Dogfish

[lesliegadd]

Hello

Yesterday I caught myself a dogfish (bowfin) in the waters around Honey Harbour, ON.



I have been advised by a few people that I should have destroyed this fish as it is invasive to our waters. I have not seen any notifications that we need to destroy this species if caught as I have with the goby. I am not a destroyer of any wildlife for no reason in general (I am a catch & releaser)

Can anyone confirm or deny this claim for me?
Thank you
leslie

 

[hammercarp]

Bowfin / dogfish are a native species. It is good that you did not kill it needlessly. If you are not sure of a fishes identity it is always smart to release it.

 

[getin]

The invasive species usually overpopulate an area. I have not heard a fishery being taken over by bowfins. Regardless, the regulations suggests only killing the gobies.

 

[Somenomai]

I think those guys may have mistaken it for a snakehead. They look similar and are invasive.

 

[lesliegadd]

I think those guys may have mistaken it for a snakehead. They look similar and are invasive.

Thank you - this is what I thought too !

 

[lesliegadd]

Bowfin / dogfish are a native species. It is good that you did not kill it needlessly. If you are not sure of a fishes identity it is always smart to release it.

Thank you, I thought they were a native species too. I know that the gobies need destroying but I even have a hard time with that so there was no way I was destroying something that I did not think was considered invasive

I appreciate knowing I did good

 

[lesliegadd]

The invasive species usually overpopulate an area. I have not heard a fishery being taken over by bowfins. Regardless, the regulations suggests only killing the gobies.

One of them (the tellers of non-truth) said it was the "naturalists" that want them dead ... he also said in the same breath that they are few and far between ... so really, why destroy them??

I have a hard time destroying the gobies and I know I have to !!

Happy fishing :grin:

 

[Alfiegee]

Yes bowfin or dogfish are indeed a native spieces and I find them very exciting to catch, they are one of the hardest fighting fish lb for lb around and should be released. I have never kept one and have heard they are not very good table fare, but I'm sure some of the clowns that fish the dam in Caledonia keep them.
I live close to the "carp barrier (lol)" between Hamilton Harbor and Cootes Paradise and often go down to watch the fish lifts. The staff of the Royal Botanical Gardens who take care off the lifts are very knowledgeable. Bowfin are an almost prehistoric fish and have been in our waters for centuries. They have a lung, which is why some people call them a Lungfish and can survive out of water for a very long time. Larger spiecemens can also have very large teeth hence the name Dogfish. I don't think they are actually considered a gamefish by the MNR, but I think it would be criminal to destroy such a relic. They were here long before we were.

Alfie.

 

[Alfiegee]

Leslie you did the right thing. The fish in your picture is a bowfin, glad you released it. Maybe you will catch it again in a year or two, a couple of lbs heavier and a little stronger.I have also heard in the invasive snakehead on the program River Monsters. A lady caught what she thought was a snakehead in the Welland Canal a while back, but it turned out to be a Bowfin. After viewing that show I did some online research and at that time there had never been a documented case of a snakehead in Canada and personally other than the fin running the length of the body I don't really see any similarities between the 2.

Alfie.

 

[Float_On]

Hey Alfie,

The bowfin has the ability to absorb oxygen into it's bloodstream through it's swim bladder. It doesn't have an actual lung that it can breathe with.

Many other fish can do this in the world, notably the sturgeon.

Not sure if there are any creatures in the world that have multiple avenues to obtain oxygen. I believe frogs can absorb through osmosis with their wet skin.

 

[NADO]

Theres a few, the arapima is one.

 

[Alfiegee]

Hey Alfie,

The bowfin has the ability to absorb oxygen into it's bloodstream through it's swim bladder. It doesn't have an actual lung that it can breathe with.

Many other fish can do this in the world, notably the sturgeon.

Not sure if there are any creatures in the world that have multiple avenues to obtain oxygen. I believe frogs can absorb through osmosis with their wet skin.

Oh, Ok. I was just stating what the people who operate the "carp barrier (lol)" for the Royal Botanical Gardens told me. I'm no expert by any means.

Alfie.

