This spring, the state Department of Environmental Protection has received several reports of “unusual” fish being caught in the Connecticut River (Hartford area) and in the lower Hockanum River system.
The catches reported were all bowfin (Amia calva). Bowfin are native to portions of the Midwest and Northeast. In Connecticut, there are populations in Scoville Reservoir (Wolcott) and in the upper Connecticut River. Once relatively limited in size and distribution, since 2003 the Connecticut River population has been increasing in size and expanding its distribution.
In several cases, anglers were concerned that they had caught a snakehead (a large invasive predatory fish from Asia, originally brought to this country for the live food and aquarium trades). Bowfin and snakeheads are similar in appearance.
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