Bowfin. Amia calva. Beaverfish. Blackfish. Choupic. Choupique. Cottonfish. Cypress trout. Dogfish. Grindle. Grinnel. Grinner. Lawyer. Mudfish. Poisson-castor. Scaled ling. Shoepick. Shoepik. Shoepike. Shupik. Speckled Cat.

        One tough fish, many strange names. The bowfin has been around 150,000,000 years. Dinosaurs? He watched 'em disappear. Sabre-tooth Tiger? Yep, she saw 'em come and go. B@$$? A 12-million-year old rookie! Perfectly adapted to his niche, the bowfin is a survivor from the late Jurassic period of the Mesozoic Era.

        We are The Bowfin Anglers Group, the web's premier bowfin angling site. We are dedicated to the pursuit of this great native species and to the education of the uninformed angler who has too often heard this fish called "trash". The Bowfin, with its partner the Gar, claim the title "America's Toughest Sportfish For 100,000,000 Years!©" Almost all of our group started out chasing "those other fish," but upon discovering bowfin, we discovered a whole new world of fun.

        Perhaps you dropped in from a link on another fishing site, from discussions enthusiastic, "A great fighting fish, eager to hit anything in your tackle box" to the ludicrous "Their slime is poison - don't even touch them!". Thank you for stopping in, a sure sign of intelligence and natural inquisitiveness. There are many Myths surrounding the bowfin so browse around with an open mind and see what you may be missing.

        We are always in search of your bowfin fishing stories, pictures, tips, and news. This is a joint effort - all you Bowfin Anglers out there provide the content, I provide the space, www.bowfinanglers.com. Our updates will occur any time, all the time, so check back often. During prime time we have updates 3 times a week or more! Be sure to visit our sister site The Gar Anglers' Sporting Society (GASS).

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BAGman,
I iced this fish in Connecticut, in a small piece of backwater off of the Connecticut River, just north of Hartford. The fish was caught in 4 feet of water on the outside of a weedline. It was caught on a 5" Golden Pond Shiner suspended 12" off of the bottom.
The fish hit at first light, just as the sun was coming up. I also iced one 10 minutes after. The second fish was a little smaller that went about 4 lbs. I did not get a picture of that fish, though the second one was really gold and had bright green fins.
These fish were taking line really fast off of the tip ups. Once I stuck them and set the hook, they went nuts, changing directions many times, and making long powerful runs. A really nice suprise!! They definitely fight as good as, if not better, than a "Large" Northern Pike. I have attached the only picture we took.
I look forward to seeing this report on your site. You guys have a great site and a lot of informative information.
Thank You
Tom G (TBONE - ctfisherman.com), CT 01/29/07

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