Bowfin?

[Giuga10]

After learning about Bowfin last year I've been dying to catch one but have no clue as to where and when to catch them. I've heard the islands are a good place for them.

Anyone have any tips, times or places for these fish?

Any help is appreciated.

 

[Alfiegee]

I have caught Bowfin before. They fight like H-e-double ell.
I have found them all along the north shore of Lake O and in many of the tribs.
They are a toothy predator, worms, minnows and a variety of lures will work for them. I usually find them near weeds, but that is not a law, just a generalization.

Alfie.

 

[AnglerAnonymous]

I catch them all the time when bass fishing, straightened out a few hooks on them when flipping pads

 

[fishingdude]

Shallow weedy areas.
Islands are good.

Right now, they are into SPAWN MODE.

The Males have the colour (Bright Dot/Marking on Tails) and Neon Green Bellies.
The Females are brown like a Catfish.

Bowfin are OPEN all YEAR (For some "Strange Reason") ... However:

Being one of our beautiful NATIVE SPECIES - Please Catch & Release.
The Males will hang around the babies for months to come.


*Worms work great for them.

 

[Giuga10]

Shallow weedy areas.
Islands are good.

Right now, they are into SPAWN MODE.

The Males have the colour (Bright Dot/Marking on Tails) and Neon Green Bellies.
The Females are brown like a Catfish.

Bowfin are OPEN all YEAR (For some "Strange Reason") ... However:

Being one of our beautiful NATIVE SPECIES - Please Catch & Release.
The Males will hang around the babies for months to come.


*Worms work great for them

Thanks for the help and no worries... always catch and release.

 

[fishingdude]

Thanks for the help and no worries... always catch and release.

Check out this site.

http://bowfinanglers.com/tips.html


Has some merit (take with grain of Salt)

 

[wes shaw]

Thanks for the help and no worries... always catch and release.

lol idk why the hell ud want to keep one for consumption ne ways lol gross , not even worth keeping for taxidermy purposes ... (bowfin, carp, gizzard shad, sucker, catfish,drum:aka/sheephead, chubs ) FILE UNDER "G" = GARBAGE FISH!!!

 

[Giuga10]

lol idk why the hell ud want to keep one for consumption ne ways lol gross , not even worth keeping for taxidermy purposes ... (bowfin, carp, gizzard shad, sucker, catfish,drum:aka/sheephead, chubs ) FILE UNDER "G" = GARBAGE FISH!!!

Ya.....no. These fish are actually considered great tasting fish by those who actually dared to try it catfish especially. Don't judge a book by its cover. And the common stereotype of these fish being garbage fish is very misleading and completely wrong, why do you think most Carp outings end with only 1-3 fish caught, yet you could probably catch a Bass with small stapler and about 20 more to add.

One more thing to add, I read a story about a guy who had caught a bunch of Gobies fried them up and told everyone at his party that they were Perch, after everyone had eaten and complements were given to the great taste he revealed that they were Gobies. Not everything that looks ugly tastes like it looks.

/rant :mrgreen:

 

[Alfiegee]

lol idk why the hell ud want to keep one for consumption ne ways lol gross , not even worth keeping for taxidermy purposes ... (bowfin, carp, gizzard shad, sucker, catfish,drum:aka/sheephead, chubs ) FILE UNDER "G" = GARBAGE FISH!!!

Sorry wes, there are no garbage fish other than Gobies. Not even sure why you would include Bowfin, Carp, Cats or Drum on your list. All get to be very big, fight like crazy and are ahell of a lot of fun to catch. I Know all of those species can exceed 20 lbs. I hooked what turned out to be a 5 lb Cat last week, It was pulling drag 20 ft at a time on 8 lb spiderwire and a medium action rod. I thought I had a huge Carp on. You should perhaps open your mind and have some fun.

Alfie.

 

[NADO]

Carp are one of my favorite species to catch, hooked one on the pin last weekend on the steelhead hunt and it was a blast. They do however cause extensive damage to the fishery and its a shame that most Common Carp control methods are no longer in place. There are still some revitalization efforts being made though. One example is a small lake in the area I live in that was completely destroyed by the carp that took over the lake and eliminated any bio-diversity that was once present. The carp uprooted all of the vegetation and turned the lake into an oxygen depleted swamp. There are some systems that can withstand the effects of Common Carp like the Grand and the Great Lakes but small fragile ecosystems like the lake in the linked article below just cant handle them. If there would have been yearly tournaments held on this lake for the past 20 years to help control the level of the carp population it could have potentially saved the city the millions of dollars it spent rehabilitating the lake. Yes there are other factors that lead to the deterioration of the lake but none come close to the effect the Common Carp had.

I wouldn't say Common Carp belong on the garbage fish list but they are definitely a persona-non-grata.


