I have caught many fish (thought to be mud fish) the last couple weeks and of course thinking they were mud fish i threw them back but after reading these threads I'm not so sure what are some easy ways of telling them apart and do they live  in the sarasota, Bradenton area? thanks

http://www.bowfinanglers.com/bowfininfo.html

In simple terms, if it has a very long anal fin, its a snakehead.  Otherwise, its a bowfin.

I don't know what kind of snakeheads they have in your area, but that chart has a picture of a northern snakehead.

I do not believe you have Channa Argus in florida....yet, you do have channa marulius which does not resemble a bowfin, they are much longer and skinnier and have a large eye spot on the caudal fin