| Bowfin |  |
Bowfin | | Amia calva | grindle, grinnel
| Key Distinguishing Markings:
- Bowfin are living relics, with primitive roots back 70 million years ago.
Has a long, soft-rayed dorsal which arches in a bow over most of the length of its body.
- Tail is rounded, with distinct black spot rimmed with orange on males; black spot on females faint or absent and no orange rim.
- Its back and sides are brownishgreen or olive-green, with mottled sides fading to yellowish or white.
- During spawning, its underside turns a bright yellow-green.
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Has a cylindrical body and a wide flattened head, almost snake-like, with deep-set dark eyes.
Snout is rounded with short nasal barbels.
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Mouth is large and has conical-shaped teeth.
- Note: While the bowfin shares similar coloration and body shape with the Chesapeake channa (Northern Snakehead), the anal fin of a bowfin is much shorter than that of the snakehead, and snakeheads will not have the spot found on bowfin.
- Bowfin are not an invasive species in Maryland
| Distribution:
- Bowfin (Amia calva), a native fish species, can be found in Maryland, particularly in the southern part of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, including the Potomac, Rappahannock, York, and James River systems, and in some areas of the Susquehanna River and Upper Bay tributaries.
| Size:
- Bowfins can grow to be quite large, with females typically reaching lengths of 26-28 inches (65-70 cm) and males averaging 20-26 inches (50-65 cm), though they can reach up to 43 inches (109 cm) in length and weigh over 20 pounds.
| Habitat:
- Usually found in dark, sluggish waters with muddy bottoms and dense vegetation as well as tannin-stained swamps, rivers and lakes. Slower moving rivers or backwater sloughs of large rivers and some small lakes and ponds. Found only in eastern North America.
| Spawning:
- Spawns in April and May in marshy, weedy bays. Male forms a depression on firm bottom amid weeds, clearing all weeds away then conceals it with an umbrella of vegetation.
- Two females may spawn in one nest and will spawn in more than one nest in a spring.
- Usually spawns at night.
- Male guards and aerates the eggs.
- After they hatch, young attach to rootlets of vegetation by means of an adhesive organ, much like the pikes.
- The male will guard the young that travel in schools until they are about 3 or 4 ins. long.
| Fishing Tips:
- They are strong, muscular fighters and strike viscously at all manner of live bait and many artificials.
- Often fools an angler into thinking it's whipped, and then suddenly explodes back into life.
- Minnows and a variety of jigs are best baits.
- Use a good stiff rod with at least 15 lb test line. Steel leaders may be necessary and don't try to lip hold these fish!
- Food value is generally considered poor.
| Fun Fact:
The bowfin is a living dinosaur that’s been around for over 100 million years! The black eyespot (ocellus) on the tail is found on all juveniles, but only on males as adults. It’s thought to serve two purposes:
- it may help young bowfin fry find and stay close to their protective father when on the nest.
- as a “false eye” it can confuse or misdirect an attacking predator
Male bowfin build circular nests in thick vegetation for females to deposit eggs into. After spawning, the female leaves and the male stays on the nest for several weeks guarding the eggs and the fry. In the spring, males develop neon green bellies and fins as a way to attract females for spawning. Nearly every bone of a bowfin’s mouth is lined with wicked long, sharp, curved teeth. Scaled up to dino-dimensions, a bowfin’s teeth would rival the size any meat-eating dinosaur. The bowfin has the thickest, densest skull bones of any fish—armored like a dinosaur. Bowfin’s tubular nostrils on top of their bony head aids in hunting prey. Their sense of smell is much better than their eyesight, which is why fishing for them with cut bait is so effective! Bowfin can swim backward as easily as they swim forward because of their elongated dorsal fin which they can ripple and manipulate to reverse direction. It also lets them effortlessly navigate dense vegetation. Bowfin can gulp air from the surface and store it in a blood-vessel-rich gas bladder that works like a lung, allowing them to survive in poor oxygen conditions or even out of the water for short periods of time. This is what helped them survive extreme environments over the last 100 million years.
Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department
| | Family: Amiidae (bowfin family) | | Order: Amiiformes | | Class: Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) | Illustration Courtesy of Duane Raver, USFWS
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