Use caution with this data as some extreme values can be erroneous due to unsuspected errors in synop reports. All data should be verified. Note that the values we listed here are from international released synop reports, and for certain there will be other extreme values not in this list.
Bowfin are demersal freshwater piscivores native to North America, and commonly found throughout much of the eastern United States, and in southern Ontario and Quebec.erpetologist Wilfred T. Neill, reported in 1950 that he unearthed a bowfin aestivating in a chamber 4 inches (10 cm) below the ground surface, 8 inches (20 cm) in diameter, .25 miles (0.4 km) from a river.
Among fishermen, the bowfin is the Rodney Dangerfield of American fishes, never accorded any respect. Many anglers regard it as a trash fish that competes with game fish for food. Hooked bowfin are often thrown on the bank to die. In fact, this lack of respect is patently unfair.Hooked bowfin fight as hard as--maybe even better than--any game fish.ound in much of the eastern half of the United States, the bowfin prefers slow creeks and the tannin-dark waters of acid-cedar swamps. Ancestors of the bowfin date as far back as the Jurassic period. The genus Amia was once found on most continents and some members of the family were even found in salt water.