Bowfin
Amia calva
No minimum length limit or daily bag limit for bowfin.
Gear restriction: Fishing by pole and line only; at most two poles. State-park license exemption applies per current rules.
Identify your catch
A long dorsal fin and rounded tail; young fish and males often have a tail-base eyespot.
Habitat on Sheldon
This shallow coastal reservoir has abundant aquatic vegetation and cypress cover.
Fishing approach
Lake guide guidance: TPWD highlights bank fishing at the Garrett Road crossing and describes catfish and crappie opportunities. Species surveys provide dated context, not catch guarantees.
Fishing guidance describes documented approaches, not a promise of fish activity today.
No active lake-specific advisory or possession ban was named in the reviewed DSHS directory. This does not guarantee that fish are safe to eat.
Harvest permission and eating restrictions are separate.
General species guide
Uses vegetated water and can take air at the surface. It is different from invasive snakeheads.
General Bowfin profile →Sources & lake evidence
TPWD lake guide and reviewed fisheries evidence establish the listed species or group. Historical survey records do not establish current abundance.
Lake harvest rules ↗Eating guidance ↗Lake habitat & fishing guide ↗Fisheries survey · species evidence ↗Species identification ↗