Here is a rare Fossil Friday post: on Sept. 21, 2008, the Pittsburgh Tribune Review printed an article about a Bowfin that was caught in the Allegheny River in Pittsburgh, PA. The newspaper still ran a print edition then. Hence, the digital copy below is the fossil, a crude impression left by the extinct print copy. The print edition also ran the attached photograph; I include it here for historical reasons. That photo is everywhere now, and I want people to know where it first appeared in print.

The article’s history: it began when  Bob Frye, the outdoors writer for the “Trib,” contacted Chuck “BAGman” Meyer at the old Bowfin Anglers group site. Chuck sent Bob my way, and Bob and I had a nice long chat. We spent a good part of the time talking about Myron Cope and the Steelers.

Bob somehow managed to turn my ramble into a great article – Bob is a professional journalist, after all. Looking back on it now, I was happy to draw some attention to my favorite fish and invite some folks into Bowfin Country.

A side note: the tackle shop mentioned in the article apparently had so many requests for the mount that they took it down, or so I was told by a friend who went there.

Here is the article, for your paleontological reading pleasure:

http://triblive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/outdoors/s_589149.html