Bowfins take a lot longer to mature than a snakehead. I have read that the do not mature for four or five years. The snakeheads caught in the Potomac River near Mount Vernon seem to be growing at a much faster rate. Bowfins are fairly aggressive fish that prefer slack water with lots of weed cover. I have caught them on top water crank baits, Texas rigged worms, and Jigs while fishing for Bass. The Snakeheads caught in the Potomac also have hit baits intended for largemouth. Both Species though unrelated can breath air for periods of time.

The two main differences in appearance that the head is tapered in the snakehead and rounded on the bowfins also the anal fin is very long on the snakehead. In VA you only find the Bowfin in the Southwest corner of the state in water that is part of the Ohio/Tenn. River Basins. There are bowfins in ponds across other parts of the state but they are pretty rare. I think there are just as fun as LMB catch but due to taking so long to mature would be very hard to manage in a fishery.I�m guessing if the snakehead threat grows, a lot of bowfins will be thrown up on the bank or in the bottom of the boat.