Super User Catch and Grease Posted March 22, 2015 Super User Posted March 22, 2015 Bowfin 8-4 They're more powerful than bass. I cringe when they're called 'mudfish' Roger Great catch, Great picture! 1 Quote
desmobob Posted March 23, 2015 Posted March 23, 2015 There are some nice ones in Lake Champlain. I got this one a wacky-rigged Senko! Tight lines, Bob 1 Quote
justhere Posted March 23, 2015 Posted March 23, 2015 Never caught one, but I remember a few years ago here someone caught one and thought it was a snakehead. The PFBC came in and everything, now they have a picture of one in the rulebook you get with your liscense explaining the difference between these and snakehead. Quote
Super User SoFlaBassAddict Posted March 23, 2015 Super User Posted March 23, 2015 Down south they are called mud fish. They fight great at the beginning making you think you have a quality largemouth until you see them boat side and then they start their death roll similar to a catfish. I personally hate all trash fish that imitate gamefish until you find otherwise. Frustrating as hell. Drop a bait and and get thumped. Rear back and jack em. Think you have a monster on, then you realize it's a mudfish. I think I caught more of them on Saturday than I had on any other single trip. Darn things destroy plastics too. 1 Quote
John G Posted March 26, 2015 Posted March 26, 2015 Bowfin 8-4 They're more powerful than bass. I cringe when they're called 'mudfish' Roger Great looking Mudfish! Quote
OntarioFishingGuy Posted March 26, 2015 Posted March 26, 2015 We would shoot these all the time in western Michigan while bowfishing for carp. They sure do wiggle a lot when you hit them in the side. We would either leave the carcasses in the lake (completely legal) or take them with us and throw them in the woods to feed the deer. If they are overpopulating the lake, find something else to do with them other than wasting them. Just because its legal, doesn't make it right. Bowfin are actually very similar to bass, and I can't understand why they are considered 'trash fish'. If your lake were overpopulated with sturgeon, would you kill and waste them too? Quote
LunkerFisher Posted March 26, 2015 Posted March 26, 2015 If they are overpopulating the lake, find something else to do with them other than wasting them. Just because its legal, doesn't make it right. Bowfin are actually very similar to bass, and I can't understand why they are considered 'trash fish'. If your lake were overpopulated with sturgeon, would you kill and waste them too? What would you suggest? I guess I don't see how feeding deer and whatever aquatic animals find a free feast as "wasting". I'm sure not going to eat a dogfish. Quote
Super User Catch and Grease Posted March 26, 2015 Super User Posted March 26, 2015 Are they really overpopulated and hurting the other species of fish though? Not calling you a lier but it seems hard to believe, is there any study's you can put a link up for? Quote
Super User J Francho Posted March 26, 2015 Super User Posted March 26, 2015 If they are overpopulating the lake, there's a bigger issue than the dogfish… 1 Quote
Super User F14A-B Posted March 26, 2015 Super User Posted March 26, 2015 I just wonder if the mudfish ( Bowfin ) is protected under law? These are a prehistoric fish, no? Quote
Super User Catch and Grease Posted March 26, 2015 Super User Posted March 26, 2015 I just wonder if the mudfish ( Bowfin ) is protected under law? These are a prehistoric fish, no? He posted a link and apparently it is legal there. Quote
LunkerFisher Posted March 26, 2015 Posted March 26, 2015 I just wonder if the mudfish ( Bowfin ) is protected under law? These are a prehistoric fish, no? No restrictions in Michigan. Quote
Mike2841 Posted March 26, 2015 Posted March 26, 2015 Never caught one, they're not that common here. I've never understood why some people don't like catching "trash" fish when most of the time they are bigger and fight harder than bass. 2 Quote
Super User gulfcaptain Posted March 28, 2015 Super User Posted March 28, 2015 I'd fish for them if we had them in CA, but we don't. Think they look very cool and just because some don't believe they are a game fish sounds like they pull and fight harder then the bass we pursue. Not a fan of killing anything just because I think it shouldn't be there either. No point in taking an animals life just for the pure pleasure of it, then leaving it in the lake or tossing it in the woods. Caught many carp that would pull our dearly loved bass backwards. I give them a thank you for the great fight and then a gentle release. May have a few 4 letter words when I first find out what it is though. 1 Quote
grizzly1654 Posted March 28, 2015 Posted March 28, 2015 The only thing i have against them is that they destroy my brand new spinner baits lol. But man are they fun to catch! 1 Quote
Super User scaleface Posted March 28, 2015 Super User Posted March 28, 2015 I was wading a small inlet to a river. Reeling in a Rattle Trap and I saw a big fish miss it but it was still in hot pursuit. When I finished the retrieve in calf deep water I let the lure dangle in the water and the bowfin smashed it just a couple of feet away . Took me by surprise. I thought it was a lunker smallmouth. 1 Quote
Super User new2BC4bass Posted April 4, 2015 Super User Posted April 4, 2015 I never understood why people kill these fish thinking that they "take over" or "kill off bass fry and eggs." They have been part of the ecosystem way longer than bass have in most places(especially the swamps)! I have no idea if this is true or not. My brother-in-law and I tried a lake in a state park. He lives in Florida. Beautiful looking lake surrounded by trees. Lots of grass along the shoreline. Hard to get a boat into. No ramp. We fish from a 14' canoe. Probably a pit dug out to provide dirt and gravel for the Interstate running nearby. Several feet deep at the shoreline. Looked like the perfect bass lake. A beautiful looking day, a beautiful looking lake with some very nice scenery (for Florida ). Only fish we caught all day were bowfins. A new spinnerbait was destroyed with the first fish I caught. Although I had hits several times on plastics (and thought I had them on the way in), I never landed a one. It was like they grabbed it short and held on for a bit before deciding it was more trouble than it was worth. I don't have a monster hook set, but I was using 40# braid. They were fun to catch even if ugly enough to scare spots off a leopard. We kept one to to see if they were good eating. Didn't find out until later that you should never rinse these fish off with water after filleting. From what I gather if done right they are a good eating fish. 1 Quote
blackmax135 Posted April 4, 2015 Posted April 4, 2015 I have no idea if this is true or not. My brother-in-law and I tried a lake in a state park. He lives in Florida. Beautiful looking lake surrounded by trees. Lots of grass along the shoreline. Hard to get a boat into. No ramp. We fish from a 14' canoe. Probably a pit dug out to provide dirt and gravel for the Interstate running nearby. Several feet deep at the shoreline. Looked like the perfect bass lake. A beautiful looking day, a beautiful looking lake with some very nice scenery (for Florida ). Only fish we caught all day were bowfins. A new spinnerbait was destroyed with the first fish I caught. Although I had hits several times on plastics (and thought I had them on the way in), I never landed a one. It was like they grabbed it short and held on for a bit before deciding it was more trouble than it was worth. I don't have a monster hook set, but I was using 40# braid. They were fun to catch even if ugly enough to scare spots off a leopard. We kept one to to see if they were good eating. Didn't find out until later that you should never rinse these fish off with water after filleting. From what I gather if done right they are a g ood eating fish. Make sure to always clean them right away. If you can't soak in buttermilk. That's just what I've found to be the best way so they eat good. That's what all the old folks taught me. Quote
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