ontario bowfin

[xbowkidd]

just reading the regs for bow fishing in Ontario and i was wondering if anyone new a good place to go for bowfin? they look like a pretty interesting fish... a few things i have read online say they are in Georgian bay but that's kind of a needle in the haystack scenario. thanks

[wheelie]

You can always the try the bowfin forum.
http://gassbag.websitetoolbox.com/

Here is best page I can find
http://ontariofishspecies.com/bowfin.html

Says spawning is May and June. So I assume as like suckers that open in March they don't come in from the bay till the middle of April anyways. I waded the Bighead river many times last March and all I ever seen was one Lamprey until the big schools of suckers came in April. I assume bowfin would work about the same way.

As in Carp, there are some to shoot in the Bighead river that remain there all year. But the huge schools come in from the bay in the middle of May. As I said before the MNR don't know the laws and some say bowfishing is illegal when rivers and streams are closed for trout and some say you are good to go. They freely tell you they don't even know the laws.

What we need is a non profit Bowfishing Association to fight to get bowfishing excempt from the projectile list that local towns and cities think bowfishing includes. Then we can bowfish anywhere. Federal does not include a fishing bow as a projectile which makes it exempt from shooting inside city limits with no bow discharge. . Federal says it is not a projectile because the arrow never leaves you. As the city of Owen Sound told me, try it we will charge you and we can fight it out in court. Asked them then what if I shoot from my boat, they said we will charge you there also.

In short, you are wading into the world of the unknown up here now. Seems they knew more about bowfishing 30 years ago than they know today.

[rayman]

We have a lot of bowfin around here, assuming we're talking about the same bowfin, except most people call them mudfish. They preffer tannic, low oxygen water. Fun to catch but never tried to eat one. They're snappy, as in they try to snap your fingers when you try to take them off the hook. Got the teeth to back it up too. Some people boil the meat off the bone and make patties with it. Didn't think you guys had them up there. Maybe we're talking about different fish. Good luck.

[cdnarmyguy]

You can always the try the bowfin forum.
http://gassbag.websitetoolbox.com/

Here is best page I can find
http://ontariofishspecies.com/bowfin.html

Says spawning is May and June. So I assume as like suckers that open in March they don't come in from the bay till the middle of April anyways. I waded the Bighead river many times last March and all I ever seen was one Lamprey until the big schools of suckers came in April. I assume bowfin would work about the same way.

As in Carp, there are some to shoot in the Bighead river that remain there all year. But the huge schools come in from the bay in the middle of May. As I said before the MNR don't know the laws and some say bowfishing is illegal when rivers and streams are closed for trout and some say you are good to go. They freely tell you they don't even know the laws.

What we need is a non profit Bowfishing Association to fight to get bowfishing excempt from the projectile list that local towns and cities think bowfishing includes. Then we can bowfish anywhere. Federal does not include a fishing bow as a projectile which makes it exempt from shooting inside city limits with no bow discharge. . Federal says it is not a projectile because the arrow never leaves you. As the city of Owen Sound told me, try it we will charge you and we can fight it out in court. Asked them then what if I shoot from my boat, they said we will charge you there also.

In short, you are wading into the world of the unknown up here now. Seems they knew more about bowfishing 30 years ago than they know today.

Owen Sound, remember when they tryed to band military personal from the town in uniform. What about the G&S foresters? Is not the Armoury down town? That just tells you about the city leadership.

[xbowkidd]

We have a lot of bowfin around here, assuming we're talking about the same bowfin, except most people call them mudfish. They preffer tannic, low oxygen water. Fun to catch but never tried to eat one. They're snappy, as in they try to snap your fingers when you try to take them off the hook. Got the teeth to back it up too. Some people boil the meat off the bone and make patties with it. Didn't think you guys had them up there. Maybe we're talking about different fish. Good luck.

yup, same fish. looks like they can be found in the southern portions of canada. i have heard the meat in not great eating, same consistency as oatmeal i'm told...

[onebigskittle]

We have a lot of bowfin around here, assuming we're talking about the same bowfin, except most people call them mudfish. They preffer tannic, low oxygen water. Fun to catch but never tried to eat one. They're snappy, as in they try to snap your fingers when you try to take them off the hook. Got the teeth to back it up too. Some people boil the meat off the bone and make patties with it. Didn't think you guys had them up there. Maybe we're talking about different fish. Good luck.

I scale the fish,fillet then scrap the meat out and mix with mashed taters,egg and flower.pat out patties and salt n pepper.you never know its fish