Bowfins can be targeted. When I say "targeted", it implies that it is possible to look for a Bowfin, analyze their behaviour and sightfish for them based on their moods. Blindly fishing a weedbed dunking senkos is not considered "targeting" in my opinion. It is really blind searching hoping to get lucky. I would consider looking for surfacing Bowfins and placing a bait in the area of activity as "targeting" though. Essentially, you are spotting a particular fish (or a few fish) and testing your presentation for success.
Spring and early summer is the best time for them as the females cruise along looking for mates, and the males cruise along looking for a suitable place to make a nest.
I would discourage fishing for males that are already on a nest though...much like it is discouraged to fish for spawning bass even if regulations allowed fishing during spawning periods. Male Bowfins, at least in my experience, generally prefers some wood cover for nesting.
In early spring, you may see more Bowfins but many of them are very lethargic due to the cold weather. During this time of year, they may be found tight to the bottom in muddy shallow bays soaking up the warmth of the sun. Their appetite is low in cold weather so your hook up ratio is very low even when you can spot more fish.
In late spring, fish are more active and it is not unusual to find multiple fish in a good spawning bay. These fish are looking for mate, so sometimes they are more focused on the spawn and less on food. But given the right presentation, you can succeed.
In early summer, many fish have already spawned. This post-spawn period also coincide with the sunfish spawn. Bowfins are often actively hunting along shore. This is the best time of year for success. It is possible to catch them with jigs, spoons and crankbaits when their activity is at the peak. I usually target them with live nightcrawlers, but I know friends have succeed using lures. I did sightfished a Bowfin with a spoon once. It was truly memorable.
As summer progresses, the weed growth increases and it becomes difficult to target Bowfins. They hunt in deep weeds and unless you have a fish moving from weedbed to weedbed, or coming out in the open or into the shallows, it will be difficult to find them.
Bowfins are not stupid. In fact, I rank them just a hair shy of Common Carp. Steelhead, on the other hand...not even a match. When you first start sightfishing for Bowfin, they will frustrate you to no end, especially if the Bowfin is shallow and very close to shore. They can detect the slightest movement, the dimmest reflection, the faintest vibration and the smallest margin of a careless presentation. I know they can recognize faces as I've met the same Bowfins that were caught earlier in the year and they often refused to bite again or swam away in a hurried fashion. I've watched a Bowfin analyzed a frisky nightcrawler completely covering the #6 circle hook threaded onto the 8lb fluorocarbon leader...for 5 frigging minutes...all the while the Bowfin would look up at me, then back at the nightcrawler, then back at me again...over and over...until it finally decided it wasn't worth the risk and slowly backed away...confident and unhurried...and flipped its middle fin during the exit. I've had multiple staring contests with Bowfin in water 12" or less. Some of them were planning a missile attack to my face or throat...I'm sure of that. They can be evil...but also a darling at the same time. They have great personalities...and each individual is quite different.
If if done properly, you will never see a more excited response than a Bowfin. It would slowly but cautiously approach the frisky nightcrawler, then the dorsal fin would go all crazy wavy as the Bowfin showed its excitement. I live for the wavy fins...all day, any day. The head would tilt down as it slowly sink to the bottom and it would nose right up to the worm until...flash! The mouth opens and the worm is sucked in. Usually, it doesn't hurry away, but slowly turns as it finishes with a couple more gulps (likely the feeling of the line prompt to Bowfin to think the worm is still hanging out). A firm sweep of the rod to pick up the slack line, and then a firmer sweep to "set" the circle hook...and it was another fooled Bowfin.
They fight dirty...gator roll, shaking jumps, bulldog dive into the nearest snags...when you think they are all but done, they make another mad dash. It is an intense, but usually less than 1 minute battle. I catch them on 7' medium spinning rod, or if it is more snaggy then the 9' medium heavy surf rod. Sometimes, I like the longer rod for a more delicate presentation, but the shorter rod is great for tight cover. Once on land, they do not quit though. Some will try to flip up and bite your face. I've had a few close calls. They can breath air so they don't tire on land.
I thank my friend David Clark, the cofounder of Toronto Urban Fishing Ambassadors, for teaching me how to fish for them. And I am completely obsessed on Bowfin for 3 months of the year (during prime time). Over the years, I've learned more and more about them and how seasonal changes affect fishing success. I've caught Bowfins around Toronto and in Florida...both targeting them and blind fishing for them. Last year, I had a fantastic day in May landing 6 of them in one day while losing another 3 to pulled hooks and line break.
A friend of mine did report fantastic fishing for BIG Bowfins at the Bay of Quinte last summer. The exact location will not be shared, but I suspect that if you can find the right weedy bay, you can replicate the same success. He was seeing Bowfins surface in the bay and simply soaked cutbait in the area where the Bowfins surfaced. Super simple but super effective.
Just a couple of average Bowfins from Toronto to get you drolling.
Top one is female around 8-9lbs and all of a solid 29" (the head is angled away so it was difficult to really see her length), bottom one is a smaller male around 6lbs and 25". I used to use the lip grip a lot since I feared their teeth, but now I can usually handle them without it the handling method I used on the male. Males are beautiful during the spawn and well into post-spawn with their emerald belly and lower fins and occasionally a flash of turquoise on the tip of the tail.
Fantastic fish...I'd take them over a Steelhead or a Muskie any day. I'd trade it all.