Here is an exert from the article. This is the truth about Common Carp and it is a shame that some passionate carp anglers have had such a big influence in removing Common Carp from the invasive species list. I know a few people who work in the environmental field and I have also stopped at a number of invasive species booths at trade shows and the answer I get is always the same "Common Carp are incredibly invasive".

From there the native species — the catfish, suckers and sunfish — will be trucked to another pond and released.

The non-native species — the carp and goldfish — will be destroyed. These invasive species actually ruin the habitat by eating just about everything, stirring up sediment and uprooting aquatic plants. The water becomes murky and sunlight can’t penetrate. The invasive species carry parasites and can disrupt the genetic line of native fish, as well.

“They basically take over the entire ecosystem,” said Melissa Ryan, the city’s design and construction project manager. “The native fish that are meant to be in this type of pond are pushed out.”

Goldfish and carp should never be released into Victoria Park Lake or other water bodies, Ryan said. Nobody should feed the fish, either.
“We see this as an opportunity to educate the public,” Ryan said. “It is an opportunity to let people know that not everything belongs in this lake. A tiny little goldfish turns into a huge, huge ecosystem nightmare basically.”

Cut me some slack, its been almost a year since my last Common Carp Rant :mrgreen:

Also suckers, catfish, chubs, shad are all valuable native species and an important part of biodiversity.

 

[buck]

Shallow weedy areas.
Islands are good.

Right now, they are into SPAWN MODE.

The Males have the colour (Bright Dot/Marking on Tails) and Neon Green Bellies.
The Females are brown like a Catfish.

Bowfin are OPEN all YEAR (For some "Strange Reason") ... However:

Being one of our beautiful NATIVE SPECIES - Please Catch & Release.
The Males will hang around the babies for months to come.


*Worms work great for them.

.

 

[wes shaw]

Sorry wes, there are no garbage fish other than Gobies. Not even sure why you would include Bowfin, Carp, Cats or Drum on your list. All get to be very big, fight like crazy and are ahell of a lot of fun to catch. I Know all of those species can exceed 20 lbs. I hooked what turned out to be a 5 lb Cat last week, It was pulling drag 20 ft at a time on 8 lb spiderwire and a medium action rod. I thought I had a huge Carp on. You should perhaps open your mind and have some fun.

Alfie.

ok ok i've heard catfish taste amazing but i've yet to try them , my initial meaning of the term "garbage fish" is one i was instilled with growing up , that being these fish are a new-sense to the fishing world ie true game fish hunters , yes i agree they are extremely fun to catch but they are merely caught by the general public for sport and enjoyment not for consumption .... at least not in north america ... aside from catfish. when enthusiasts are targeting fish such as bass, trout, walleye, or pike and constantly run into these pesky creatures , wasting alot of time and bait inadvertantly feeding these things , it becomes a royal pain when ur catching theses fish intead of thise ud prefer to catch that ur targeting for conumption ... that being said id also add sun fish, rock bass and creek chub in to the term new-sense fish .... these fish only fall under that catagory when the timing of catching them "seems" inconvenient for the avid sport fisherman.

I've caught quite a few of them in the Parry Sound area and the locals ask you to kill them because they eat everything in sight

 

[FishingNoob]

Carp are one of my favorite species to catch, hooked one on the pin last weekend on the steelhead hunt and it was a blast. They do however cause extensive damage to the fishery and its a shame that most Common Carp control methods are no longer in place. There are still some revitalization efforts being made though. One example is a small lake in the area I live in that was completely destroyed by the carp that took over the lake and eliminated any bio-diversity that was once present. The carp uprooted all of the vegetation and turned the lake into an oxygen depleted swamp. There are some systems that can withstand the effects of Common Carp like the Grand and the Great Lakes but small fragile ecosystems like the lake in the linked article below just cant handle them. If there would have been yearly tournaments held on this lake for the past 20 years to help control the level of the carp population it could have potentially saved the city the millions of dollars it spent rehabilitating the lake. Yes there are other factors that lead to the deterioration of the lake but none come close to the effect the Common Carp had.

I wouldn't say Common Carp belong on the garbage fish list but they are definitely a persona-non-grata.


Here is an exert from the article. This is the truth about Common Carp and it is a shame that some passionate carp anglers have had such a big influence in removing Common Carp from the invasive species list. I know a few people who work in the environmental field and I have also stopped at a number of invasive species booths at trade shows and the answer I get is always the same "Common Carp are incredibly invasive".


Cut me some slack, its been almost a year since my last Common Carp Rant :mrgreen:

Also suckers, catfish, chubs, shad are all valuable native species and an important part of biodiversity.

Do you have a link to the article? I'd like to read more on this.

 

[NADO]

woops forgot to add the link

http://www.therecord.com/news/local/article/614378--cleaning-out-victoria-park-lake

 

[fishingdude]

I've caught quite a few of them in the Parry Sound area and the locals ask you to kill them because they eat everything in sight

THIS IS ABSOLUTELY FALSE!
* Not calling you out personally on the post, just wanted to clarify the ABSURDITY of the Statement.


