglers in the
bashakill. After I caught the first 2 bowfin, several fisherman tried to convince me to kill them, rather
than throw them back. They were convinced that the bowfin eat ALL the other fish there and MUST be killed
at all costs. Nobody will kill a fin while I'm there, especially a bigger one that could be fun to catch for
years to come.
SurgicalAngler,Scott P., 09/26/07
Photos to follow shortly
Fishing Report for Friday 9/21/07 at Bashakill, NY
My friends and I went fishing from about 11pm until 3am. It was a very warm night for late September. Everyone was in t-shirts that night, which is definitely unusual for that time of year. I caught two bullheads and a bowfin. My brother caught a small largemouth and a 4 pound bowfin. We were going to do another group photo of the fish, but when we dumped them out of the cooler, all the fish slid down the bank and into the water and swam away. We got a good laugh out of that one. It happened so fast that no one had a chance to grab one; so we don't have any photos for this report.
Osama Bin Bowfin, 09/25/07
Hey anglers,
Just wanted to let you know I finally got all the paperwork back from the Fishing Hall of Fame for my "catch & release" Bowfin (see below). I know how all you Bowfin anglers enjoy seeing huge Bowfins recognized....well you got one! The fin I caught is the new World Record for catch & release!!! I was so pumped when I got all the information back. It's amazing this is a world record fish and I can't get New York State to recognize it cause I did not "sacrifice" the fish for their biologists to examine. Thanks again for this awesome and informative site and your enthusiasm with my catch. Take care and best of luck whenever your on the water!
Brian R, 09/18/07 Legendary Auto Interiors
Bagman,
Caught this fish August 25th at the 1000 Islands in Clayton NY at a place called French Creek Marina. Was going for Large Mouth Bass off shore casting under docks and boats. She hit a 5" Yamasto worm and fought for 7 minutes. I had no idea what it was after I caught it. I have heard of Bowfins but had never seen one. Someone said it was a Snakehead and wanted me to kill it. I did not and released it after this picture. I was very surprised to se a mouth full of teeth. I love Northern Pike fishing and was impressed with her straight rows but large teeth. She measured 30" but I didn't weigh her. Now I know what it is, I am going to try to catch more. I was afraid I had caught something bad. DEC website couldn't help me either.
Michael T, 09/07/07
Fishing report for Bashakill
8/31 Friday night from 11pm until 3am we went to the Bashakill. When we arrived, we found several bowfin dead on the side
of the road, and one bowfin dead in the water. I ended up with 4 bowfin, and my brother caught 1 bowfin, and everyone
else was skunked.
9/1 Saturday night from 11pm until midnight. After getting minnows, I decided to stop by Bashakill for an hour on the
way to Hainesville, NJ. Caught one bowfin and left.
9/2 Sunday night 11pm until 3am. My one friend caught a bowfin, and I caught two. Rather slow night.
Osama Bin Bowfin, 09/06/07
Fishing report for Bashakill for Friday 8/17/07
NY report - Bashakill
Slow night on the Kill. We ended up with a total of three bites. My brother is the only one to catch a fin.
*Pictures of fin included*
NJ report - Hainesville
Saturday 8/18
Another slow night at Hainesville. We don't know if it's because of the low water levels, or just a bad weekend. We had a total of 5 bites, but no one was able to successfully land a fish. The closest we came to landing one was when I pulled the fish to the edge of the shore and he fell off. I quickly shined my flashlight in the water to see a bowfin slowly swimming away.
Osama Bin Bowfin, 08/29/07
Fishing report for Bashakill for Saturday 8/4/07
Hainesville has been a lot more productive this year; so we haven't fished much at Bashakill, but after we saw the dam was cleaned out and the water level dropped, we decided to try Bashakill again. We had a about 20 hits that night between all of us. We ended up landing 8 bowfin. If I remember correctly, I landed 6 of them, and my brother had one, and our friend had the other. We even kept them all in a beer cooler with two aerators so we could have a group photo. All were returned to the water in good condition.
Osama Bin Bowfin, 08/08/07
BAGman,
This fin was caught off the dock with a Barbie pole and worm in Oswego River, Fulton, NY 7/17/07 by Peter S, age 6 of Mechanicville, NY. Good fight!
