Bowfin are called choupic in this area. Growing up, I've always considered them a trash fish, but the "coonass's" that I work with swear that they are delicious. I caught one and they convinced me to try it. Actually, it didn't taste bad, but I just had a hard time getting by the "trash fish" mindset.
One thing that I've always heard is that you have to keep them alive before you clean them or the meat will get extremely soft and mushy.
