The Bowfin: you either love them or you hate them.
Most will catch the toothy fossil and then bang them against the side of their boat or stab plyers through that bony skull after the infamous mudfish has ravaged their favorite lure.
As for me however, I look at this fish with wonder an awe. The product of perfection, the bowfin has evolved little in 150 million years. In the rare instance I catch one, I make sure I safely release them into the water, to carry on their rather mysterious lives of ripping schools of baitfish or slurping crawfish off the bottom. Whenever I do catch them on artificials, usually a white spinner bait, I enjoy the hard pulling and headshaking fight they put up, making aggressive runs ripping drag and shaking the rodtip as thrash their heads, attempting to throw the hook or slash your line. They really are a work of predatory art, even more so than our beloved Bass.
The rumors run wild with the Bowfin, from the terrible tasting meat, to their "bass only" diet. Both of these are rather untrue, as I have had delicous mudfish both fried and smoked, so long as it is fresh. Mudfish, depending on their area, usually feed on crustaceans and crawdads, as well as scavenge all the dead fish in the water. While a small bass may occasionally show up on the bowfin's menu, they do not target gamefish specifically.
Therefore I must ask you of my beloved bowfin:
Are you the fishermen that kills the fish and leaves it to rot, or do you release or eat them, just curious if any others share my opinion.
