BOWFIN!!!

Today I went out looking for bowfin. This was my second try for this elusive, rare (in Massachusetts) fish. The first attempt was an epic fail in which, I did not even get to make a cast for them. Going out today was sort of a spur of the moment thing. I was hoping to go up to New Hampshire this weekend, but severe thunderstorms and rain were predicted.  So yesterday I carp fished in the morning and striper fished in the evening.

Today when I got up I checked the weather, the forecast was for clouds, and I did not want to waste the overcast conditions. So I weighed my options and decided to try for bowfin again. I came up with a game plan to use both lures and shiners. I needed my kayak to paddle to the place known to harbor them.

I had no delusions that I would actually catch one. When it comes to targeting new species of fish, I never plan on catching one. My goals are always to try for them and give myself a chance. I always hope to catch one, but I am never disappointed when I come up short. I try to look at each failure as a learning experience. I went lake trout fishing six or seven times before I caught one.

I got to the water body and started fishing. I used shiners on one rod and lures on the other. There was a lot of shoreline all of it with cover for ambush predators to hide in. The area was like a swamp. There was a ton of open water, but the edges were covered in brush, fallen timber and even standing timber.

After only a few minutes the bobber dropped and I set the hook. Unfortunately, there was nothing on the end of the line. So I put on another shiner and casted in the same location. Luckily, the bobber dropped again. This time when I set the hook the rod bent. At first it was easy to reel the fish in. I thought I had a small bass of about 12 inches. Then the fish started digging for the bottom in deeper water, followed by shooting into the sky, and then back to the bottom. When it jumped I saw a long slender fish, bowfin! My heart started racing. I was near one of the few spots I could beach the kayak.  I started paddling backwards while fighting the fish. After the initial weak run, it fought like a champ; it took drag more than once. I was afraid it would break my twelve pound line or cut it with its sharp teeth.

When I got it near the kayak I saw that it was hooked in the upper lip. I knew the hook was in a good position to not cut the line with the teeth, the hook popping out was another matter altogether. I beached the kayak and slid the fish on shore.  Then I had to unhook the fish. I had read bowfin will intentionally bite. I was more than careful. I was nervous getting the hook out but it came out fairly easily. I took a few pictures. I then walked in the water up to my knees, revived it and watched it swim away.

Bowfin are long shaped fish, they are skinny top to bottom, but cylindrical like a baseball bat. I didn’t weigh it, but my guess it was around five pounds. I would not be surprised if someone that knows more about bowfin than me told me it looked more like a four pounder or a seven pounder. Either way, I’m glad I caught a good sized one, but I’m enthusiastic, I caught one of any size.

I fished another three hours. I caught a bunch more fish, but they were crappie. No more bowfin, on my paddle back to the car I felt a sense of accomplishment and left with a hell of a memory.  

 

Below are a couple more pictures