ArtZ, 07/20/07
Hey anglers
I'm new to the site and only found it because I was doing research on Bowfin. I've caught Bowfin here in NY a few times but over Memorial Day weekend on a fishing trip with some friends I caught a monster! I knew you guys would love to hear this story and see the pics.
Here's the short version of the catch. First night there we ran into some hefty Blue Gills. It was almost 8pm so we toyed around with beetle spins. I was using my ultra light with 4 lb. test. Out of know where it felt like a freight train hit my lure. Well after 15 minutes or so of trying to land the fish we finally did and this is what Bowfin measured out to be: 37" in length, 19 1/4 girth around the belly and calculated 17.8 lbs. in weight! The fish snapped my ultra light into 3 pieces!
Come to find out the NYS record was only 12.9 lbs. but I will not get credit for this record fish because I let it go after measuring and photographing it. I now have a whole new perspective on catching Bowfin. I had so much fun trying to get that tank in the boat. I had such an adrenalin rush that my hands were trembling afterwards and I had all to do to get the lure out of its mouth.
When talking to NYS DEC to try and get it posted as a NYS record they sent me the form for the Fresh Water Hall of Fame to submit to. I've already got the paperwork filled out and just have to get my friend to sign it and then have it notarized.
Thanks guys for this site! It really helped me out in learning more on these fish. Take care and happy Bowfinnin'!!!
Brian R, 06/15/07 Legendary Auto Interiors
Hi BAGman,
I am one lucky guy! Here is my girlfriend, Trina, with a Champlain fin. It is her first and was 22 inches long.
Deerman, 07/17/06
Hi BAGman,
Here's a pic of a fin I caught today at the Basherkill. The action was slow. I
caught him on a crawler on the bottom.
Deerman, 07/10/06
Hi BAGman,
Thanks for the response. I've found fins in Mud Bay, Lake Ontario but
the fish I'm catching are in Lake Champlain. From what I've learned, fins and gar
cover the whole north and northeastern NY perimeter. You can find them in the
quieter bays. I mostly sight fish for them, like bonefishing. The first fins I ran
into were in Ontario where they bit steel leader clips off and broke an obviously
inferior rod lol. It took me five years to finally get one. The places I usually fish
offer at least half a dozen sitings per hour. I just found this spot last year while fishing for cats. The gar there are so common last year we saw about fifty in one day then the next trip none. Weather has a lot to do with whether they're on top or deep and just surfacing ocassionally. Again thanks,
Deerman, 07/06/06
Hi BAGman,
I love your site - it's great! I live in New York and I fish for gar and bowfins regularly. Please forward the gar to Garman at GASS.
Deerman, 07/04/06
I caught this spawning male tonight just after dusk in about 5 feet of
water in Lake Ontario just northwest of Braddock Bay, near Rochester, NY. Nice green fins.
He was caught on a 2" red/white daredevle while fishing for pike. I also caught one about the same size last summer in the exact same location.
JeffM, 05/31/06
"My
friend, Dave K, caught this Bowfin a couple
nights ago with a minnow in a channel leading into a bay in Rochester,
NY. We had no clue what it was until we looked it up, we have caught 2
more since but this is the only clear picture we have of the fish. They
are one great fight! I really enjoyed bringing one in and I hope you
have some tips to help us catch a few more. The boards in the pic are
5-1/2" wide.
Kyle I 09/01/05
June 2005
This
is my first Bowfin caught on the Onedia River
in Brewerton NY near Syracuse. When I first saw the fish in the shallow
water, I thought it was a pike. I cast my worm in front of it and what
a fight! The thing went crazy jumping and taking big runs. To my
suprise when I landed it I saw it was a 25 inch 5 lb Bowfin. I think I
will be targeting this species from now on they are great fighters.The
Anglers from left to right are Andy, Michael, and Megan.
Great website, keep up the good work.
LisaW 06/14/05
This
is the only bowfin I ever hooked. I caught it at Black
Lake in upstate NY about 10 years ago. That's my grandfather, Paul,
holding it. I would be honored if you posted the picture. From looking
at a few other pictures my father had of it, the fish was 36 1/4". He
had themeasurement on the back of his pictures. I don't have the girth
or weight. The fish was caught up in Black Lake NY near the Canadian
border. From what I've heard it's a pretty good bowfin lake, along with
musky, pike, and bass. It might be a good lake to add to your map. It's
a big lake just off of I-81 close to the border. The bowfin was caught
on a big pike top water bait, close to shore along a mat of weeds.
