BP on Dogfish (Bowfin) Fishing

First, a Little History: When I was young, even into a teenager, Dogfish freaked me out; I had nightmares about them and carp. I once caught a 3-pounder in the "Back Bay" at our lake cabin on Sylvia/Twin. The Back Bay is a muck-bottomed boat channel on the back of our property. The Back Bay always seemed to have a dogfish or two roaming around. Growing up, we considered Dogfish trash fish and would kill everyone we caught. I netted this 3lb dogfish to avoid touching it and removed the hook with pliers. I then took the Dogfish about 20 feet up the shore onto the road's edge and left it to die. About 15 minutes later, I heard something in the grass by the water. Sure enough, it was this Dogfish slithering like a snake back to the water. I did nothing to try and stop it; I was freaked out.

Another time when I was a little older, I was fishing out of a boat on one of my favorite spots on Twin Lake that I call "My Island." It is a shallow, weedy, sandy spot with bass and the occasional Dogfish. I don't know what the deal was, but this five-pound dogfish surfaced about 8 feet from where I stood in the boat. I swear this Dogfish was staring me down. After about 45 seconds, the Dogfish accelerated straight ahead and rammed itself smack dab into the side of the boat right at my feet. I was both shocked, freaked, and slightly amused; what a crazy fish!

As I got a little older and became more mature as a fisherman, I lost my fear of things but didn't like catching them much. Sometimes I would throw them back, and sometimes I would kill them. They can be tackled destroyers and unruly to get off the hook if you don't play them out before you land them. (TIP: Always play Dogfish out for a few minutes before you try and land them)

Epiphany: In June 2003, I fished a Minnesota Pro/am bass tournament on Leech Lake as an amateur. I drew Joel Stokka as my partner, and we prefished together. While we were prefishing, we spotted a big dogfish. Joel immediately tried to hook into this monster but was unable to do it before the fish swam away. I asked why he wanted to catch that thing, and he told me about the Minnesota Bowfin Club and their annual Bowfin Tournament. Joel said Spring dogfish angling was a great way to legally use your bass gear before the bass season opened. I had never thought of that before, and after a bit of reflection, my viewpoint on the value of Dogfish was transformed.


My First Minnesota Bowfin Club Grand Championship: I decided that in the Spring of 2004, I would try and win the MBC Grand Championship and, for the first time in my life, started fishing for Dogfish on purpose. One day in mid-may of 2004, after the MN fishing opener but before the bass opener, I went fishing for pike and Dogfish with a trusty white spinnerbait with white Colorado blades and a white pork trailer. I was fishing in "Loon Sex Bay" when a big dogfish struck and rocked my world. This 30-inch fish put on an excellent fight, but I was able to net it. This was by far the biggest Dogfish I had ever caught in my life, and it was full of eggs to make it that much fatter. On my Rapala spring scale, it weighed in at 9.5 lbs. I registered it with MNBC; sure enough, it was the 2004 Tournament Winner.

Second MN Bowfin Club Grand Championship: In 2006, I regained the Minnesota Bowfin Grand Champion title and became the Club's first two-time Champion. On April 26th, I headed to Mille Lacs lake for crappie and dogfish fishing. I knew a little spot in Isle Bay that had held Dogfish in the Spring. I had seen them in there while fishing for crappies on several occasions. I call this spot "Dogfish Nirvana." I headed into the little cut, and sure enough, I spotted a big dogfish sitting there. I threw a white jig with a white pork trailer right next to it and hopped it several times. Sure enough, it struck, and I hooked it. In the cold water, this Dogfish did not fight, and I quickly landed it. This fish measured 30 inches, like my first MN Bowfin Club Grand Championship winner. The fish was less fat and probably weighed less than 9 lbs. I didn't have a camera, so I did not get a picture of the fish. It was dark, with a white scar at the tip of its snout. I registered the fish, and it won the 2006 tournament.

Fishing for Dogfish: Being a two-time Bowfin Grand Champion makes me an expert at the pursuit of Dogfish. However, there is a lot I don't know about them, and I get skunked more times than I catch them. Here are my tips:

In the winter, I know Dogfish hold on relatively shallow weed flats where the water has just a little more depth than the surrounding area. In the spring, dogfish can be found in the same dark bottom bays that hold panfish, bass, and pike. The Dogfish are in those areas feeding up and soaking in the warmer water just like all the other fish. Old weed growth and emerging weed growth are things to look for. I don't think Dogfish are very active until the water temp is over 50°F, and the warmer the water, the more active they get. I think the peak time to get into Dogfish is when the temperatures get into the 60s. Once you find a spot that holds Dogfish, you can count on it to draw them in year after year.

