Bowfin

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Here in Florida,Some friends of mine have a creek that runs through the back of their property- If we remember this year, we're going to catch a batch of babies this spring. (we have talked about it for a couple of years, but there is only a short span of time to catch the fry)

I was going down the Ichnetucknee river and the doing the usual, floating down with a snorkel on and my butt in the air- I followed a bass for a while, and suddenly all the fish were GONE-- I realized belatedly, I was directly above a bowfin, est. about four feet beneath me, and and easily five feet in length. I got really excited, started splashing and trying to get my sister's attention, when the bowfin kind of slowly, cocked his eye up at me. I left.
 
magic said:
****, illegal in CA!!!!!! WHY IS EVERYTHING ILLEGAL WHERE I LIVE??????????????? GGGGGGGRRRRRRRR
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Because your government doesn't trust you to make good decisions. (Like the time the referendum was passed to legalize marijuana.)
 
Amia Calva is a very aggressive and predatory fish. The scientist who first described them saw a group of young fish in a tight school and when he drew closer to examine them he was quite surprised when one of the parent fish actually jumped out of the pond in an effort to fight him off in defense of the fry.
The world record is over 20 lbs.
I myself have never caught one on hook and line.
 
starrfish71 said:
Here in Florida,Some friends of mine have a creek that runs through the back of their property- If we remember this year, we're going to catch a batch of babies this spring. (we have talked about it for a couple of years, but there is only a short span of time to catch the fry)

I was going down the Ichnetucknee river and the doing the usual, floating down with a snorkel on and my butt in the air- I followed a bass for a while, and suddenly all the fish were GONE-- I realized belatedly, I was directly above a bowfin, est. about four feet beneath me, and and easily five feet in length. I got really excited, started splashing and trying to get my sister's attention, when the bowfin kind of slowly, cocked his eye up at me. I left.
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No chance a bowfin could get to five feet. Very large specimens top out a little under three feet.
If the fish you saw was truly five feet long it was more than likely a grass carp. However since you live in Florida it also could have been a Channa species released by a dumb fishkeeper. Amia calva does look similar to some Channa's or Snakeheads as we commonly call them
 
Dustin and I have been attacked by a male bowfin while he was building a nest. Happened in late January of '04. Luckily we were wearing waders as he was very aggressive. I have bite marks in the waders and he was only about 22" long. It was at a spot that we had been run out of by a 10' gator the previous May so at first it was what you might call a 'wader filling experience' (not talking about with water either - LOL). For his efforts, this bowfin is now on display at Riverbanks Zoo here in Columbia, SC.

Chip in SC
 
The world record was caught here in SC 21lb-8oz. Bowfin regularly get over 30" but one over 36" is fairly rare. Probably look a lot bigger when you're swimming with them. Some pics and locations can be found here - www.bowfinanglers.com

Chip in SC
 
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