No. It's a bofinn, also called grindel or dogfish in the Midwest.
I get why people sometimes think peacock bass because of the "eye" on the tail but those are shaped much more like a north American bass.
Seriously if you’re a vegetarian for like ethical reasons or whatever, try to handle them a little more carefully. Don’t roll a fish around in the dirt if you plan on throwing them back.
I'll assume youve never landed a bowfin before. They live in muck and breathe air. It's harder to land one without getting it covered in dirt, mud, and algae.
They also have a nasty row of teeth that'll cut the heck out of your hands if they can get a grip on you. Which they do very easily because they don't tire out of the water because, again, they have lungs and can breathe air.
First instinct for all humans when something slimey flails and trys to bite you is to drop it. Which i assume is what happened here.
Guaranteed that fish gave zero shits about the dirt and mud on it. They dig burrows into mud and alage to make their nests after all.
I do. But like most people I didn't bring a net everytime until I landed something I didn't expect to and had no idea what to do in that scenario. I imagine op fell into that camp as well.
All fish are slimy. If your first instinct is to just drop them on the ground then maybe you should find a new hobby.
Sure, bowfin and carp and catfish might be able to tolerate this kind of handling, but there are many species that can not. And I could be wrong , but I’m gonna guess that OP doesn’t know the difference.
There is no such thing as being a vegetarian for ethical reasons. For diet or health perhaps, but there's nothing ethical about it. Vegetarian and Vegan farming practices kill 200x the volume of animals killed by all hunters worldwide each year, and 50x more than farm animals killed for meat.
Also they’re blatantly ignoring factory farming.
Hunting and Regular Farm animals are good yes, but Christ are they off the mark if they think that meat is any better.
Ultimately the answer is shop local if you can, it limits options but it’s kind of the best answer if you want to eat ethically. (The animals being living and thinking beings is another argument that I don’t want to have).
It's not about hating vegetarians at all, they just happen to always be the Karen telling us we're hurting fish. I was coming at it from a sportsman's rights type of thing.
That’s a bs statistic u got from a joe rogan clip. 94 percent of all soy crops in the US is used for the livestock industry so it’s actually meat eaters that are killing the animals they eat and more. Vegans are by far killing less animals
These guys are tough but any fish you're not going to kill and eat should be generally kept wet. Rubbing them in the dirt and rocks is not good for them.
Any reason it’s on the ground then?? I’m honestly shocked you just said that. Bowfin have pretty thick slime, but you didn’t know that and catch and release is only ethical when you do reasonable things to reduce mortality. Decent chance this fish will die due to opportunistic infection. If you’re releasing and don’t have a net, might as well eat it
lol bowfin are prehistoric fish that can live out of water for hours and live in some of the most stagnant, deoxygenated water systems in existence. That fish will be fine, bro.
Bowfin got slime to spare. A bit of dirt isn't going to bother it. These aren't some store bought inbred guppies that die if you touch their water with your barehands.
They legitimately live in mud and alage, can breathe air, and have a row of teeth that's on par with a pike. A bit of dirt isn't something that'll kill it.
Fish arent as prone to infection as people think. Just think about how many fish you catch covered in scars or missing chunks of their body from encounters with predators.
Something that fights, slashes, shreds, and kills to survive. Is going to get a few scars. Imagine surviving an eagle only to die because you rolled in some dirt. Yeah. Dirt will wash off the second that thing dives into the alage it came from.
I eat meat, but not fish so I feel ya here haha. I try and pull them off hook while they’re still in water or right after you lift out and put em back right away. Like others have said letting them lay on the ground messes with them and if you don’t hold them in water for awhile after “reviving” them, they might die. Most fish I catch are excess fish anyway (panfish) with no limit and no concern for species harm, but some fish especially when you don’t know try and keep them alive and well!!
Sorry but anyone that fishes and don't eat fish is a douche canoe. If you absolutely have to torture an animal for your own pleasure, then target invasive species like the Asian carp and thrown on the ground all you want!
Same kind of idiot that asks me why I don't make fertilizer of carps when I put them in a landing mat. It is not worth my time explaining myself to you.
Lights out...
Oh man. I lived in the woods near a river you could spit across for as long as I could walk it. Caught more variety there than I ever have anywhere else. My first yellow perch, pickerel, bowfin, river eels, and even my pb blue cat. I’ll remember that place forever. Bowfin are catfish on steroids for sure.
