Ontario Angling Hitlist: Chapter 3- Reptilian Rampage
Ontario Angling Hitlist: Chapter 3- Reptilian Rampage
A green coloured, air breathing, scale covered, reptilian, swamp dwelling, primordial, aquatic predator; you'd be forgiven if you believed I was referring to some sort of crocodilian, but I am referring to the little-known (amongst most anglers) bowfin. If muskies are the fish of 10,000 casts, then the bowfin are the fish of 10,000 names. Bowfin, dogfish, swamp trout, swamp muskie, swampfish, and grindle are common monikers for the bowfin; however, in my humble opinion, 'trash fish' should never be associated with this species, they deserve better than that.
Bowfin have existed since the Jurassic period; they have been swimming largely unchanged for millions of years. Their closest living relative in Ontario waters is the longnose gar. They range from the cold clear waters of the Lake Huron watershed in Northeast Ontario to the swampy black waters of Florida! Bowfins have an eyespot on their tale, thought to be a false head to avoid predation (it's clearly worked if dinosaurs couldn't wipe them out). Bowfin utilize a primitive swim bladder to gulp surface air, and because of this can survive in stagnant backwaters almost completely devoid of dissolved oxygen. Male bowfin become vividly chartreuse coloured during spawning season, which is an adaption to make them more visible and imposing as they guard their eggs and fry from wouldbe predators. Bowfins are an important species that provides biodiversity to an ecosystem, and do not have negative affects on game fish populations. Several studies have revealed that a healthy predator fish population is essential to promote healthy, more robust, and large smaller species like bass, perch, walleye, and panfish. Predators are essential for eating injured, sick, and high concentrations of small fish to allow for less competition and a higher growth potential for survivors. In one of my bowfin spots I have caught 7 other species of fish most of which a bowfin can consume, clearly they are not eating all the game fish. The Ontario record for bowfin is just over 15 lbs. Bowfin can be targeted through diverse means from live bait, cut bait, worms, and with lures typically spinnerbaits, jerk baits and top water lures. They primarily reside in heavily vegetated swampy shallow water adjacent to drop-offs.
I thought it was my obligation to point out the differences
between bowfin and snakehead. Bowfins are a native fish to Ontario and are
important for a healthy ecosystem, they have been around longer than all other
game fish. Snakeheads are invasive; despite having similar long lean bodies,
there are distinct differences illustrated below.
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| Photo credit: Field and Stream |
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| Photo Credit: the Boundless Pursuit Website |
My bowfin endeavours began in 2024 when I participated in a multi-species tournament at work that allotted 1 point per species for the longest recorded fish (39 hours inspired). My strategy was simple, on top of my usual targets I wanted to add some odd ball species to the list because they would be less fiercely contested. This brought me to the weird world of rough fish, and man have I been bit by that bug. It was all over for me when I laid hooks into the bony palette of my first bowfin: the thrashing, entropy, head shakes, drag peels, and acrobatic jumps combined several attributes that make for an adrenaline fueled catch.
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| The bowfin that started it all |
Day One:
I only successfully landed one bowfin last year and on top of participating in this Ontario multi-species challenge I yearned to catch more bowfin simply due to the entertainment that they provide. As they are a warm water species, I planned to wait until early June to start my pursuit of this species. This week I went to a body of water near me and targeted a swampy shallow bay that was relatively adjacent to deep water. I started by placing a two hooked Carolina rig on the bottom, one rigged with cut bait and the other with night crawlers to narrow down a preference. After approximately an hour, the line was getting nibbled by bait fish, but nothing sizeable had shown interest. I then switched to a night crawler rigged up on a 4/0 offset octopus hook underneath a slip float to target higher up in the water column, as bowfin feed on the bottom, top, and mid column I wanted to explore different depths.
I then cast near shore and immediately got interest in what
seemed to be baitfish, maybe perch, bullhead, or sunfish. I began to second
guess the presence of any worm remaining on my hook after the nibbles, so I proceeded to
reel in to check my bait. Much to my surprise and excitement as I reeled to
check my hook, I quickly discovered the presence of a decent bowfin at the end
of my line. The chaos unfolded with head shakes, athletic jumps, drag peeling
runs, and unpredictable movements prior to being scooped into the net. With
this accomplished, I yearned for more, I needed to catch more of these
Prehistoric beasts! Although so many species remained on the list of my multi
species challenge I set my sights on more bowfin encounters.
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| My first bowfin of 2025! |
Day Two:
Despite success on my first outing, it did not satiate my appetite for more bowfin encounters. This morning, I attended the water very early in the morning and followed the same approach utilizing a nightcrawler underneath a float. About an hour into the morning my float dropped below the surface and stayed down, indicating to me that it was not a bullhead or panfish. I set the hook, and a large black bowfin head broke the surface, rapidly shaking its head and diving into several drag peeling runs. This bowfin was clearly a lot larger than my first two catches. After a spirited fight I hoisted her into the net, took a few photographs and released the beauty in the hopes of catching her again in the future.
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| 2 tooth marks from an aggressive bowfin strike on my float. |
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