Minnesota recently opened a catch-and-release record category for bowfin, or as they’re known in different regions: mudfish, grinnel, choupique, or dogfish. While not considered one of America’s premier gamefish, anglers have learned that bowfin are tough, strong, aggressive and fun to catch.
“I think they’re one of the most underrated fish out there,” 30-year-old Ben Erb explained to Wired2fish. “They can be caught on a lot of different tackle, and they fight pretty wild.”
Erb was fishing in early August from his kayak with a buddy in the weedy backwaters not far from the headwaters region of the Mississippi River. It’s near where he’s a graduate fisheries biology researcher for Bemidji State University in Bemidji, Minnesota.
“We’d found a weedy backwater area that was full of big bowfin, and we caught some really good ones there off and on for a few weeks,” explained Erb who’s from Farmington, Minnesota. “The state recently opened up a catch and release record category for bowfin, with a 31-inch minimum size requirement.”
Erb was catching bowfins (Amia calva) nearly that length on several trips to his hot spot region. So, the next time he tried the area he was ready with a proper measuring board, and a buddy tagged along to enjoy the fishing, too.
“Zane DenOuden was with me that day,” said Erb. “He’s originally from North Carolina, but moved to Minnesota. We’ve been good fishing buddies since we were undergraduates in college.
On August 2, Erb and DenOuden were paddling their kayaks for bowfin in a weed-filled area a bit closer to the main river current of the Mississippi. They got into big mudfish right away, catching several 28 to 30 inchers – ones nearly reaching the minimum length needed for a new Minnesota record.
Finally, Erb spotted a fish’s dorsal fin cutting the water’s surface near a weed bed. He cast a dead shiner bait fitted to a bare hook to the fish and waited. The mudfish disappeared, then reappeared, then disappeared.
Erb felt a slight tug on his line, lifted his rod a bit, felt pressure, set the hook, and the bowfin was on.
Erb said he’s caught smaller bowfin that fought much harder. But the lengthy fish he had on measured exactly 31 inches. The fish qualified for the state catch-and-release record, and a video made of the measuring and releasing of his bowfin confirmed the record catch to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
“I caught the fish on August 2, and the record was confirmed [by Minnesota DNR] on August 4,” says Erb. “I’m interested in having a replica made and I’m looking at different taxidermists for that.”
Erb knows there are some bigger bowfin out there, hungry and ready to fight. He fished his hot spot after catching his record fish, but a cold front moved into the region and the bowfin have moved out.
The Minnesota record bowfin was a 31.5-inch fish that also was caught from the Mississippi River in September 2012. That Wabasha County bowfin weighed 12 pounds, 9 ounces.
“I’m not the best at estimating fish weights,” Erb said. “But I’d guess my 31-incher weighed about 11 pounds.
“Because I released it, someday it may grow even bigger and heavier.”