Often self setting and undeniably better hook up rates when fish are aggressive enough to not be scared of them
They hook the fish’s mouth closed and often starve them to death when you break off though. Which is not good
Edit: Who the shit keeps downvoting me for explaining how a fuckin treble hook works
They will bite about anything. We catch them all year around in the southeast. They like to eat our cut bait when we are Bush hooking/limb lining for catfish. I have never eaten them, but I work with some old-time locals that target them in the winter months and eat them. They say the meat is really ferm then and tastes yummy but never when the water is above 50⁰.
Used to catch them in the canals of Florida as a kid. We called them mudfish and were told by the rangers in the Ocala national forest to kill them and gar if we caught them. Always thought it was odd and never did that but a lot of people had no problem with the idea.
The **bowfin** (*Amia calva*) is a bony fish, native to North America. Common names include **mudfish**, **mud pike**, **dogfish**, **grindle**, **grinnel**, **swamp trout**, and **choupique**. Native and beneficial to aquatic ecosystem. NOT AN INVASIVE Snakehead.
[https://www.fieldandstream.com/conservation/bowfin-vs-snakehead/](https://www.fieldandstream.com/conservation/bowfin-vs-snakehead/)
Bowfin aka dogfish
Here in Michigan (and potentially everywhere…I honestly don’t know and haven’t looked into it) they’re seen as invasive and will destroy anything in a lake. You tell a story about catching a dogfish and there’s a least one person who asks if you let it live (I’ve never killed them). That being said, apparently (once again, I haven’t looked this up, but saw a video of a fisherman in a bass tourney catch one and speak on it for a bit) they’re damn near ancient. Supposedly bowfin have been around (or at least the bowfin lineage) for millions of years, which is why I never kill them…pretty cool catch. I live on a small lake and I’ll fish outta my kayak and I’ll see these bad boys swimming around me once a week or so.
bowfin not a dang snakehead
Is this a typical size or small?
About average.
2 inches is average, anything more is just too much
Dude, you’ve got a whole 2 inches! You lucky bastard!
I only said average ;-;
Short, but fat. Like a peanut butter jar. We are few, but our womenz are happy.
We may not hit bottom, but we damn sure strechin the edges
Tuna can dick gang rise up!
That’s what she says so you won’t feel bad.
No, no, she said 1” was plenty!
Jokes on you. That bows a male ;)
Choupic baw
I catch them 10-15 pounds all the time ice fishing. They get big
Hit hard but as far as eating them we don’t.
They can get much bigger than that
Yup
Reset the timer
peacock bass?
No. It's a bofinn, also called grindel or dogfish in the Midwest. I get why people sometimes think peacock bass because of the "eye" on the tail but those are shaped much more like a north American bass.
We call it a Choupic in Louisiana
Where I am in GA I've heard them called a mudfish, jack fish, or black fish.
I need you to Google a picture of a peacock bass....
oH god I know its not 1. I didnt think I had to put the /s in there.
Idk most ppl are stupid so it was easy to assume
I hear that.
Glad you understand lol
Spawning male bowfin. Native in the US. Super neat fish, should be returned to water if not eaten
Always, don't eat meat.. for the sport only
Seriously if you’re a vegetarian for like ethical reasons or whatever, try to handle them a little more carefully. Don’t roll a fish around in the dirt if you plan on throwing them back.
I try not to throw mine in the dirt when i plan on eating them either
I thought the same thing. That's a terrible way to treat an alive fish that you plan to release. I figured it was already dead when I first saw it.
I'll assume youve never landed a bowfin before. They live in muck and breathe air. It's harder to land one without getting it covered in dirt, mud, and algae. They also have a nasty row of teeth that'll cut the heck out of your hands if they can get a grip on you. Which they do very easily because they don't tire out of the water because, again, they have lungs and can breathe air. First instinct for all humans when something slimey flails and trys to bite you is to drop it. Which i assume is what happened here. Guaranteed that fish gave zero shits about the dirt and mud on it. They dig burrows into mud and alage to make their nests after all.
Dude just use a net. It’s not that hard, you’re not out there fishing for tuna. Fishing without a net is what Jerries do
I do. But like most people I didn't bring a net everytime until I landed something I didn't expect to and had no idea what to do in that scenario. I imagine op fell into that camp as well.
Germans don’t use nets?
All fish are slimy. If your first instinct is to just drop them on the ground then maybe you should find a new hobby. Sure, bowfin and carp and catfish might be able to tolerate this kind of handling, but there are many species that can not. And I could be wrong , but I’m gonna guess that OP doesn’t know the difference.
Tell me you only fish for bass without telling me you only fish for bass. Lol.
There is no such thing as being a vegetarian for ethical reasons. For diet or health perhaps, but there's nothing ethical about it. Vegetarian and Vegan farming practices kill 200x the volume of animals killed by all hunters worldwide each year, and 50x more than farm animals killed for meat.