Gary 06/13/05
Here
is a business card we came up with for fun
while fishing for bowfin in the Bashakill. We don't guide at all, but
it was fun to think up and make.
MarkR
Farm Pond, New York
Here's a Bowfin story that helps to illustrate how unique each
of these fish are. About 8 years ago or so I decided I wanted or needed
to catch a Bowfin. I had seen a couple dead ones while on a vacation in
Michigan back in the 70's and those fish haunted me. That's a story for
another time, but anyways I found a small eutrophic pond just off Lake
Ontario that I was told held Bowfin. Sure enough I was able to catch my
1st Bowfin there. It was pretty small, maybe 18" or so, and it came on
a creek chub fished below a bobber. It fought OK, not as spectacular as
I was expecting. Not a big deal, but at least I'd finally caught one.
About two years later I got the urge to catch more Bowfin, so
I went back to a little creek to gather some bait. To my dismay, there
were no chubs to be found! All I could muster up with my little bread
balls were small pumpkinseed sunfish. Oh well, I thought, it's better
than nothing. I caught around 15 to 20 and headed out to the pond. I
brought 2 rods each rigged with 10 to 12lb. test. I set myself up with
egg sinkers, a swivel and a leader. This pond was a stereotypical
Bowfin area. Water had a tannic stain, soft bottom, duck weed and
cattails around and a definite bog smell. If you were a **** fisherman
you would call it marginal water. Anyways, I rigged up a rod and threw
out a sunny. I leaned the rod against a stick I had found and went to
rig the other when I saw the tip move. I picked up the rod and gave the
fish some line, set the hook and had it on for a few seconds. I lost it
when I tried to set the hook a second time. Try again! Went back out
with a sunny and got another hit in short order. This one I hooked (or
at least I THOUGHT I hooked!). It came in like a weed (or a walleye,
take your pick) Just as I thought I had it whipped it jumped about 20'
in front of me and shook its head vigorously. It threw the hook! What
the hell?
Cast again, get ANOTHER hit! Man it just doesn't get any
better than this! This one fought good, with some sweeping motion.
Finally landed one. Basically about the same small size as my very
first one. Oh well! I threw out another sunny. Got whacked again! I
couldn't tell for sure if the fish still had the sunny in its mouth, so
I VERY slowly and gently gave the rod a slight pull. The Bowfin
responded by giving me a fierce tug! It was like it said "I'M HERE!
Let's go!!! I was shocked! When something like this happens, you almost
get afraid to set the hook! But I did, and of course all hell broke
loose. This was a quality fish. At first it dogged me out deep! All I
could think of was those quality 8 to 10lb. Brown Trout I had been
catching on Lake Ontario over the past 10 years. He got me in the weeds
then decided to run right at me! This primitive fish came right in by
my feet in a big "U" and headed for a narrow band of reeds supported by
some boggy "stuff". Sure enough, the Bowfin "split the uprights",
powerhousing itself over the reeds! That's when my 12lb. test called it
quits!!! What a great day! Only landed one, but had the time of my
life. That last fish wasn't more than 7lbs. at best!
What I learned on this day was that each Bowfin had hit totally
differently. No predictability whatsoever, like a Northern or a Bass.
None. One fish would tap like a Bullhead and just sit on the bait,
another would hit hard once and run out a bunch of line. Every fish was
a unique entity. I had to set the hook each time "by ear". The other
significant thing I learned is that Bowfin will concentrate in an area
when they (apparently) find what they want or need. There was a slight
breeze and the skies were sunny. I always had respect for these fish,
but I gained a lot more on that hot July day.
John G
Nice
site you've got! I've been a saltwater fishermen most my
life, but I wanted to move up here [NY] and enjoy a new kind of
fishing. A few weeks back I got a nice 28in, 7lb + bowfin from the
Bashakill. I have a solo kayak, an Old Town, and not a bass boat. When
I got that big bowfin she pulled me all over the channel like a sled
dog. That fish gave me a bowfin fishing bug now. They are a good
fighting fish, and I look at them as the sand sharks of fresh water.
