Just finished shooting a challenging Bowfin TV show on Lake Simcoe, ON.
Posted on July 20th, 2010[singlepic id=1177 w=320 h=240 float=]James Beaupre & I had a chance to finish off the Bowfin TV show we started shooting last Fri., on Lake Simcoe, ON. Again we had a tough time hooking and keeping trophy Bowfin on our lines. Their mouths are so hard and they roll in the line so fast that it’s hard to keep the hooks in them. We ended up landing two fish out of five, by trying to net them as fast as we could and even than, both fish dropped the hooks once they were in the net. Man, are they tough to land on artificials!! They are definitely one of the toughest fish to sight in thick weeds, to make a gentle presentation in front of them, and to set the hook hard enough to drive the barb through their bony mouth, and than you have to keep them on while they go wild underwater trying to get off. Trying to see them is half the challenge. They move slowly and make very little movement, often settling into the thick weeds with only a few inches of their tail or head showing. Than you have to figure out where toss your lure and gently jig it in front of them without spooking them. We found that 4 & 5 inch TriggerX soft-plastics (especially the crawfish patterns), worked well using a XXStrong 5/0 worm hook and 3/16 oz. bullet sinker all rigged Texas-rig with the hook exposed. As far as rods and reels go, we used some of the heaviest baitcasting and spinning outfits loaded with 50 lb. braid. The name of the game to hook these bony-mouthed fish is stiff rod, no stretch line, sharp XX-strong hooks and the hardest hook set you can muster! If you are up to the challenge, you should definitely look for them in the shallows and try your luck at landing one….it will be well worth it.[singlepic id=1176 w=320 h=240 float=]
