A pretty big dogfish
Where is this that your dogfish look so nice? Where I’m from “dogfish” are actually a small shark considered a trash fish that screws up your gear and is the source of endless torment from your fishing buddies when you catch them http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiny_dogfish
I asked a professor of linguistics who also knows a thing or two about fishing and what he told me was very interesting. A dogfish is a “semantic category.” It’s essentially a common trash fish that you would feed to your dog. Where I live, on Puget Sound, a dogfish is indeed the small shark you describe. In some River communities they are nappy spawned salmon. Elsewhere, like OP’s fishing area in MN, they are whatever he is holding. The linguist told me this is not unique to English. In different languages used in Russia there are words that basically mean “trash fish you’d feed to a dog,” and that word is applied to species A common in place B, and species C common in place D. Dogfish, says the linguist, is not a species but a “semantic category.”
Neat, huh?
I used to fish pro bassing and despite their”trash ” status, I find that Bowfin are pound for pound the meanest northern freshwater fish. I have tackled uncounted bass many large pike,salmon, steelhead, sheepshead,catfish and once had a 7 foot sturgeon on for 45 minutes.
The worst beating I ever took was from a bowfin during a weekly tournament, that had to be close to 20 pounds. I almost had to hand the pole off because my arms started cramping. Afterwards at the weigh in I found out that the state record was 17 pounds at the time and was caught by a buddy. Sadly I had let it go.
Indeed. Did a fish kill in Lake Conway once. Only got 2. Called em grinnel/bowfin.
Amia calva, bowfin. Very cool fish with an almost-unique form of movement. Notice the undulating of the dorsal fin… known as amiiform locomotion.
I am guessing they are related to older order fish? They look pretty bony like carp or drum.
This is a Bowfin or a blackfish THEY TASTE AMAZING. Also they get really really think in swamps and are AMAZING to catch. HUGE fighter and hard hard hitter. I would rather catches these any day over largemouth. If you want tips on catching them I fish for them everytime i go out. The best lure to use are cheap spinners from walmart. You only want those 1$ spinner because the thing will came back bent like a pretzel. and steel leads and braided line. Also no low drag on them. They hit and you reel REALLY fast cause they slam the line and swim under every stick and rock. Once on the bank you need to make quick work of them (if your eating them) they will stay alive and leap back in to the lake
I never realized that people fished for these…where I’ve fished in Ontario these are treated like the plague. They certainly put up a good fight, though!
in IL the record is damn near sixteen pounds, My personal best one is 9 pounds 7 ounces. I would love to catch the iowa state record one which is much lower at 10 pounds 6 ounces.
Those suckers freak me out. Then again I can fight a bear, and let a spider crawl over me but I can’t stand snakes.
We call ’em dogfish here in Indiana too. I’ve always wanted to catch one, they look fun!
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