Now I'm gettin' a bug for them where I'm only fishing for bowfin.
Moab 10/28/04
Hey BAGman
I've attached a couple more pics of fins from the St. Lawrence. There
is a pic of me, 2 of my brother Nick and 1 of his girlfriend Betsy.
Again, they were all caught on topwater and ranged from 17 inches to 28.
Enjoy,
DustyE 09/03/04
Hey
Chuck,
I attached a couple pictures from my weekend trip to the St.Lawrence
River, NY. We managed to get 4 bowfin the entire trip. I got the
biggest, 31 inch 9 lbs, on a bubble gum colored Zulu, my brother Nick
got 2, one on a worm fishing for bullheads at night and the other on a
pearl Zulu, and his girlfriend got one on a pink popper. We didn't have
much luck with the cutbait at night...tried but were not successful. It
seems that up there they tend not to feed as much on the cutbait and
more on live food, especially frogs, at dusk. Of the probably 200 or so
bowfin I have caught up there in my life, 99% have come on topwater at
dusk.
Thanks
DustyE 08/09/04
Here is the map of my Bowfin hot spot. It is Chippewa Creek,
an inlet to the St Lawrence River, NY. My family has a cabin in the
area. The bowfin angling is terrific in the spring, with topwater
action in the late evening and early morning being the best. Catches of
10-15 bowfin a weekend are not uncommon, with almost every fish caught
being in the 8 lb range. There may not be as many of them here as there
are in other places, but the average size makes up for it.
Dusty E
July 2004
Here's
a couple of pics from ny July 4th Fin trip. Not the big
ones I was after, but these are alright. Hope to get out a few more
times this summer.
Caught them all in a tributary of Lake Ontario in upstate NY.
Discovered this spot in 1992 by luck and have fished it ever since.
That is the first catfish I have caught there. Most of the time you
catch bowfin and eel. I haven't gone fishing for bowfin in a few years
until I found your website and saw all the pics and read the stories.
It really made me want to get out there. Awesome website!
Sincerely,
BIGVANKYLE
This
Bowfin weighed a tad over 7 pounds. The fish
was caught in Sodus Bay, NY off of Lake Ontario. Dad caught it on a
Senko pitched to some lily pads. Great fight, great memory...and the
fish was safely released. BTW, up here in NY, they call them "Ling". As
is the case in many areas, people are uneducated and see Bowfin as a
threat to bass and other "sport fish". They are generally killed
whenever caught up here...it's a real shame that ignorance about
something somehow threatens people. Oh well...we'll keep letting them
go :)
Brett D 07/20/04
Iced Fins from the Bashakill
I always thought that bowfins buried themselves in the mud in
the winter (guess not). We were fishing on the Basherkill in about -20
with the wind chill. It was a sunny day and the ice was about 9-12
inches thick (best guess). The water was about 15 ft. deep, and the
bottom was that gooey slime mud that you can't even stand in or you
would sink in over your head. We were using shiners and small chunks of
herring for bait and using Gamagatsu hooks. I really like these hooks
because the're as sharp as heck and penetrate the toughest mouths. We
were doing pretty well catching Pickerel, largemouth b@$$ and
plate-size crappie. I hooked the first fin at about 11am and thought it
was the mother of all b@$$. He ran at a slow and steady pace and took
out about 20 yds of 12 LB test line (we use tip-ups and small spinning
rods.) After about a 5 minute fight, occasionally putting the rod down
into the hole, I was able to get the fish up, and realized it was a
Mighty Bowfin. My fishing buddy Ted and I, Bowfin "Fin-atics", were
really suprised and after a few high five's released the fish
immediately. I didn't have a scale but he measured about 28 in. and I
would guess around 7lb. Ted caught another fin about 5 minutes later
and that fish was also a decent size (around 20-24 in.). It also was
released. I didn't have a camera (figures) but managed to get pictures
anyway. I'm planning on doing a lot of fishing this spring and summer
exclusively for bowfin and will keep you updated along with lots of
pic's.
