bowfin?

[bikerfish]

anyone ever target bowfin? been doing some research, these fish seem rather interesting and look to be alot of fun on a flyrod.

 

[jayL]

I have not targeted them, but they were responsible for a ton of snakehead reports a few years ago. I believe in the susqy watershed, especially.

 

[sandfly]

one of the few fish in pa i havn't caught yet. would like to try. where are they..

 

[bikerfish]

according to the bowfin anglers group(I'm not making that up!) there are quite a few places in NW pa that hold populations, I think also in the SE area. they like shallow, warmer water, kinda swampy. might check out the geneva swamp late this spring.
word has it they CAN be caught on fly tackle, clousers, buggers and such. no less than a 7wt and a very stout leader, they have teeth. gotta be careful landing and releasing them I guess.

 

[tomgamber]

http://www.bowfinanglers.com/pa.html

just scroll down to map...

 

[sandfly]

hmmmmm, looks like I'll have to give em a try when I'm in the areas...

 

[scotto]

I have caught some(4 or 5) while targeting largemouth bass in Glendale Lake in Cambria county. They ate standard bass lures, spinnerbaits, rattletraps, etc. I believe they would eat flies as well. They hit hard and pull hard. All were 17 to 20" or so as I remember. It was quite a while ago, I was around 15 at the time.

 

[live2fish]

In the late 60's they put in Deer Lakes near Russelton to eat the bluegills, which were four inches at best. My dad and I took some shrimp to use for catfish. While reeling in with that shrimp spinning a bowfin hit. Took awhile to get it in. Think they will hit fly if you can get thr retrieve right.

 

[osprey]

Pinchot , Glendale , Somerset , prehistoric lookin bastids , they fight good and will hit clousers and buggers , i think they have to all be released , but that's ok with me and probly with y'all.

 

[bikerfish]

they have some pics of spawning males on the bowfin site, pretty colors, almost tropical looking.
gonna tie up some rabbit strip flies, should work good for pike also.
tired of my 8wt collecting dust

 

[bjkaledas]

I have been researching them for awhile now trying to find where you can get them. I live in Central, PA and there doesn't seem to be many opportunities to get into them other than the Susky, which they are probably few and far between and Black Moshannon where they used to stock them. I doubt there are many left there.

 

[FlySwatter]

I used to catch them by accident on bait (minnows) and soft plastics in South Carolina and Florida. They were very agressive.

They have needle-like teeth hidden under their gums....don't try to lip land them (like my dad did). Your thumb will be a bloody mess in no time.

 

[BrookieBuster101]

burbot and bowfin are two different things correct? They look similar but there was a new world record burbot pulled outa Lake Diefenbaker in Saskatchewan resently. They have the story on F&S.com
Record Burbot

 

[tomgamber]

Butbot are "ling Cod" Nothing like a Bowfin. Nasty things those Burbot. Like to eat Salmon smolts and Trout in lakes.

 

[wingshot]

I have had a few battles with Bowfin up in Canada some years back but most recently, I've caught them up at Shaw's landing on French creek. They are a very hard fighting, aggressive hitting fish that are just as pre-historic looking as a fish can get. I too learned of this toothy predator the hard way back when I was a young guy, they don't like to open their mouth until you a finger next to it! Never tried to catch one on the fly though, may have to add that one to my bucket list.

Jeff

 

[Shuu]

I've never caught a bowfin but years ago I was floating the Schuylkill river in my canoe and saw a kid catch a large one. I was targeting bass in the shallow weedbeds where a certain creek enters the river. I heard a kid on the bank start screaming. He said he had a fish on and he couldn't bring it in. I watched, and as he reeled in, the fish would just strip line off. It was throwing water everywhere. He finally handed his rod to his friend took off his shirt and shoes and jumped in. To his credit he subdued the fish. He brought it up on to the bank and it was definately a bowfin. He (the kid)was bleeding from at least 10 bites. That fish bit his shoulders, belly and his arms were a mess. Blood was dripping off of him and I hate to think of the potential for infection. I said I didn't think you could eat bowfin but he said he didn't care, he was keeping it anyway. The fish was at least 30 inches long. I guess the moral is: don't mess with bowfins or kids you meet along the Schuylkill river they're both tough as hell.

 

[mike_richardson]

im not a fan of the fish but if you really want to get one regardless of tackle the best thing for them is dead minnow. I caught 3 in one day in the spillway of Glendale Lake in cambria county. They are crazy looking fish and do fight pretty well. This lake gets some big boys too.