How to Catch Bowfin

How to Catch Bowfin

Bowfin are a fish most fishermen  either love or hate.    Bass anglers despise them because they can really just destroy a spinner bait or a plug but I think most Bass anglers just are not used to unhooking them which can be daunting to some especially since they have teeth.

What's not to like about them??   They get Big,  they fight hard,  they sometimes jump,  they are fairly easy to catch once you figure them out and they are tackle busters.  Come under gunned and they will leave you with your head hanging.  A True Sportfish they are.

So where do you find Bowfin?  Check out the map below.  2/3rds of the Eastern US is Prime Bowfin habitat.
What surprises me about this map is how little Bowfin range in Texas.    I actually feel sorry for people who live outside of where Bowfin Range !

Here is a map courtesy of usgs.gov
 

Anywhere they range you need to look for the backwaters or sluggish areas  and especially areas with lots of weed growth.   For example on my home lake of Jordan lake here in North Carolina they are all over the lake but less common on main lake points and areas w/o cover.   To find an abundance of them you need to go to backs of coves  where it is shallower and /or weedier.  To find a bigger abundance of them find a creek with  a beaver pond on it just above the lake.

I caught my first ever Bowfin  way back in 1982 on the then New Jordan Lake when  she was only a 1yr old lake. This 4 lb bowfin smashed a chartreuse Snagless Sally I was throwing for bass and I was forever hooked.   Now, some years my fishing for them wanes while I pursue other species but I always keep coming back to the incredible Bowfin.   I have caught them up to near 14 lbs but most are going to be 4-7 lbs with a occasional 8-10 lber thrown in.

One  place I fish for them is the Neuse River in Eastern N.C.   Down there it is a medium sized river that has some Cypress trees but to get into the really good bowfin water there you need to go into a feeder creek that is full of Cypress trees and back water areas,  Here the Bowfin is King.

So, remember backwaters, sluggish areas, beaverponds, etc.

Some days you can even see Bowfin gulping air  as they can breath air so if you see them doing this just know you are in a good spot.

So what kind of tackle do you use for Bowfins?    Any reel that can be used for Bass fishing can be used for Bowfins but usually I go a little heavier.  If I am truely Bowfin fishing I use at least 50 lb braid or 20 lb mono.

Tactics-  Bait or Lures

 Bait-   The best way to catch Bowfin  is to put a piece of cutbait on a Carolina rig using a 2 oz sinker and a 3-4/0 Gamagatsu J hook.   The next  best way is to float a minnow, shiner or very small bream 1-2 ' under a cork.

Lures-  IMO the best lure for Bowfins are a 3/8 oz spinnerbait with tandem blades black in color. Chartreuse and white work also. Always use a trailer hook and this is a Bowfin getter for sure.   Other good lures are a Chartreuse Snagless Sally,   Floating Yellow Worms ( Haw River Tackle Floating Worms are the best ) and Pink Senkos Wacky Rigged.    Truth be known they will hit any bass lure but the ones listed are the best IMHO.

Get the BEST Bowfin Lures  Here -

#1 Booyah Tux and Tails Spinnerbait - https://amzn.to/3gZbtkR

#2 Pink Senko - https://amzn.to/3B1LEaG

Hooks for Senko  -2/0 Wide Gap #230412 3/0 wide gap 230413 https://amzn.to/3gQzj2n

#3 Haw River Tackle Floating Worms - https://amzn.to/3gRxgLg

Haw River Tackle website  https://hrtackle.com/

Hooks for Haw river Tackle Worms - 

Lazer Sharp 3/0 - https://amzn.to/3ESTJzz

Lazer Sharp 4/0 - https://amzn.to/3VpZnAp

#4 Snagless Sally - https://amzn.to/3OSY22m

              Also Note the Fish Gripper in every picture .  This is a MUST when targeting Bowfins

Get Your fish Gripper Here - https://amzn.to/3FhesP4

Here are a few videos I have on Bowfin on my YOUTUBE Channel

Subscribe to this blog and my youtube channel
THANKS ! MACK

Bowfin fishing
snakehead fishing
North carolina fishing

#bowfin

#bowfinfishing

#fishing

#fishingislife

Had to "Settle" for Bass

Well my plan Saturday was to go to the Pee Dee river with my life long friend Rodney  and fish for the ROBUST REDHORSE.