Jim M
1/30/04
Here
are some pics of some bowfin that my brother,
a friend, and I caught this past Friday in the Bashakill. We caught 4
bowfin total; 3 males and 1 female. They were all on the small side,
with the males weighing about a pound each, and the female weighing 2
pounds. This is the first year that I've caught this many small bowfin.
Usually, they average 3 to 4 pounds. Three of the bowfin were caught
almost at the exact same time. The second the moon came out from behind
the clouds, which it had been hiding behind the entire night, we each
caught a bowfin at almost the same time, with only seconds between each
catch.
Osama
Bait, Plastics, Rigging, and NYS Hotspots
I've been fishing for bowfin for about 10 years in
Southern New York State. I fish for bowfin more than any other fish. I
am lucky in that I live a half hour from the bowfin mecca of NYS, the
Bashakill wetlands outside of Wurtsboro. 10 years ago the bowfin also
made their way into Gold Creek in Deerpark via the Neversink River,
which is only a 5 minute walk from my house. After catching my first
bowfin (4 pounds), I dropped Largemouth as my favorite fish and never
looked back. The only other fish that I've had comparable fights to the
bowfin are large river smallmouths in the 4 pound range. Most of my
bowfin fishing is done these days in the Bashakill. I generally catch
between 1 or 2 bowfin per trip. The bowfin usually average about 3 or 4
pounds. The largest bowfin I caught was 6 pounds, 27 inches. The state
record bowfin was caught out of the Bashakill at nearly 13 pounds. I
find that the best time to fish for them in from late dusk to the first
few hours of darkness and a few hours of darkness before sunrise on the
humid days of the year (July/August). The Bashakill is as swampy as it
gets. It's approximately 5 miles long and a mile wide, with the
predominant plant being arrowhead. There are narrow channels (about the
size of a single lane road) between the arrowhead that you can travel
with canoe. There are a few spots to fish on shore, the bridge being
the most used. I would make a guess at the depth being between 6 to 8
feet throughout most of the channel with a few 12 foot spots. By mid
summer, most of the channels are nearly filled with milfoil. You are
left to fish only small holes only a foot or two in depth before
hitting milfoil, expect for a large opening near the bridge. There is
only one bait to use in the Bashakill and that is minnows. Now, in Gold
Creek I caught all of my bowfin on worms (and they were usually a
quarter of an earthworm). My brother caught one in Gold Creek off a
Ike-con purple rubber worm with pink tail. (They also make lots of glow
in the dark worms that I have great luck with for largemouth) http://www.ikecon.com/
I've tried many times to use lures and worms in Bashakill, but
I've only once caught a bowfin on a lure in the Basakill using a giant
acme phoebe 1/2 oz (largest). http://www.acmetackle.com/scripts/phoebe.html
There are so many shiners in those waters that live bait is
the only thing that I regularly catch anything. I usually use 4 inch
shiners. I don't attempt to fish until it's just getting dark. There
are so many pickerel in the Bashakill that it's hard to get a bowfin in
the daytime. You can come out of there with about 20 pickerel in a few
hours in the daytime. I usually start catching bowfin near the end of
dusk into night. Since the Kill is filled with milfoil, you are
required to use a flotation device. I use the Night Bobby (light up
bobber) with the that you can buy in most sporting good stores. http://www.rieadco.com/nightbobby.html
I usually put the hook about 2 foot under the bobber. When the
weather starts getting colder in September and the milfoil starts dying
then I keep a larger depth because the bowfin hug the bottom more. I
usually attach a small glowstick above the swivel to attract the fish.
OmniGlow sells "Lunker Lights" that you can buy at most sporting good
stores. http://www.omniglow.com/
With this setup I've about 90% certain that when a fish takes
the bait that it's a bowfin. Once in a while I'll get a bullhead when
it's starting getting colder in September. It's important to get a good
hook set with a bowfin because they have plates in their mouth that are
hard to penetrate.
Once you get a good hook set then the fun begins. Usually,
they will rip a bunch of line out and you won't have much control. I
use a 4'11" rod with an med/small reel with 10 pound black fireline
with a snap swivel and a medium size hook (depending what is in my
tackle box). I lose a lot of the larger bowfin with this set up, but I
enjoy the challenge. I usually catch one or two bowfin a night and lose
about 2 a night. The two biggest reasons for losing them is milfoil, or
they break the line/swivel/hook.
