fish ID for fun

[Brian Jones]

Weighed 5.31lbs.  Caught out of a Mississippi feeder creek and hit and fought like a bass all the way to the boat.  And.......Go......

[Mitch f]

Grunnel? I honestly don't know

[Flysmallie]

Bowfin

[Ham]

Bowfin. "Calva amia"  That's not a very large one really. A buddy of mine caught an 18.8, but I wouldn't bet my life on the quality of the scale. Kinda tough on fishing tacjkle. the can really destroy a spinnerbait and roll over hook points when worm fishing. I'd love to catch another one.

 

[Ketchup]

What they said.  As Ham said, they get alot bigger than that. Nasty little creatures.  But fight good. 

[DChance]

bowfin. we used to call them dogfish

[Al Agnew]

Glad it's a bowfin and not a snakehead!  Short anal fin (at least I think it's short, hard to tell for sure) and rounded head, plus coloration, says bowfin.  

I saw one about 24 inches long in Establishment Creek right below the dam at Rocky Ridge a few years back.  Used to catch them pretty regularly many years ago when I was living in the Cape Girardeau area and often went to Horseshoe Lake in Illinois to bass fish.  There were huge mats of duckweed on the lake and we'd use weed less spoons fished over the top of the duckweed.  It looked like you were fishing on dry land until something underneath the mat exploded through it to take the lure.  You never knew whether it would be a big bass, an even bigger gar, or a huge bowfin.

[Ham]

32 minutes ago, Al Agnew said:

 and often went to Horseshoe Lake in Illinois to bass fish.  There were huge mats of duckweed on the lake and we'd use weed less spoons fished over the top of the duckweed.  It looked like you were fishing on dry land until something underneath the mat exploded through it to take the lure.  You never knew whether it would be a big bass, an even bigger gar, or a huge bowfin.

Did someone say Road Trip?

[dtrs5kprs]

We used to deal with those buggers on the upper Mississippi. Nasty is not close to adequate. I've seen guys beat them with paddles to make them unclamp from a spinnerbait or buzzbait. 

Al makes a good point. They are awfully close to snakeheads. 

[Deadstream]

We catch them in the shallower lakes and backwaters in Michigan and not on purpose.  They would destroy old style nets every time. I don't know how the newer nets would hold up and I don't plan on finding out.  They are devil fish.   The groans and cussing that starts when that trophy Smallmouth or Northern turns into a dogfish would make a sailor blush.