Call them mudfish, bowfin, grinnel, or those @%$##? toothy SOBs, I hate handling them.  How do you folks get a mudfish off when you catch one?

I was thinking about getting one of those Boga Grip type devices.

How do you folks get a mudfish off when you catch one?

pliers, then i kill it.  either that or i kill it first, then use pliers.  

How do you folks get a mudfish off when you catch one?

pliers, then i kill it. either that or i kill it first, then use pliers.

That brings up another question. Is it ethical (not in the PETA sense) to kill a native fish just because you don't like it and it competes with your preferred species?

I hold them down with my foot if I can, or my hand if I have to, then get they hook out with pliers. I don't kill 'em. They put up a great fight and they're fun to catch. You don't kill pickerel when you catch them do ya? The only thing that ticks me off when I catch one is I get all excited thinking I have a big ol' largemouth and here comes a mudfish rolling up.

My cousin and I pulled out 10 mudfish out of his lake one day when we were about 10 years old.  We then proceeded to use a 2x4, a BB gun, and a knife to kill them.  Looking back it was pretty messed up, but the instructions from grandpa were to kill them... :-/

Cut there throat, remove hook, leave em for gator bait  

Same as if I caught a northern pike, grab it behind the gills.  I don't get the whole "kill them" them thing, unless you're going to eat them.  They were here before bass, and will likely outlast them.  They are frustrating though - you end up thinking you've got a good bass on, and its a bowfin.  Or you see a big one, and want to catch it, but it doesn't take the bait.

Get educated here: http://www.bowfinanglers.com/myths.html

When it comes to fish with teeth.....I never leave home without the Bogas.

Well worth the $100 bucks!

Same as if I caught a northern pike, grab it behind the gills. I don't get the whole "kill them" them thing, unless you're going to eat them. They were here before bass, and will likely outlast them. They are frustrating though - you end up thinking you've got a good bass on, and its a bowfin. Or you see a big one, and want to catch it, but it doesn't take the bait.

Get educated here: http://www.bowfinanglers.com/myths.html

x 2 Thanks for the link.

I caught one today and safely released it back to the body of water.

People in this forum get alarmed when a member eats their bass buy will recommend senseless killing of other species. Unbelievable.

Beautiful fish!

Under no circumstances do I even allow them into the boat, unless I'm going to sell them as catfish to the Hatians.  

x2 to the kill and leave for the gators.

What's so bad about them? I've never caught one, I'm just wondering.

Nothing.  They bite artificials, they fight hard, and females get pretty big.  There are some that are either ignorant or uninformed as to what they actually are, and think they should be killed, which is in my opinion, retarded.  They are just another predator that live along side bass.

Nothing.  They bite artificials, they fight hard, and females get pretty big.  There are some that are either ignorant or uninformed as to what they actually are, and think they should be killed, which is in my opinion, retarded.  They are just another predator that live along side bass.

couldn't have said it better myself

Since so many people have apparently killed their mudfish...Has anyone out there every tried eating one?

Bowfin; "dogfish", "mudfish", "grindle" (or "grinnel"),cottonfish and in parts of South Louisiana they are called "tchoupique" or "choupique".

For those who are either ignorant or uninformed Bowfish will completely take over a body of water eating every species of fish living in that body of water.

That is a myth.  If that was the case, then there would be no bass around here.

For those who are either ignorant or uninformed Bowfish will completely take over a body of water eating every species of fish living in that body of water.

Nonsense.

For those who are either ignorant or uninformed Bowfish will completely take over a body of water eating every species of fish living in that body of water.

thats funny because the link that J Francho provided actually proved this one to be a myth!

I have always wanted to catch one myself. Now we ahve a native species that is a problem? Strange.

My friends in Florida talk about how hard these fish fight and those who fish smaller bodies of water said the same thing as Catt so i did a little searching:

Here is a link from the Zoological Musem of University of Michigan which has some information under ; Predation and Place in Eco System , based on scientific and cited research, that suggest that Catt may have a point and it may in certain bodies of water be true and not a myth. Give it a read and you can trace the citations to find the research etc.

http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Amia_calva.html

This other study shows a negative effect on Talapia Surival , as the population of Bow Fin increses in Small and conventional ponds. So it may effect the Bass Population as well, since Bass Feed on Tilapia

http://biblioweb.dgsca.unam.mx/cienciasdelmar/instituto/1983-1/articulo148.html

There are more articles from scholastic sources that I would tend to trust more than a site dedicated to bowfin fishing. I am not an expert but there is information out there that supports the idea that bowfins do have a negative effect on bass populations. I don't know about killing every one you catch.

So who's to believe Bow Fin Anger's group, a group devoted to Bow Fin and supported by one Professor or the rest of the biological community?

Caught 2 yesterday on a 12' bream buster.  They are fun to catch and I use pliers to hold them and another pair to remove the hook and then let them go.  I have caught them up to 5 lbs on rattle traps, spinner baits and minnows.

If that were the case I don't think there would be any bass left in Florida...Especially as long as the mudfish have been around.  Those darn pesky green trout just won't die down there, what gives!?