April 15, 2023

I REACHED MY GOAL! ... of catching 100 bowfin on a fly. I needed 4 today to reach that goal, and I caught 6. From the first to the last, it took less than a year. In fact, not including the first one I caught in AR last June, I caught 101 in MO over a span of just 2.5 months...or about 10 weeks. I caught them from August 28 to October 9 (less than 1.5 months) last Fall, and then March 12-April 15 (just over a month) this year. I'm blown away... this was a crazy goal I never expected to reach, but am really excited I did. Bowfin are a flat out amazing, fun, and interesting fish to catch! I really love these fish!Here's some of the ones caught on the 15th.:https://s12.gifyu.com/images/C6BC5EF...E481F6404D.jpghttps://s12.gifyu.com/images/597FA0D...2B0C618B68.jpghttps://s12.gifyu.com/images/E874DA5...23868566B7.jpghttps://s12.gifyu.com/images/0356B30...05E0F40AD1.jpgI also caught a Black Bullhead:https://s12.gifyu.com/images/B4632CB...63540601EC.jpgI tossed a fly into a pod of Grass Carp. The fly sank. Then my line started to move... a Common Carp had eaten the fly!https://s11.gifyu.com/images/732BFDC...4DCBFB1054.jpg

Wow, what a great selection of fish. I never have seen a Bow fish, were they imported to the area or are they a native fish? Looks like they can put up a good fight.I have caught some Carp in the past while fishing for Smallmouth bass and I was very impressed with the power those fish have. Looks like you had a great time.Larry ---sagefisher---

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Originally Posted by sagefisher

Wow, what a great selection of fish. I never have seen a Bow fish, were they imported to the area or are they a native fish? Looks like they can put up a good fight.I have caught some Carp in the past while fishing for Smallmouth bass and I was very impressed with the power those fish have. Looks like you had a great time.Larry ---sagefisher---

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Thanks Larry! Yes, Bowfin are native to the U.S. From Wikipedia:"The bowfin (Amia calva) is a bony fish, native to North America. Common names include mudfish, mud pike, dogfish, grindle, grinnel, swamp trout, and choupique. It is regarded as a relict, being one of only two surviving species of the Halecomorphi, a group of fish that first appeared during the Early Triassic, around 250 million years ago. The bowfin is often considered a "primitive fish" because they have retained some morphological characteristics of their early ancestors. It is one of two species in the genus Amia, along with Amia ocellicauda, the eyespot bowfin. The closest living relatives of bowfins are gars, with the two groups being united in the clade Holostei."The ones I've been catching are the Eyespot Bowfin (Amia ocellicauda). I hope to catch a Ruddy Bowfin (Amia calva) in Florida soon.

You definitely have catching Bowfin dialed in. Dennis

Congratulations David!

Thanks Dennis and Dale! :)