The best way not to break the line/swivel/hook is to keep the
drag really loose and play the fish as long as possible. I used to make
the mistake of just trying the reel in the bowfin as soon as I hooked
them. It usually worked up until the point that I got them a few feet
from shore or the canoe and they then go bananas and start thrashing
which usually bends the swivel straight or breaks the hook. You want
them nice and tired before you get them near shore so they don't thrash
as much. Unfortunately, with all the milfoil you can't let the fish run
too far. Bowfin have a tendancy to run immediately for the thickest
cover they can find when hooked. Sometimes you are fishing in a hole
that is only 5 feet in diameter; so you don't have a lot of room to
tire the fish. You pull back too hard with ultra-light tackle and you
risk breaking line.
Once you tired your bowfin out and get him near shore (or near
the canoe) then the fun of getting him begins. When I'm shore fishing I
usually get him in the shallows and just kick him up onto the shore by
swiping my foot across the side of the fish. I then dive down onto the
fish and wrap my arms over top of him to calm him down before I attempt
to pick him up. I've lost many fish in the past just trying to grab
them out of the water or taking the hook out of their mouth. I looked
like a stooge grabbing at a bouncing bowfin as it finally ended up back
in the water and splashing me in the face before swimming away. Anyone
who has caught one can confirm just how slimy they can get and how they
slide right of your hands when they thrash, and when they thrash they
can really thrash. You can't lip the fish without thick gloves because
of their strong jaws and peg like teeth.
I don't like holding fish by their gills flaps, unless you
know you are eating that fish because you can do damage to them that
way. When catching them from a canoe I usually use a net, but I usually
end up having to untangle the net from his teeth. Anyone that lives
near the Port Jervis/Wurstboro, NY area should give the Bashakill a try.
Dave D "Osama Bin Bowfin"
Dave D (Osama Bin Bowfin) sent these Bashakill fins. See the
maps!
JohnG and a NYS fin
Lake Ontario
I had spent the summer of '96 targeting Bowfin as much as I
could. I had to fish from shore as I didn't own a boat at this time. A
B@$$ fishing buddy of mine had a boat and we went B@$$ fishing that
morning out on Sodus Bay. Had a very good day, catching 7 B@$$ and 14
Pike between the two of us. Of course, I was chomping at the bit
because I KNEW Sodus Bay harbored quite a few Bowfin. I brought the
topic of Bowfin up, and surprisingly, my friend let me give it a try. I
think this was in part due to the great morning we had. He had never
caught a Bowfin in the bay even though he had fished it for 15 plus
years. I was very confident in my ability to pattern the Grindle
because of all the fishing for them I'd been doing. I had brought along
a few tiny hooks and took a little ball of bread and put it on a hook
point. Within a few minutes I had caught a nice sized golden shiner. I
put it in a bucket filled with water and we motored to an area that
looked like a "Bowfin neighborhood" to me. Aqua-Ghetto! Stained water,
slop and duckweed on top, relatively shallow with a soft bottom ...
that spelled Bowfin to me!
My buddy was very skeptical as to whether I could do it. I
tied a good sized single hook to my line and pinched on a split shot.
My strategy was to pitch the shiner into any open pockets of water I
could find nestled within the slop and duckweed. I took a few pitches
and didn't get a thing. The wind was kicking up a little bit as well
making things a bit harder. I found another opening and in went Mr.
Minnow. I let him swim for a little bit, pulled up lightly and felt a
hit!!! Oh yeah! I opened my bail and sure enough, the line started
running out. I was psyched! I told my buddy "Hey Terry, check this out
... the line's hauling out!" He looked at me like "Yeah, right." He
thought it was the wind at the time! The fish stopped and I set the
hook. Just then there was a big swirl in the slop! That's when my
friend got excited. The Bowfin didn't fight all that great, as it
wasn't a really big fish and it was pretty much buried in the slop, but
we got him in the net. I was surprised at my buddy's enthusiasm with
the net. I figured he wouldn't want it in his boat, but before I could
say anything the Bowfin was on the floor of the boat. He looked a
little beat up, probably from spawning. I got the hook out, we snapped
a few photos and I released the fish. What a great way to end the day.
John G
