Bowfin are notorious as being very aggressive biters and fighters, but as they are often overlooked, the sportfish potential is impressive.
June 03, 2024
By Matt Crawford
Remember when America lost its collective mind over snakeheads? It was 2002 and snakeheads—a particularly aggressive invasive species of fish—were discovered in a Crofton, MD., pond. Interior Secretary Gail Norton sounded the alarm by July of that year.
“These fish are like something from a bad horror movie,” Norton said at a July 22 news conference. “These fish are top-level predators. They’ll eat virtually anything in their path.”
Federal and state biologists back then believed the arrival of snakeheads (illegally imported into US waters) would lead to a massive disruption in the ecosystems where they were found.
But in the last 20 years, the hype has died down. Snakeheads have settled in nicely and emerged as bucket-list fish for many anglers in the Mid-Atlantic states where they thrive. The ecological devastation has yet to manifest itself.
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Meanwhile, in some of those same waters where snakehead swim, there lurks a wholly unrelated but similar-looking native fish with the same bait-smashing attitude and voracious appetite. Only without the doomsday reputation, the splashy headlines, and seemingly without as much angler passion.
They are bowfin—a prehistoric fish that's been around North America for hundreds of millions of years. From the Great Lakes to the Mississippi drainage to much of the Southeast, North American anglers have been low-key chasing bowfin for a lot longer than snakeheads.
And today, at a time of year when bowfin spawning season hits its peak across most of their range, it seems like a perfect time to shine a brief spotlight on bowfin, one of our most underappreciated native fishes. In the meantime, perhaps we can elevate the profile of a fish that's been lurking in the shadows for far too long.
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Bowfin are notorious as being very aggressive biters and fighters, but as they are often overlooked, the sportfish potential is impressive. No Relation Let's clear this up right away: Although similar looking, bowfin and snakeheads are not related. The two snakehead species found in the U.S.—the northern snakehead and the bullseye snakehead—are from Asia and Africa. Bowfin are native to the eastern and midwestern United States.
Many Names We're calling them bowfin in this story, but they go by a slew of other names including dogfish, mudfish, cotton fish, grinnel, speckled cat, beaver fish, swamp muskie, and choupique. For the Latin nerds out there, bowfin are Amia Calva, although in 2022 a distinct subspecies (Amia ocellicauda) was classified. Either way, they are the only remaining species of fish descended from an order that was alive millions of years ago. Essentially, they are living dinosaurs.
Love That Dirty Water Bowfin can be found in shallow water that's often highly vegetated. It's water that doesn't get a lot of other angling pressure. Sure, some largemouth live in similar habitats, but bowfin are exceptionally tolerant of low dissolved oxygen levels, which gives them the ability to live in the weedy areas where other predators are unable to survive.
"A lot of people don’t target bowfin because of misconceptions and prejudices," said Drew Price, a bowfin fan who operates Master Class Angling guide service on Lake Champlain in Vermont. "For years there’s been an attitude in the angling community that if it isn’t one of the big, sexy gamefish then it’s a trash fish. Bowfin are adapted to live in low-oxygen environments that many other species don’t survive well. A lot of people avoid those places too."
If you're in a shallow bay with thick weed cover in a body of water that holds a population of bowfin, you're in the right place.
Make 'Em Mad Bowfin are not particularly boat-shy, and if you are moving through a likely bowfin spot at low speeds (either by trolling motor or paddling) you'll often see them gulping air on the surface. These fish are mean, unafraid, and not likely to hightail it out of there at the first sight of your boat.
"One of the reasons why I love fishing and guiding for them is that they are incredibly smart, alongside being very powerful," he said. "There’s no other freshwater fish that I’ve encountered that will come up and look you in the eyes. They are very curious and will inspect a boat. People think they are dumb because of that but it’s the opposite. Curiosity is a sign of intelligence."
Which means you can sight-fish for them. You'll likely have to trigger a bite by repeatedly putting a bait right in them. They aren't particularly fussy about what they'll eat—these are not selective trout—so a swimbait or a spinnerbait put within a few inches of their nose will work well. Crayfish and other soft plastic will work, just remember you're likely working those baits in weedy areas so plan to rig your baits in weedless style.
Baits, Two Because bowfin thrive in murky, weedy water, they don't rely heavily on their eyesight to identify prey. If you find yourself in prime bowfin water and are not sight-fishing for them, you're going to have to call some attention to your baits. A chatterbait or a spinnerbait will do the trick, with the more vibration the better.
Some of the most fun you can legally have on the water might be throwing plastic frogs at bowfin. Again, the key is to call some attention to your bait so dump the subtlety.
Bait, Too Not using artificial baits? No worries. Bowfin have been eating other fish for a few million years longer than they've been chasing chatterbaits and soft plastics.
In-Fisherman's Thomas has some impressive "dogfish" stories from his younger years, but still appreciates a surprise appearance when the fishing is slow. They fight angry indeed. As scavengers, bowfin will eat dead bait. Unweighted large baitfish, or a dead yellow perch, say, or rock bass, can do the trick. One of the simplest ways to catch bowfin is to just drift half a yellow perch under a bobber. Just make sure you're allowed to use panfish, or other species classified as gamefish, for bait.
Also: Live frogs and cutbaits.
Great Fight Besides their voracious appetites, their penchant for unloved water, and their unheralded place as a top native predator in the food chain, bowfin have another attribute that should elevate them in the eyes of anglers: They fight like hell.
Bowfin are battling beasts, and once a firm hookset is made, be prepared for all kinds of destruction. You'll want heavy tackle (30- or 40-pound fluorocarbon, for instance) and net. A bowfin's mouth is full of teeth so take extra precautions when removing the hooks.
In theory, you could eat bowfin, but they're certainly not coveted for their taste. It's best to release them to fight another day.
And fight they will.