In water that is sub 50°F, the best way to fish for Dogfish is to sight fish them with a white-colored bass jig or a big black worm or tube. The Dogfish will sun themselves in fairly shallow water around old weed growth at this time. They are not apt to chase, so looking for them on sunny calm days is best. During the Spring, summer, and fall, sight fishing is an excellent technique because Dogfish get big, and their dark bodies can stick out in clear water.

Once the water warms up into the 50s, you are as likely to catch them blind fishing as sight fishing. I recommend using white or pink colors. Spinnerbaits, swim jigs, jerkbaits, buzzbaits, and Spooks are all good choices. I like to cover water with topwaters or by "bulging" a spinnerbait or swim jig, looking for a dogfish to make a wake while in pursuit of the lure. Once you find one, you know where it lives and can work it over with fast and slow presentations.

That is the extent of what I know about how to catch them.

The Critics: Fishing for Dogfish in the Spring with artificial lures is not without its controversy. Minnesota has closed seasons for Bass and Pike well into May, and there is a regulation that states: "You may not intentionally fish for any species during its closed season." Many people consider dogfish fishing to be total BS and an automatic violation of the prohibition against intentionally fishing for bass and pike (mainly bass) in their closed seasons. I have argued with these critics on online fishing message boards. Not only do I fish for Dogfish, but I question the validity of a fishing regulation that I believe to be seriously flawed. This drives some people nuts, and I have been called several names.

Here is the thought process of one of the more thoughtful critics:

Are there any lakes that have a fishable population of Dogfish?

I'm all about giving people the benefit of the doubt. But I can't stand it when people fish for "dogfish" and happen to catch 20 bass and no dogfish. It bugs the tar out of me...

I respond that any body of water that contains Dogfish has a "fishable population," just as any body of water that includes muskie has a "fishable population" of muskies. Some bodies of water have more Dogfish than others or bigger-sized Dogfish on average than others, just as some lakes have more bass than others or bigger bass on average than others. Dogfish are not some special fish that is radically different from the rest. However, Dogfish are more like muskie than pike, bass, or panfish. Pike and bass tend to be more prolific species than dogfish or muskie; thus, it is easier to catch bass and pike than to catch muskies and Dogfish. There are plain and simply many more bass and pike swimming around than Dogfish and muskies. I have, at times, caught both bass and pike nearly cast after cast, but I have never had anything close to that happening with muskie or Dogfish.

I would maintain that angling for Dogfish is much like angling for muskie. If you catch 1 in a day, you have done great. You have done phenomenally if you catch two or more in a day. Obviously, things are much different for the prolific bass; One bass in a day of fishing is considered quite slow and extremely poor.

There is at least one big difference between muskie fishing and dogfish fishing: the baits are best used to pursue the quarry. "Legal" muskies are big fish that often require big tricks that will select against most smaller fish striking them. Meanwhile, Dogfish are more modest-sized fish and are most efficiently pursued with baits that are equal to lures that select for largemouth bass. This is the fact that fixates the critics. Dogfish techniques are the same as bass techniques and dogfish lures. I'm sure to make matters worse in the eyes of critics dogfish location overlaps perfectly with the bass location. If you are going to catch a dogfish, you will most certainly catch many more bass than Dogfish in the process due to the simple biological realities. The critics believe these facts prove dogfish fishing is nothing more than a thinly veiled cover for fishing for bass out of season, and thus dogfish fishing is de facto breaking the law.

The big problem with that theory is that dogfish fishing is 100% legal according to MN state fishing regulations. If you are a licensed angler, pursuing Dogfish, which have no closed season, is 100% within your legal rights. If you intend to catch a dogfish, any bass you catch is incidental and temporarily permitted under the law. How many bass you catch or don't catch incidentally or how many Dogfish you catch or don't catch doesn't change that fishing for Dogfish is absolutely allowed under the fishing regulations. The thoughtful critic referenced above succinctly states: "Rules are Rules; if you don't like them.. tough!" The rules about fishing for Dogfish are clear; they have no closed season, so fishing for them is perfectly legal.

It's no secret that I don't like the fatally flawed regulation about angler intent and closed-season fish. The refrain that I have heard from my critics is that if I don't like the law, I should get it changed. The critics on the issue of dogfish fishing are in that same boat. If you don't like dogfish fishing, then change the law so that Dogfish have the same season as bass. But why can't they just let the rules be the rules? Instead of trying to get a dogfish season that aligns with bass, it makes more sense to just open bass up to catch-and-release fishing when they are not in season. CATCH-AND-RELEASE FISHING DOES NOT HARM THE RESOURCE IN ANY MEANINGFUL WAY!!! Get this kind of regulation passed, and we can both be happy.

Update: Cyberfish is trying to take some credit for my conversion on Dogfish. Funny, but I don't remember any of that. What I do remember is Cyberfish trying to convince me about the merits of catching big ole carp. I have never really bought into his enthusiasm on that subject. Carp, just don't annihilate a lure like a dogfish can.