Bowfin are demersal freshwater piscivores native to North America, and commonly found throughout much of the eastern United States, and in southern Ontario and Quebec.erpetologist Wilfred T. Neill, reported in 1950 that he unearthed a bowfin aestivating in a chamber 4 inches (10 cm) below the ground surface, 8 inches (20 cm) in diameter, .25 miles (0.4 km) from a river.