BOWFIN are NOT some kind of MONSTER FISH.
They have been in our water for thousands of years - and we still have the full spectrum of other fish (Plus all our introduced species)

ALL FISH are CANIBALS and OPPORTUNISTS.
The BOWFIN has a place. - Neither on a PEDISTAL or in the GARBAGE CAN

 

[kickisasssebas]

Ya.....no. These fish are actually considered great tasting fish by those who actually dared to try it catfish especially. Don't judge a book by its cover. And the common stereotype of these fish being garbage fish is very misleading and completely wrong, why do you think most Carp outings end with only 1-3 fish caught, yet you could probably catch a Bass with small stapler and about 20 more to add.

One more thing to add, I read a story about a guy who had caught a bunch of Gobies fried them up and told everyone at his party that they were Perch, after everyone had eaten and complements were given to the great taste he revealed that they were Gobies. Not everything that looks ugly tastes like it looks.

/rant :mrgreen:

Well that person is an IDIOT! you aren't suppose to carry dead or alive gobies and they are also known to carry more toxin then any other fish. If I was one of those guess and he would of played a silly trick like that on me. He would of gotten a puked all over!

 

[NADO]

Ya thats a pretty stupid prank lol. I wonder if anyone got sick.


However I dont believe its illegal to possess dead gobies, I could be wrong. Here are some exerts from page 8 & 13 of the regulations that state its illegal to possess live gobies, it doesnt say anything about dead.

WHAT YOU CAN DO...
• Report new sightings. If you catch a round goby it should be destroyed and not released back into any waters.
• Always dispose of your unwanted bait and the contents of your bait bucket or bait bucket water on land or in the trash. It is illegal to dump the contents of a bait bucket into any waters or within 30 metres of any waters.
• Never use gobies as bait. It is against the law to use gobies as bait or have live gobies in your possession.

_________________________________________________

Possess any of the following live invasive species: rudd, ruffe, bighead carp, black carp, grass carp, silver carp, round goby, tubenose goby or any member of the snakehead family.

 

[Alfiegee]

ok ok i've heard catfish taste amazing but i've yet to try them , my initial meaning of the term "garbage fish" is one i was instilled with growing up , that being these fish are a new-sense to the fishing world ie true game fish hunters , yes i agree they are extremely fun to catch but they are merely caught by the general public for sport and enjoyment not for consumption .... at least not in north america ... aside from catfish. when enthusiasts are targeting fish such as bass, trout, walleye, or pike and constantly run into these pesky creatures , wasting alot of time and bait inadvertantly feeding these things , it becomes a royal pain when ur catching theses fish intead of thise ud prefer to catch that ur targeting for conumption ... that being said id also add sun fish, rock bass and creek chub in to the term new-sense fish .... these fish only fall under that catagory when the timing of catching them "seems" inconvenient for the avid sport fisherman.

Agreed Wes, these fish were called garbage fish when I grew up many moons ago too. Being for the most part a catch and release angler I am out for a day on the water relaxing. If I get some fish, bonus. I'm not really after food. I spent many years in areas where there were Trout, Pike and Bass. Now I am in Hamilton and the harbor is close by, there are some game-fish there but I can't complain about going down there and catching 20 nice sized fish in 1 day even if they are Kitties, Carp, Drum and Bowfin. Lb for lb I think they provide as good a fight as any game-fish ( and a lot more fight than any Walleye I ever encountered.)

THIS IS ABSOLUTELY FALSE!
* Not calling you out personally on the post, just wanted to clarify the ABSURDITY of the Statement.


BOWFIN are NOT some kind of MONSTER FISH.
They have been in our water for thousands of years - and we still have the full spectrum of other fish (Plus all our introduced species)

ALL FISH are CANIBALS and OPPORTUNISTS.
The BOWFIN has a place. - Neither on a PEDISTAL or in the GARBAGE CAN

^^ This

And yes Nado it has been a while since I read one of " your rants." :lol: I agree with you that Carp have changed things, a lot. But as I have said before, they are established here and I don't think they are going anywhere soon. Just as I think the Gobies are here to stay. And Lamprey are still here despite all efforts to wipe them out. Althought they are declining. I instead accept the fact Carp are here and when I hook 1 enjoy the battle.

Alfie.

 

[Giuga10]

For those getting mad about the story and listing the laws the story was found online and I'm pretty sure the guy lives somewhere else. I hunted down the article just for you guys http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20091227/NEWS03/912289998

 

[Alfiegee]

True, actually any fish will taste decent. I did a survival training course years ago, like Survivor-Man.
I was dropped in the bush about 100 miles from Temagami and had to make my way to the Hi-way. Speared Suckers kept me going for the most part. They don't taste bad from clean water.

Alfie.