 

[justin_urbain]

Thanks for releasing him (yellow spot on tail = male)! Bowfin are a pretty rare catch. I've only seen about a dozen of them fished throughout many years of fishing. Bowfin are one of the top three oldest native fishes, along with sturgeon and gars. There is documentation of fossilsfound in Quebec that are estimated to be from 200 million years ago!

 

[lesliegadd]

Thanks for releasing him (yellow spot on tail = male)! Bowfin are a pretty rare catch. I've only seen about a dozen of them fished throughout many years of fishing. Bowfin are one of the top three oldest native fishes, along with sturgeon and gars. There is documentation of fossilsfound in Quebec that are estimated to be from 200 million years ago!

Ok - so it was a male - he was so squishy and fat on the bottom I thought that 'she' might be full of eggs -- I am happy to know now Does the female have a different coloured spot or none at all?

 

[Alfiegee]

Thanks for releasing him (yellow spot on tail = male)! Bowfin are a pretty rare catch. I've only seen about a dozen of them fished throughout many years of fishing. Bowfin are one of the top three oldest native fishes, along with sturgeon and gars. There is documentation of fossilsfound in Quebec that are estimated to be from 200 million years ago!

I didn't know that the spot = male before. That's interesting. I'm not sure where you fish justin, but I would have a hard time even estimating how many bowfin I have caught over the years. I started as a kid fishing in a river near what was then Outlet Beach Provincial Park, now Sandbanks PP. This old timer told of us a pike he called one eye that he had hooked many times over the years, but never landed. He swore it was 25 lbs, the bait of choice was chunks of perch. ( I'm going back to when I was 10 so my brother and I didn't think much of cutting up a perch for bait to catch a 25 lb "legendary" pike.) What we caught were bowfin. Now I catch bowfin in Cootes Paradise and Hamilton Harbor on chunks of frozen sardine or worms while targeting channel cats. We also get quite a few below the dam at Caledonia on large minnows.
They are one of the best fighting fish around and I think they are very beautiful and exotic. I usually take that chance for a good photo and then let these relics go and tell them to come see me next year for a pis when they are a bit bigger. They usually occur to me as an incidental catch as I don't really know how to go about targeting them.
I'm happy to catch them when I do and also happy to release them.

Alfie.

 

[justin_urbain]

I didn't know that the spot = male before. That's interesting. I'm not sure where you fish justin, but I would have a hard time even estimating how many bowfin I have caught over the years. I started as a kid fishing in a river near what was then Outlet Beach Provincial Park, now Sandbanks PP. This old timer told of us a pike he called one eye that he had hooked many times over the years, but never landed. He swore it was 25 lbs, the bait of choice was chunks of perch. ( I'm going back to when I was 10 so my brother and I didn't think much of cutting up a perch for bait to catch a 25 lb "legendary" pike.) What we caught were bowfin. Now I catch bowfin in Cootes Paradise and Hamilton Harbor on chunks of frozen sardine or worms while targeting channel cats. We also get quite a few below the dam at Caledonia on large minnows.
They are one of the best fighting fish around and I think they are very beautiful and exotic. I usually take that chance for a good photo and then let these relics go and tell them to come see me next year for a pis when they are a bit bigger. They usually occur to me as an incidental catch as I don't really know how to go about targeting them.
I'm happy to catch them when I do and also happy to release them.

Alfie.

I mostly fish in and around Montréal, where I live. I know that there are bowfin present, many of my fishing friends have caught them, usually using small poppers or spinners on the side of weed beds. I`ve also seen one caught on a worm while still fishing for bullheads. I will try to spend some time targeting this fish in the near future, and I`ll keep you posted!

 

[lesliegadd]

I mostly fish in and around Montréal, where I live. I know that there are bowfin present, many of my fishing friends have caught them, usually using small poppers or spinners on the side of weed beds. I`ve also seen one caught on a worm while still fishing for bullheads. I will try to spend some time targeting this fish in the near future, and I`ll keep you posted!

I would love to catch this one ... or a bigger one again - the fight is amazing --- and they like worms !! They are just a little squishy and stinky !!

I am heading out to the secret spot tonight, there is a largie out there with my name on it