bowfin on a bugger fly

[chris f]

so got into this bowfin the other day, it hit on a red krystal bead head bugger i was fishing as the water color was a bit murky.Initially i thought i had a decent sized lmb on but when it got a bit closer i realized it was a bowfin.It took off like a torpedo into the weeds but i was able to get it out, had to use my landing net.The fish took the fly in pretty deep, needed the hemos to remove the barbless bugger, it came out no problem.These fish have a bunch of small sharp teeth, but the berkly big game green mono tippet i was held up strong.Here's a shot of the fish.

 

[FishingNoob]

Nice fish! Bowfin are on my target list! That fish is thick. Well done. I bet your fly was torn up pretty bad after from all the teeth.

 

[Cody309]

Great catch man! Love hearing stories of versatility on the fly

I've always wanted to catch a bowfin!

 

[chris f]

Nice fish! Bowfin are on my target list! That fish is thick. Well done. I bet your fly was torn up pretty bad after from all the teeth.

thanks fishingnoob, yeah they are like one big muscle, the fly was actully okay as well as my leader and tippet, suprised as it has a bunch of small sharp teeth.The line i think worked it's way towards the corner of it's mouth so that's why it didn't get to messed up.Also running heavy test mono for my leader/tippet as the spot i was fishing has many weeds, rocks and other debris.

 

[chris f]

Great catch man! Love hearing stories of versatility on the fly

I've always wanted to catch a bowfin!

thanks madocflyguy, this one had not much color but some of them have really good coloration.Just starting to get more confidence after getting a few fish on the fly recently.

 

[Alfiegee]

Yes that definitely looks like a strong fish. I have had the pleasure of catching many Bowfin over the years, but never on the fly. They aren't very acrobatic but they are very strong fighters and beautiful fish.
Oh and don't let the small sharp teeth fool you on the smaller ones (under 10 lbs.) , hook into a 20 lber and you will know why a lot of "old-timers" call them Dog-Fish.

Alfie.

 

[GuitarBuildingAngler]

....I didn't even know we had those here. That is awesome. Great catch!

 

[chris f]

Yes that definitely looks like a strong fish. I have had the pleasure of catching many Bowfin over the years, but never on the fly. They aren't very acrobatic but they are very strong fighters and beautiful fish.
Oh and don't let the small sharp teeth fool you on the smaller ones (under 10 lbs.) , hook into a 20 lber and you will know why a lot of "old-timers" call them Dog-Fish.

Alfie.

unexpected catch on the fly, but they are around where i was fishing.The teeth are deceiving as they are kinda covered a bit so you don't get to see the full tooth.I can totally understand those vet anglers calling them dog fish, at larger sizes the teeth would be very large and scary.

 

[chris f]

....I didn't even know we had those here. That is awesome. Great catch!

yep they are around gba.

 

[Alfiegee]

unexpected catch on the fly, but they are around where i was fishing.The teeth are deceiving as they are kinda covered a bit so you don't get to see the full tooth.I can totally understand those vet anglers calling them dog fish, at larger sizes the teeth would be very large and scary.

My brother and I used to fish a place off Quinte. It had Large Bowfin. We used to catch Perch in the afternoon and use them for Bowfin bait, legal at the time. We would get bites and bring in shredded Perch bait or our lines would just be broken off. From some of the ones we landed I know not to put my hand in their mouths, I still have all my fingers .

Alfie.