Bowfins, Amia calva

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=95 BGCOLOR="#999999" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="047005f0ermwup.gif"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" ><B>Choupiques Marsh</B></FONT><B>     </B><B>|     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Choupiques Marsh"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id17.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="ponds and enclosures"><U>ponds and enclosures</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id18.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Marsh"><U>The Marsh</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id19.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Favorite Links"><U>Favorite Links</U></A>   |   <B>Bowfins, Amia calva</B>   |   <A HREF="id24.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Gar promotion "><U>Gar promotion </U></A>   |   <A HREF="id22.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Amphibians of the Marsh"><U>Amphibians of the Marsh</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id21.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Reptiles of the Marsh"><U>Reptiles of the Marsh</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id23.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Other things in the marsh"><U>Other things in the marsh</U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=190 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=385 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> Bowfins, Amia calva</div> <bR> <div> Bowfin Promotion Page</div> <div> What is a bowfin promotion page?</div> <div> Here I will outline why it is important that the bowfin be held in higher esteem than it currently is in most cases.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="0484f950.jpg" border=0 width="591" height="405" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <B>Why bowfin?</B></div> <div>  Bowfin, amia calva is known by many names. Chou-pique, dogfish, spotfin, mudfish, cypress trout and on and on.  Many of its names are negative in meaning.   I for one don't understand this.  Definition of a sport fish is a fish that puts up a good fight, and or is a challenge to catch. Bowfin are not always a challenge to find and get to bite, but then the fight and challenge of landing begins.  Most honest people I have met will say what a great fighter bowfin are.  But then add something like " they taste awful, are poison , or eat other more desirable fish.  Well, first off there are many recipes that make bowfin as good a meal as any other fish. I think one problem arises from people expecting it to taste like most game fish, a light white meat. That would be like expecting wild duck to taste like a farm raised chicken.  The poison comment I have no Idea where that came from. Unlike gar, even the eggs of bowfin can be eaten.  And the last point, all fish except a very few, will eat other fish if they can catch them and fit them in their mouths. That said, the prefered prey of bowfin is not game fish, but non spined narrow bodied fish such as shiners and shad.  I suggest that anyone thinking negativly about this fish give it a fair shake and research it a bit before demonizing them.</div> <div>   <IMG SRC="05978500.gif" border=0 width="888" height="592" ALT="Adobe PhotoDeluxe Home Edition Image" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <B>Here is a small bowfin I accidentally caught in a dip net trying to catch mudminnows for bait. I felt something kicking around and lifted. That was pure luck, and its a legal method to catch bowfin.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Below is a sequence of pictures. Its a bowfin rescue. Often times the marsh floods and fish are trapped in ditches. I got a call from a friend and he said theres a big mama bowfin stuck in a ditch. We drove out there and netted her and put her back in permanent water nearby.  </B></div> <div> <B><IMG SRC="05a68420.gif" border=0 width="872" height="578" ALT="Adobe PhotoDeluxe Home Edition Image" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <div> <B><IMG SRC="05b85080.gif" border=0 width="645" height="520" ALT="Adobe PhotoDeluxe Home Edition Image" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <div> <B><IMG SRC="05c05c60.gif" border=0 width="517" height="454" ALT="Adobe PhotoDeluxe Home Edition Image" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <div> <B><IMG SRC="05d82dc0.gif" border=0 width="898" height="476" ALT="Adobe PhotoDeluxe Home Edition Image" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <div> <B><IMG SRC="05e38a70.gif" border=0 width="824" height="423" ALT="Adobe PhotoDeluxe Home Edition Image" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> </td> </tr></table></body>