Summer Bowhunting Season: How to Fly Fish for Bowfin

I greedily chugged the last few gulps of water from my jug, wiped the sunblock and sweat smears from my sunglasses, and let out a full-breath sigh as I stood up to paddle over to the next open patch of cattails and lily pads. It was a hot one–87 degrees with muggy humidity, and only the trace of a breeze to provide reprieve from the sweltering sun. It was just past 1 p.m. on this late-July afternoon–prime time to tangle with a prehistoric predator.

I shook my paddle on the water to send a siren song to the subsurface (more on this later) as my kayak slowly floated to the edge of thick cover. A familiar form soon appeared in from shadowy abyss, so I dropped my fly right off the snout of the submarine-like figure and proceeded to twitch and tease it. 

A tug from below sent every muscle in my body to grip my rod, preparing to keep this fish on the end of my line. In a thrilling, adrenaline-surging eruption of mud, suds, and fin-slapping fury, a mighty bowfin leapt out of the water and lunged back down to the depths to entangle itself in the substrate below. With rod bent in half and every muscle clenched, I stabilized myself and focused in for the showdown. 

I fought this formidable fish for a few minutes through clumps of cattails, hard-charging runs, and soaring deathrolls before finally subduing it in the net. Weakened and exhausted by the impressive power of this fish, with shaky breath and quivering knees, I unsteadily sat back in my kayak to regain my composure as the intensity of the fight caught up with me. I let out a commanding whoop and reveled in the victory. After unhooking this big gal and taking a quick snapshot for the memory bank, I released her with a nod of gratitude for being an adversary worthy of the sunburn, sweat, and sore muscles.

Why Fish for Bowfin

Fishing for trout may be top of mind for most fly anglers, and for good reason. Many anglers live in areas where trout are easily accessible and provide ample opportunities throughout the year. Of course it becomes more challenging as the heat of summer sinks in. Water levels drop and water temps creep up making handling sensitive trout questionable—or even unsafe or illegal—in catch-and-release scenarios. Even bass and pike enthusiasts have become particular this time of year, focusing on dawn and dusk hours when optimal conditions tip the odds in their favor. The dog days can leave fly anglers high and dry. Thankfully, there is at least one highly viable and underrated antidote—chasing bowfin on the fly.

When and Where to Fish for Bowfin

Although the middle of summer can be prime time for bowfin fishing, they can also be found in good numbers during spring and fall. Here in Vermont on Lake Champlain, I tend to turn to predator fishing around the 4th of July as the heat and humidity levels peak. By then, bowfin are hanging out in the shallows where they remain for the next few months.

Ideal conditions to sight fish for bowfin are bright, hot, sunny days when normal people retreat to air conditioning. Bright days offer optimal sighting conditions for anglers to peer down into the depths. Venturing out during the midday hours when the sun is directly overhead can also keep your shadows small, which can prevent spooking fish in these close-quarter encounters.

With a native home range extending from the Northeast down the Eastern Seaboard and into the Midwest and Mississippi River basin, bowfin inhabit the slow and still waters of shallow weedy bays, muddy flats, and heavily vegetated portions of lakes, ponds, rivers, and impoundments. While most other fish move out into deeper, colder water during the summer months, bowfin are right at home in the warmer waters where they forage on bait fish, frogs, crustaceans, insects, and whatever else they can find to eat. Unlike many other species, bowfin actually thrive in stagnant backwaters with low oxygen levels. I find them mostly around the edges of emergent cover such as cattails and reeds, and in the pockets of lilies and weed beds in shallow water, typically no more than 3 to 4 feet deep. When looking for bowfin habitat, if you see thick vegetation with slime and slop on the water, you’re in the right place.

Bowfin Fishing Gear

If you’re already chasing bass and pike on the fly, you’re in business to catch bowfin. I prefer a stiff 8-weight rod and reel with about a 48-inch piece of 30-pound-test monofilament leader. There are some brute bowfins out there, so another option would be to tie a leader of wire line to a barrel swivel for added strength and reassurance. Bowfin, also called mudfish, dogfish, grindle, chopique and more, are not line shy and most of the time you won’t have more than a few inches of your fly line out beyond your rod tip.

Stand-up kayaks, canoes, or other small watercraft are optimal sight-fishing vessels for bowfin, but you can also walk the weedy shorelines to spot them. Polarized sunglasses are a must to be able to find them hiding in the shadows among the vegetation as they wait to ambush their prey.

Presentations are close, quick jigs with the occasional short toss and strip. Finesse is not much of a factor and you’re really looking to dance your fly right off a bowfin’s snout and essentially tease and taunt them into a strike. Fly patterns are far from important to bowfin, but I regularly have luck with large crayfish, chunky Buggers, minnow patterns in drab green, brown, and black with hints of red, white, or flashy material. 

After that, all you need is a large net, long-nosed pliers, and a jaw spreader. Bowfin are slippery, slimy, and hard-to-grip pure muscle with tenacious attitudes. Their mouths are covered in tiny, sharp teeth that will ruin an outing if you misplace your fingers.

How to Fish for Bowfin

Whether you’re fishing from a boat or walking a shoreline, the name of the game here is sight fishing. When scanning for bowfin, keep an eye out among the cover and look for parts of the fish rather than expecting to see the entire animal. You may see their round head shape with tubular nostrils peeking through a patch of lilies or a flash of their long, undulating dorsal fin as they slowly sneak through cover. 

Another tip I picked up from my bowfin-fanatic friends is to splash a kayak paddle on the water as you move along. As top-tier predators, this sensory stimulus can often trick bowfin into emerging from their hideouts as they travel in to investigate. I have witnessed them dart out from cover with mouths wide open ready to pounce on would-be prey. This next-level tactic can bring fish out from hiding in every direction, so be sure to keep your head on a swivel. 

Once you’ve acquired your target, drop your fly in front of the fish to jig and swim it around to entice a bite. Sometimes a bowfin will strike quickly and aggressively, but many times a take is soft and subtle. In this case, allow the fish to eat the fly and begin to swim away before setting the hook. Unlike most trout anglers’ reactions to wildly pull up on your rod tip, the best hook set for bony-mouthed bowfin is to pull your rod away from them. Doing so will often allow the hook to travel over to a corner of its mouth to catch. Now is the time to dig in and hold on. 

Surprisingly enough, while bowfin can at times aggressively smash a fly, there are times when a poor presentation or unexpected shadow cast on the water will send them scurrying away. That being said, I have found many times they will remain close by and will be ready for a second chance. Equally so, if you snatch your fly out of their mouth before hooking them, they can be very forgiving.

Now is the Time

Bowfin often get a bad rap, and despite being a native fish they’re often viewed as an invasive species or a trash fish. But most anglers who are willing to put in the time and take on the challenge to connect with one will come to appreciate the bowfin not only for their unmatched angling action but for their bizarre physiology and unique life history. They're truly a remarkable creature and a vital component of our freshwater fisheries in North America.

The raw power of these fish is unreal. I haven’t found much else that compares to the experience and adrenaline rush of wrangling a bowfin—it will test your patience and your cardiac condition and push every piece of your equipment to the max. Most who’ve tried can’t help but be drawn to the allure and mystique of these primordial creatures; there’s something special about the up-close-and-personal interaction with these armor-plated, air-breathing, backward-swimming sea monsters that should put them toward the top of your fish wish list.

Chasing bowfin may not have the mass appeal of trout fishing, but they’re a widely accessible game fish with abundant populations throughout their range, and represent a unique target for catch-and-release anglers during the dog days of summer. 

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