Dogfish

[FishesWithKids]

We caught a dogfish this week. What do people here do when they catch rough fish?

[Ralph Wiggum]

Throw it back!!! It's a native species doing no harm. It's been swimming around here since before the bass and walleye were here. Let him go free! Bowfin (dogfish) are an absolute hoot to catch!!!

[FishesWithKids]

That's what we did. I caught him on an ultralight which really had me excited. Thank You for your input!!

[Duffman]

I have fun reeling in whatever it is, then hold it high in the air proclaiming it's a walleye for everyone to see, then I slip it back in the water before anyone has a good look.

[Deitz Dittrich]

I dont think that bowfin are considered a rough fish.. Release it.

[MikeYager - Suzuki]

Bowfin definitely not rough fish. Even with rough fish I see no reason or obligation to kill them. I either eat a fish or let it swim. I suppose I would not want to release one of those jumping carp but in reality the rough fish a sportmans catches then kills probably does little to control overall population and just creates a stinky mess for a while. Someone should start a post about handling rough fish. Maybe it will reach the epic proportions of the powerloading debate......

[HossFisher]

Like most other people on here, i either eat a fish or let it swim. I have no problem with rough fish and i greatly enjoy the fight that they put up (other than those pesky bullheads). I have seen many big bowfin caught and it surprises me that the state record is only 10lb 15oz.

[federline]

I agree - if you don't eat it, throw the big doggie back! They are *SO* fun to fight!

[cjac]

You ever notice that they never get off, despite the fact they fight like crazy??? Just when you think you hit the 8 lb bass.........

[Ralph Wiggum]

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You ever notice that they never get off, despite the fact they fight like crazy???

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I caught one last year that I netted, and as soon as I got it in the boat, it let go fo the hook! Dang thing wasn't even hooked, just wouldn't drop my senko!!!

[Lunker]

I think they are a fun fish to catch(see my avatar). I caught one this spring that went 27" on the Wisconsin, my biggest so far. No spot or anything, just pure grey. Cool fish.

[Tim_Anderson]

I sure like dogfish too. Never fails when I'm fishing other species....look down and see one, and whatever you drop in front of their nose, they eat! They put up a darn good fight too. Sometimes in the spring when they're numerous in the shallows, I tend to forget what I was after in the first place. Sightfishing them is a hoot! Have fun catching them..then let em go.

[pondhopper]

This past weekend, I caught a dogfish that might have rivaled the state record. But clumsy me, while I'm telling my friend where to get the scale, not paying attention to the fish, it wriggles out of my hands and over the side of the boat.

[Mike89]

you all could trying smoking them. they are great, I think better than carp. we have also done a few other things but I'll save them for a later post!

[thebman]

It seems like I catch a dogfish on Lake Mary(state record lake)near Alex almost everytime we go out, big ones too. Last year my 10 year old had one on that broke his rod in two that was probably close to 8 pounds. They are fun to fight but everytime I get one hooked I think this is finally the time I get my trophy walleye just to be disappointed in the end. They kinda look like a big walleye when you get your first look at it in the water.

[Shack]

Anderson,

Once I was in twins bay on the big pond and there was hundreds of them. I went back next day none. We thought they were post spawn walleyes at first, but found out right away they were bowfin. They were not ealpought, they were dog fish. Never saw that again.

[FishingRebel]

Dogfish tastes good.. Try it! LOL

[Tuds75]

Hooked one on a rocky flat. The way it pulled I thought it was a big smallie and it when it jumped and I saw that brown color I swore I had the state record smallie on my line, until I got the fish close to the boat and saw it was a dogfish.

Another Dogfish story: My dad had just purchased a chatterbait at the sportsman show, when they were the hottest lure out there and not even in stores yet. So about 10 minutes into the breaking in the chatterbait, he hooks a dogfish, gets it into the boat, release it and starts casting the chatterbait back out again. He just happens to notice the chatterbait looks strange after the catching the dogfish. Turns out the Dogfish broke the hook off from the jig head. Making the hottest bass bait of the year, actually the hottest bowfin bait of him.

[BobT]

Anyone here ever try frying one up? Most anyone I've talked with just says, Eeeeuw but with teeth like that, they must be more than just a scavenger. Even if they are, so are just about every game fish to some level.

Bob

[The Grebe]

BobT...I don't know man? I've heard that they have something on them that is poison? Maybe it's on the skin, maybe in the intrails, maybe it's just an old wives tale?

I seen one skinned once and the meat looked pretty red along the lateral line area and it had a greenish tint to the white meat along the top and bottom....didn't look very appetizing.

There are alot of good fish out there, I think I will wait awhile longer before I try to eat the prehistoric looking dogfish.

Took me quite awhile to work up to trying eelpout and for the last couple years I have been contemplating sheephead, but that is as far as it has went.

Those dogfish put up a nice fight though....always make you think you have the something else record!

[hanson]

I saw the "potential" new state record dogfish, held it, measured it, weighed it, and then it went home with the gentleman that caught it. He was so proud of that fish!

31" Long, 10 1/2lbs from Medicine Lake in the Cities a couple years ago.

I believe my scale to be fairly accurate so it would have been close, probably not quite there for the record but its the biggest dogfish I've ever seen.

[Fishbreath1]

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I think they are a fun fish to catch(see my avatar). I caught one this spring that went 27" on the Wisconsin, my biggest so far. No spot or anything, just pure grey. Cool fish.

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I used to live in Wisc. Rapids and one time I was musky fishing near the 54 bridge right in town from my kayak when I hooked what I thought was a decent musky. I mean, it really struck my bucktail! Turns out it was about a 7 lb. Dogfish!

I then started fishing musky at Petenwell with moderate sucess (people in the boat I was in caught some). Fishings good out there, eh?

[ec30_06]

I have caught and bowfished a lot of dogfish on Jefferson and Sabre lakes over the years. Usually they end up in the garden with the carp and sheepies.

[Daze Off]

I've only caught a few in my time but two notable ones - one on a Zara Spook on the Horseshoe Chain - missed it several times so I slowed WAY down and it creamed it.

The other was on a bass jig skipped under a dock on Forest Lake - thought I had the state record bass on that one.

Daze Off

[lotsofish]

I'm pretty sure I had the state record once... only I didn't know what the record was at the time I caught it. I hooked into one on Linwood in Anoka county several years ago. It put up a nice fight! I saw later that the record length was 32" and 10 lb 15 oz. I'm sure the one I had was at least 32" or better. We thought it was a 15lb Northern before it got close to the boat and saw it was a dogfish. Nobody wanted to net the thing though, so the exact size I'll never know, but it was big. I was reaching for the pliers to take the hook out next to the boat but before I could get to it the hook bent straight. Biggest fish caught on a crappie minnow.

[Sonicrunch]

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BobT...I don't know man? I've heard that they have something on them that is poison? Maybe it's on the skin, maybe in the intrails, maybe it's just an old wives tale?

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I read somewhere that the liver has some sort of poison in it. I have also read tht people eat them.

[Eric Wettschreck]

I've never caught a dogfish. Why are they called Bob Barkers???

[Deitz Dittrich]

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Why are they called Bob Barkers???

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Think about it brother boilerguy... barker.. bark.. what barks.. Dogs.. Hence?... Bob Barker.

[Eric Wettschreck]

Ah, now I get it. Bear with me guys, I'm slow.

[Pikeman_Doug]

Last night I saw a dogfish swim by the dock in Brown's Bay that had to be at least 30". At first I thought it was a carp or muskie, then I saw it from the top.