My son's epic Bowfin

<p>I recently moved from Northern Indiana to Holly Springs, NC and have been banging out some lifelisters. &nbsp;It has been awesome fishing many of the area&#39;s rivers, creeks, and coastline. &nbsp;My son, Tyler, has also caught the lifelisting bug and we have been on a few expeditions over the summer. &nbsp;I thought I would share a recent highlight.</p> <p>Tyler has been wanting to catch a bowfin/dogfish for several years. &nbsp;He has had several hookups and broken lines in that time period. &nbsp;We decided to fish the Lumber river in southern NC, a blackwater river known for harboring a number of different sunfish species (Bluegill, Redear, Dollar, Bluespotted, Spotted, Black Banded, etc.) &nbsp;We launched our canoe and paddled upstream checking out likely spots to fish. &nbsp;What a beautiful river! &nbsp;Huge Cypress groves, black gum, and tupelo trees lined the bank. &nbsp;It was like slipping back to some prehistoric age. &nbsp;As we moved along, I heard the sound of a motor behind me. &nbsp;We moved over to let them pass, a couple of guys in a john boat. &nbsp;The odd thing was that they had landing nets but I didn&#39;t see any fishing rods. &nbsp;They moved up ahead to a back eddy, and splash, threw something like a cable into the water. &nbsp;The dude in the back of the boat starts cranking something... &nbsp;Yep, they were telephone fishing. &nbsp;Great! &nbsp;There goes my chances of fishing for calm, undisturbed fish. &nbsp;Oh well...</p> <p>We continued upstream and the shocker boys were out of view. &nbsp;As we came to a bend in the river, we glided toward a large deadfall. &nbsp;The water was fairly shallow and the bottom was very visible, sandy. &nbsp;Tyler yells &quot;Flathead!&quot; and points to the left of the canoe. &nbsp;I glance over to see a dark shape moving from the shallows, under the canoe, into the deeper section of the bend. &nbsp;Then I catch some more movement, and see a nice bowfin move in the same direction. &nbsp;Dogfish! I shout back to Ty. &nbsp;We grin at each other, and make plans to get Tyler&#39;s first Bfin.</p> <p>We catch a couple bluegills and turn them to fish chunks. &nbsp;Tie off a tree at the head of the hole and drop two lines downstream. &nbsp;A few minutes pass and Ty&#39;s line goes slack. &nbsp;&quot;Check that line to see if a fish is on&quot; I suggest to Ty. &nbsp;He grabs the rod and tightens up. &nbsp;Oh yeah, there is one on there. &nbsp;The rod bends over, the drag screams, and the water is boiling! &nbsp;My adrenaline is through the roof, as I coach Tyler to get the fish near the canoe. &nbsp;Now, the canoe does have stablilizers on it (strongly recommend to anyone fishing from a stationery canoe), but it is still tricky to land big fish from it. &nbsp;After quite a bit of back and forth, the fish is getting close. &nbsp;I think it is a bowfin, but could be a big cat? &nbsp;Ty lifts the rod, and a huge head comes out of the dark water. &nbsp;It&#39;s a bowfin, and a good one! &nbsp;Close to double digits. &nbsp;After I tuck my eyes back in my head, I reach out with the landing net to secure the catch. &nbsp;Now I pride myself on taking my time with fish at the net, always careful not to blow it and bump the fish at this crucial juncture. &nbsp;Well, what does dad do? &nbsp;I totally panicked and blasted the fish in the head, it spun and dove directly under the canoe. &nbsp;SNAP!!! &nbsp;My jaw dropped and heart sank. &nbsp;I looked at Ty. &nbsp;He says &quot;I&#39;m sorry dad&quot; &nbsp;I say &quot;Ty, you did great, I blew it&quot;. &nbsp;&quot;We&#39;ll get another one&quot; he says confidently. &nbsp;</p> <p>Less than 5 minutes later, he slams into another one. &nbsp;The water boils and the drag sings. &nbsp;This time I untie the canoe and paddle to a shallow sandbar. &nbsp;This one is not getting away. &nbsp;Ty battles away, and finally the bowfin lays on its side and slides into the net. &nbsp;YES!!! &nbsp;We high five, and the heavens let loose. &nbsp;A pop up rain shower dumps buckets of rain on us. &nbsp;Who cares! &nbsp;We hoop and holler like madmen as we celebrate Ty&#39;s epic catch. &nbsp;There are some moments in fishing that you will always treasure. &nbsp;You know you are raising a &quot;roughfisher&quot; when your boy rejoices over a bowfin. &nbsp;I couldn&#39;t be prouder!&nbsp;</p> <p>We also managed to get some other lifelisters: dollar sunfish (both), golden shiners (Ty), and my first spotted sunfish!</p> <p>What a blast.</p> <p>Matchman</p> <p><img alt="" src="http://www.roughfish.com/sites/default/files/user-lifelist-images/Ty%20bowfin.JPG" style="width: 800px; height: 533px;" /></p> <p>&nbsp;</p>