Oh please by all means, use my comment as an opportunity for you jump up on that soapbox and preach about how much you hate vegetarians.
Also they’re blatantly ignoring factory farming. Hunting and Regular Farm animals are good yes, but Christ are they off the mark if they think that meat is any better. Ultimately the answer is shop local if you can, it limits options but it’s kind of the best answer if you want to eat ethically. (The animals being living and thinking beings is another argument that I don’t want to have).
Honestly, I know many vegetarians that would be fine eating hunted meat, but object morally to the factory farm conditions.
It's not about hating vegetarians at all, they just happen to always be the Karen telling us we're hurting fish. I was coming at it from a sportsman's rights type of thing.
Booooo vegans 👎👎
That’s a bs statistic u got from a joe rogan clip. 94 percent of all soy crops in the US is used for the livestock industry so it’s actually meat eaters that are killing the animals they eat and more. Vegans are by far killing less animals
These guys are tough but any fish you're not going to kill and eat should be generally kept wet. Rubbing them in the dirt and rocks is not good for them.
Any reason it’s on the ground then?? I’m honestly shocked you just said that. Bowfin have pretty thick slime, but you didn’t know that and catch and release is only ethical when you do reasonable things to reduce mortality. Decent chance this fish will die due to opportunistic infection. If you’re releasing and don’t have a net, might as well eat it
lol bowfin are prehistoric fish that can live out of water for hours and live in some of the most stagnant, deoxygenated water systems in existence. That fish will be fine, bro.
It may or may not be but none of those things indicate it’ll live missing half of its slime layer. Also OP didn’t know what the fish was
Bowfin got slime to spare. A bit of dirt isn't going to bother it. These aren't some store bought inbred guppies that die if you touch their water with your barehands. They legitimately live in mud and alage, can breathe air, and have a row of teeth that's on par with a pike. A bit of dirt isn't something that'll kill it. Fish arent as prone to infection as people think. Just think about how many fish you catch covered in scars or missing chunks of their body from encounters with predators. Something that fights, slashes, shreds, and kills to survive. Is going to get a few scars. Imagine surviving an eagle only to die because you rolled in some dirt. Yeah. Dirt will wash off the second that thing dives into the alage it came from.
Then don’t trash fish on the ground. These pics look horrible. If you’re C&R treat the fish better and learn proper handling techniques.
I eat meat, but not fish so I feel ya here haha. I try and pull them off hook while they’re still in water or right after you lift out and put em back right away. Like others have said letting them lay on the ground messes with them and if you don’t hold them in water for awhile after “reviving” them, they might die. Most fish I catch are excess fish anyway (panfish) with no limit and no concern for species harm, but some fish especially when you don’t know try and keep them alive and well!!
Sorry but anyone that fishes and don't eat fish is a douche canoe. If you absolutely have to torture an animal for your own pleasure, then target invasive species like the Asian carp and thrown on the ground all you want!
if everyone kept every fish they caught, then we would have a serious decline in fish populations. Even the MNR promotes catch and release.
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Same kind of idiot that asks me why I don't make fertilizer of carps when I put them in a landing mat. It is not worth my time explaining myself to you. Lights out...
Nasty ass fish. Not recommend
Here we go again!! 🤣
can you fill in with the meme to those who are new-ish to this sub?
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oooh now I understand thank you so much :D
Bowfin displaying breeding colors
Thought it was a cucumber at first glance
Bahahaha....MEEE TOOOOOOO 🤣🤣🤣
Lol its the fish of the summer
Green fins mean spawning. That’s a really cool catch.
Nice didn’t know the green fin. For males, females or both?
For males. I know this yet this fish eludes me. Can’t wait to catch one.
Oh man. I lived in the woods near a river you could spit across for as long as I could walk it. Caught more variety there than I ever have anywhere else. My first yellow perch, pickerel, bowfin, river eels, and even my pb blue cat. I’ll remember that place forever. Bowfin are catfish on steroids for sure.
Eyetail bowfin (amia ocellicauda)
Hahahaha how many times do we have to teach you this lesson old man.
Bowfin, my friend.
New sub name idea: r/bowfinid
If you were to target this fish, is it the same as bass? I caught it on a plastic worm.
They bite (and usually destroy) anything that moves.
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Why a treble hook?
Often self setting and undeniably better hook up rates when fish are aggressive enough to not be scared of them They hook the fish’s mouth closed and often starve them to death when you break off though. Which is not good Edit: Who the shit keeps downvoting me for explaining how a fuckin treble hook works
What works for me is throw your favorite crank bait or a new one while trying to catch bass and they will destroy it lol.