 Figured I would have to wade through a lot of Bass, Blue cats, and stripers to get a robust redhorse but it would be fun.  Ok,  just kiddin about the Robust Redhorse as it is endangered and the odds of catching one are slim to none but our plan was to float the Pee Dee and catch Bass and cats.

 Scratch that. Found out I had to go to my sons football meeting at 11 am so I had to hit up some place local.  We chose Buckhorn Dam on the Cape Fear because of it proximity to the both of us plus the time factor.  Our quarry was going to be Blue and Flathead catfish.

One WARNING.  Buckhorn is a nice place but it can be a place where a lot of hoodlums Hang out and I don't go don't there w/o a gun.  Note- when Rodney arrived at the dam there was a guy smoking a crack pipe.

 Met my friend Rodney there and we fished from 230- 800pm. I had to use my Frogg Toggs because of the rain which ended about 4 pm. The rain was actually a blessing as it kept the temps cool and probably increased the fish activity.  Our goal was to catch bait and then catfish, problem was usually here  I can catch all the bream  I want to but today they were not biting.
I tried everything I had. Spinners, grubs, ul Rapalas, even red worms. Nothing. finally after a couple of hours I grabbed the ole trusty Lews Speed Spool loaded with 50 lb braid and started slinging my favorite spinnerbait. Immediately I hooked into a chunky Largemouth and that may have went 3 lbs. Ended up catching no more Largemouth but caught 3 bowfin. 3lbs to 9 lbs. only got picture of smaller one as I released the 2 bigger ones while still in the water and caught aprox 20 Spotted Bass ranging from really small to maybe 2 lbs. Lost several big gar and no lunkers caught but it was a fun day on the water.

Here is Rodney's first Spotted Bass

 A nice 3 lb chunk Largemouth I caught on a spinnerbait

 A nice spot

 Another

 And another

3lb Bowfin

Wildlife seen was Ducks, herons(watched several catch some nice bait that I couldn't) , eagles, ospreys, 1 deer, 1 raccoon, and lots of 3 - 6 inch eels trying to do the salmon thing and swim up the dam. Some were making it 1/2 way up then falling back down. Note- I have caught eels above this dam so either some make it over in lower water or they crawl around.


*Date 8/2/2014
*Where- Cape Fear River
*Boat Used- Old Town 119
*Main Outfit used-  Lews Speed Spool 7.1-1 ratio on 7' MH Daiwa rod
  load with 50lb PowerPro
*All Bass caught on a Booya Spinnerbait


 Thanks for lookin-   Mack

A Few Hrs on The Haw River

Sunday April the 1st was a busy day and my son wanted to go fishing.  I had the Haw River in mind but after  Hour drive we only had 2 1/2 - 3 hrs to fish but hey!, it beats not fishing.
We arrived at the ramp to dingy and  slightly high water. I gave my son a 6 ft. spinning reel. with a Saros 3000 loaded with 14 lb Fireline and he would be throwing a white spinnerbait. I was using a 7' med rod with an  Abu Garcia 4600 loaded with 12 lb Ande line and also throwing a spinnerbait,  but mine was chartreuse.
We each had about 5 hits and each landed 2. I landed 2 Bass each about 2 lbs and he Landed 1 bass and 1 Bowfin. Not a  great day  as the bites were slow.  Oh, I almost forgot. My last hit was a massive fish which had to be a monster Bowfin by the way she fought. Needless to say I lost her.
Here are a few Pictures.

Haw River Bowfin

Boat and Gear Used-
Coleman Scanoe
Minn Kota Endura 55
Delco Voyager Battery


Thanks Mack

Blackwater Camping trip 6/18

***Just got my desktop fixed. this trip was done over 1 month ago. Great to have my computer back working good.!****

What a great way to spend a weekend. Camping with my son on the Neuse River and a black water Creek.
Back  in June we decided to camp at one of our favorite spots as the last few times  when coming home from there I could hardly make that 3am drive back to Cary. I was so tired one night I was pulled over in Johnston Co. by the highway patrol! The time before that I had to pull over and sleep for 30 mins. Getting old sure does suck.  We arrived at lunch, set up the tent, unloaded everything and then cooked some hamburgers on the Weber grill.   Sweet!

