Black Lake, NY Forum

I fished yesterday and had some luck near oak point. I was only out a short time but caught 2 pike 27" and 29". I also caught 2 nice bass. All fish were caught using a white and silver spinnerbait. I got home and was casting off the dock when the spinnerbait got smashed. I thought I had the bass of a lifetime. What a great fight. I managed to get the fish to the net and it was an 8lb bowfin. This is the first one I have ever caught and hope there are more in the future.

Here it is.

Nice catch! I catch these quite often while fishing for catfish from shore. I actually just caught my biggest last night. About 8 or 9 pounds. The state record is just shy of 13 pounds I believe which I plan on catching at some point. in the Black lake pamphlet a couple years ago someone caught the unofficial catch and release world record from here. I want to say it was estimated at either 16 or 18 pounds.
Don't be afraid to challenge anyone who says they are a trash fish that needs to be killed. I think there are a couple topics about this already on here though.

Filet em up. There a delicacy.

492VS wrote:Filet em up. There a delicacy.

If you like MUD.

I catch them pretty regularly off my dock too. My kids pick them up from time to time while catching panfish ... it's like catching a whale for them and they consider it a rare and special bonus.

This summer I plan to eat one to find out for myself how they taste. They seem to have a lot of meat on them.

I think I will try eating a small one this spring as well. They don't seem to look like a fish that would be good to eat. However the sight test with fish has been proven wrong with me before. I tried a burbot from Onieda Lake this winter and it was very good. Like Mr Simon said, they look like they have a lot of meat on them so it would be nice if they tasted good.

back in the 60s 70s and 80s the group that I came up with used to catch a few dogs that were into the 18 to 20 lb range in the 70s Frank and I both caught 28lb catfish on the same day ( pictures of mine used to be at the log cabin ) we didn't know at the time there was a record in NY for all fish so we didn't make that big a deal of it ... they are in there ....

Not sure I would eat it. I keep some panfish from time to time for a fish fry but everything else goes back to fight another day. They don't look very appetizing, Let me know how they taste.

The first time I caught a bowfin, I had no idea what it was or how it tasted. It was edible, but not great. I'd only eat another one if I'm on a camping trip with a fishfry planned and it's all I catch. If you are going to eat it, I'd deep fry it with a lot of breading. It's sad that people kill them, they fight harder than bass or northerns of the same size, they hit artificials, and they go crazy when boatside. What more do you want from a fish. The only bad part about catching a good sized bowfin is they destroy your artificial bait to the point of being useless, spinnerbaits loose skirts, spoons get bent, hooks get straightened and crankbaits finishes get scratched.

I wouldn't advise eating a bowfin, unless you are really mad at your taste buds. It's kind of like eating a mud sandwich with bones.