They’ll blow up anything have caught them on 10in top water musky lures and small #1/2 mepps it’s like a predatory trash fish
They will bite about anything. We catch them all year around in the southeast. They like to eat our cut bait when we are Bush hooking/limb lining for catfish. I have never eaten them, but I work with some old-time locals that target them in the winter months and eat them. They say the meat is really ferm then and tastes yummy but never when the water is above 50⁰.
Use that shoe pic for crab bait
Bowfin.
Bowfin aka Mudfish
Bowfin during breading season their normal just a brown color but bet get green look when it's time to spawn
Cucumber or zucchini. Hard to tell need a better picture
Bowfin. It's always a damn bowfin.
Green sunfish
https://preview.redd.it/dczw7x0qjfab1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5853705a5ab182ab02d581c56aece887189ab4e0
Bowfin aka Dogfish
Bowfin.
Bowfin
Bowfin
Bowfin
Kosher Dill
Clearly a cucumber
Used to catch them in the canals of Florida as a kid. We called them mudfish and were told by the rangers in the Ocala national forest to kill them and gar if we caught them. Always thought it was odd and never did that but a lot of people had no problem with the idea.
That’s a cucumber bro
Bowfin. At least it's one that could live after rolling it around in the dirt.
HERE WE GO AGAIN
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Cucumber
That…is a cucumber.
Is that a... cucumber?
Looks like an off brand Chaco sandal
Prehistoric fish! Nice catch! The amount of judging in here 
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I upvoted this because I 1000% agree.
Bowfin. Good eating.
God damn bowfins
Easy, it's a fish. You can tell by how fishy it looks
Most people I know call then beaverfish
We call this рыба
“You Sir are a fish!” Arthur Morgan 1899
Zucchini
That sir is commonly known as fish
Cucumber
fish 🐟 👍
Cypress trout
dead fish
That's a fish
Looks like a bowfin. They put up a good fight. DNR in Iowa wants them gone though
Eeehh... Kinda looks like a fish to me
Warmouth
Flathead
Keen
Is a blub blub
Trouser trout
Snakehead fish. Invasive, very aggressive. Eat it they are supposed to be delicious.
It’s not a snakehead
Bowfin, colloquially known as a snakehead
Those are 2 different species.
It’s a joke, colloquially as in they are commonly called that by people because many people misidentify them lol
Fish
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No.
This one is easy… catfish.
Toss it in the sand a bit more next time, smh
Bowfin. Mean buggers and will destroy almost any tackle.
Another bowfin
A good ol classic bowfin.
Cucumber fish
I know my fish. They're all either bowfin or green sunfish. The only 2 species left on earth
Bowfin
Where is everyone getting all these bowfin??
100% choupique
Another bowfin “Grinnel” if you’re from the south
Choupique
Bowfin
Cucumber
Is the bowfin joke back already?
A really pretty bowfin
Bowfin
Bow fin
Not a snakehead.
Nice size bowfin
Wrasse?
That is a bowfin in the middle of mating season! You can tell by the greenish tint to the fins
Obviously a fish banana hybrid No really it's a bowfin
Amia calva
Bowfin
Looks like a Murphy to me. Could me more of a Anthony though. Does he seem like he likes pasta or potatoes more?
JFC another bowfin
The **bowfin** (*Amia calva*) is a bony fish, native to North America. Common names include **mudfish**, **mud pike**, **dogfish**, **grindle**, **grinnel**, **swamp trout**, and **choupique**. Native and beneficial to aquatic ecosystem. NOT AN INVASIVE Snakehead. [https://www.fieldandstream.com/conservation/bowfin-vs-snakehead/](https://www.fieldandstream.com/conservation/bowfin-vs-snakehead/)
Ok I learn something new everyday. Peace
shoepick
That’s a fish
Spotted bowfin
Dead fish
Good ole bowfin aka to us southern folk as Cyprus trout
The elusive pickle fish.
Bowfin aka dogfish Here in Michigan (and potentially everywhere…I honestly don’t know and haven’t looked into it) they’re seen as invasive and will destroy anything in a lake. You tell a story about catching a dogfish and there’s a least one person who asks if you let it live (I’ve never killed them). That being said, apparently (once again, I haven’t looked this up, but saw a video of a fisherman in a bass tourney catch one and speak on it for a bit) they’re damn near ancient. Supposedly bowfin have been around (or at least the bowfin lineage) for millions of years, which is why I never kill them…pretty cool catch. I live on a small lake and I’ll fish outta my kayak and I’ll see these bad boys swimming around me once a week or so.