This is the first boat we saw on the creek,  Randy aka "Ole Rebel

Here is the tent and a view of the water.

After eating and speaking with Randy we headed to one of our favorite Bream spots. Not a lot was happening today with the Bream. We caught right many but not near as many the big ones as last month. They have probably headed to deeper water. A nice site today was 3 big Tom Turkeys walking right past us on the bank. One of those gobblers was a beast, his beard almost dragging the ground. While Bream fishing we also put out some bottom rigs for Bowfin and caught 4 nice ones.
Here are 2 of them.

Later that afternoon we ran into Alan,  aka "Tarheel Flyflinger" and his wife. They had also caught some nice bowfin and Alan gave me 3 very nice flies to try at a later date. Thanks Alan!
That evening we set up to catfish on the main river and had to head for the tent as a massive storm was rolling in. Mack N. caught 1 small flathead  apox 6lbs before we headed for cover. Luckily it never hit an we got a good nights sleep.
We woke up early and were eager to  hit the river again.  We caught some more bream and about the same number of bowfin as yesterday.
Look at the size of this cypress knee!.  I have always wanted to take a picture of this  knee as it is at least 20' tall and I finally  convinced Mack N. to climb out of the boat and stand on one of the smaller knees. Some of these cypress trees are surely over 500 years old.

We made it back to the ramp at lunch and Ran into Alan again, this time his partner was his son. They had caught some big bowfin and were headed home. We cooked some steaks and potatoes on the Weber grill and chilled out for a few hours.We then packed up and headed home.  Not our best catching trip but that is not what it is all about.
A weird side note is how can we be camping and surrounded by swamps and I think I only had 2 mosquitoes get after me the whole time down there????.  Then I arrive in Cary and while unloading my stuff in my yard I am attacked by what seems like thousands of mosquitoes????.  Dang  things.

Blackwater Creek Adventure

Went to a tributary of the Neuse river this am(6/7/11) in search of some Jack(Chain Pickeral).
Launched at 7am at a private ramp and made the paddle to this trib and worked my way up about 1 mile throwing a red roostertail with a silver blade. No Jack! but did manage 3 bass about 1 lb apiece and 2 bream.

Had to make 2 portages around fallen trees but not a bad float.

Since no Jack were caught on the way up I switched bait s and tied on a spinnerbait to throw on the way back down. Mainly targeted logs and cypress knees.  I picked up 3more bass all almost identical to the first 3 and 1 small bowfin.

Finally almost back down at the neuse I picked up a bass that may of went 5 lbs wet. She gave a good fight but 14 lb fireline was too much for her.

Dissapointed I didnt catch a Jack but a good morning it was with some decent fish caught.
Mack

Bowfin Slayer

Went to the Neuse Saturday June 4th in search of some Bream and Catfish.  My son wanted to take a freind so Nathan was our  fishing partner for today. We arrived at the ramp at aprox 3pm and made way to our bream hole.

Nathan and Mack caught lots of Bream on crickets with a few good ones caught. Not nearly as many big ones as last time but we were fishing for bait so smaller ones are ok as the bigger bream were released.

I had told Mack that the cat bite may be slow this evening as the cats are spawning so he decided that he wanted to fish for Bowfin while we were Bream fishing. I put out 1 rod (shimano 3500 Baitrunner w/15lb line on a 6 ft ugly stik) for Bowfin using cutbait on the bottom. You can see this rig on my post about catching catfish out of canoes. This rig with cutbait is a proven catcher of Bowfin.

Here is a video of the first Bowfin of the day

He caught 2 that size. Here is a picture of his other big one. Hard fighters!

After dark we set up on 3 different catfish spots but no hookups.  We all had a blast as we saw lots of wildlife and even had a fawn swim by us. We packed up and headed home at 11:30pm.