Quality bass bites to boost any of our anglers’ totals have been hard to come by in the last couple of weeks. However, when you are out there chasing bass on the Hennepin Canal, you never know what might take a liking to your lure. Hence, we added another species to the Top 5 project this week.

Species: Bowfin
Weight: 3-13 (23”)
Angler: Troy Jackson
Date: May 31
Weather: Sunny/breezy, 60F
Location: Hennepin Canal
Lure: 5” Yamamoto Senko (blue pearl/silver flake)
Angler Comments: In what I call a bass fishing “accident”, I landed my first ever bowfin. Over the years, I have had a couple others hooked but they managed to get away. An exciting and hard fighting fish that I would welcome on the end of the line any day.
Top 5 Weight: 3-13 (3-13)

This fun, prehistoric catch was a welcome addition to the Top 5. For some reason, the bowfin (also called a “dogfish”) has gained a bad rap over the years as a rough/trash fish. I beg to differ as it is a native species whose ancestors appeared on the scene around 250 million years ago and the hardy bowfin may just outlast us anglers if left to do its thing. Talk to you later. Troy