Fishing with an arrow

Had some fun recently with my bow...pretty entertaining and provides me with bait if I need any next fall. Not seeing many yet so opportunities have been limited.

Good lord man!!! Those things are monsters. Gigantic fish like that weird me out. Something like that could grab a guy by his toes and drag him under! I've never been bowfishing before, are those giants still alive after you arrow them? And do they still fight hard they way big carp do?

They fight like crazy after they are arrowed. One of those towed the boat around for a while before I got it close enough to the boat to bring it aboard with my gaff. I did get one the other day that was knocked unconscious when I hit it in the head with my arrow but it came back to life in my livewell.

Nothing beats fishing with the bait that bites!!

Could you show us your bowfishing rig ?

Wow those are monsters for sure. Way to go

Holey smokes, it has been a long time since I have seen carp that big!
Nice job, had to be lots of fun.
Come to think of it … been a long time since I have seen a sky that blue or water that calm.

Zim

Nice Brainerd area walleyes!

The trick is to Double Lung them with the first arrow. Then that second one won't be needed!

I first started bowfishing back in the 60's as a poor kid. We didn't have loot for all the fancy stuff, so we improvised.... tried all manner of contraptions to hold our string.....Clorox jugs were the most popular. Old guys will know what I mean.

MN I get calls every summer from folks who are willing to pay very good money to chase big carp with flyrods. They would love getting after carp like those. Not my gig but maybe something you would be interesting in doing. I’d be min 550 a day plus tips, for a pair of fisherman.

Osky

Osky, are these folks Brits?

I bowfished for carp all the time as a kid in Pewaukee, WI. We'd go out on Pewaukee Lake when the carp were rolling and have the time of our lives. Pewaukee Lake had a huge strain of carp and we got some monsters. Wish I had pictures of the biggest one I ever got. I hit it with an arrow but had to pitchfork it in order to get it in the boat. It fit across the back transom of a 14 ft. boat, nose and tail both laying up on the sides.

Moosetrot

Did you weigh those behemoths?

Not that have contacted me. I think the craze started there? People are really getting into that on the Mississippi River pools south of Minneapolis and I have seen them doing it between Minneapolis and St. Cloud on the river. Fella I know who guides lake Minnetonka says many folks are doing it there. From what I see of carp I see more big ones in lakes around here than in rivers.
I can imagine those bigger brutes would be a riot on a fly rod.
Osky

Sorry to distract MNman, great job with your bow. That’s gotta be a hoot.

Osky

Bet that was a blast!

Nice shooting!!!

Yes, not nearly as heavy as they looked. One was 20# and the other was 24#. I got a true trophy last year at this time that was 40.5#. This is a picture of that one:
It was 39 1/2 inches long and had a 28 inch girth that carried a long way down it's body.

My boat is the one I fish from. I just stand in the front and run my bow-mount troll motor and watch for them. If you mean my bow then it is an old Martin compound with a bottle reel and a solid fiberglass fish arrow. I don't typically shoot many of them but have a blast with the few that I do. I did not see any this morning.

Those are nice ones!!!

The WV state record for a common carp is, 39.3 inches and 47 pounds. And length record is 41 inches and 41.5 pounds. Now, that's caught on rod and reel.

My biggest one on rod and reel was 30 plus. Forget, using 10 or 12 pound test line? They are fun.

My brother and I like to gig them from the boat too, we've both got a couple up around 33 or 34 pounds, that's about as big as I've ever seen carp.

This is my sons last nights outing Carp and Buffalo. He goes out quite a bit.

Flooding this spring stranded a bunch of carp in the pond next to my girl friend's house. They were in the shallows spawning so I threw on the hip boots and grabbed the 22. Just wanted a few for bait so I only shot 4. I stood still waited for them to swim straight toward me so I could get them in the head. Had one good sized one and 3 smaller. That was fun. Could have gotten out of had if I had a place to get rid of them. Last year someone dumped a barrel of them in the road ditch where we walk her dog. Had to smell that for awhile. The mink sure liked though.

What do they do with them?

I was at the lake last weekend and the carp were rolling big time. I'm assuming their spawning?

If they are chasing each other around and the water is flying and they are making a huge commotion, then they are spawning. I have not yet seen that here this spring but soon, I'm sure. Then it gets wild.

Nice fish Doug.
You smoke em?

Jags they will get dispersed in the Amish neighbor hood. They grind the fillets on them and make them into many different type of fish dishes.

I smoked a couple of small ones a few years ago and found them edible but I prefer other fish such as whitefish or tullibee. I gave some to friends last year since they wanted to try some and they definitely do not want more this year. I am still looking for takers. I am freezing these whole and may wind up using them for bait or feeding birds and critters next winter.

Went out of my place for about 30 minutes this afternoon and while I only saw two carp and got a shot at one, it turned out to be a pretty big one. Anyone want any?

I saw some giants cruising around the pier last weekend, they come up in the shallows to spawn. I need to get my bowfishing rig out and shoot some and freeze them and then chop them in chunks after they are frozen with an axe and then freeze the chunks in small freezer bags for bait next fall and winter.

That one would have given Trap Stick Man quite a tussle. Way back, when I was a youngster I used to catch a lot of carp and give them to an old timer
by the name of Clyde Burwell. He had a handsome daughter named Ida Mae but that has nothing to do with carp. Clyde could smoke those guys
better than anyone I ever knew, they were great. Wish I would have taken time to learn his method.
I suppose between my catching and Clyde smoking we fed our tiny little town for most of the year.
Is it always sunny and calm like that in Minnysoota?

Zim

There’s not much better on earth then pickled carp.

We have had a few nice days these past two weeks. Just cleared up this afternoon after a cloudy morning. These are the days when I can see better with my polarized lenses and this is why you see my photos on nice days.

Yes, I had a long battle on the hand line with this one. Having a sharp gaff is sure handy when it comes to getting a big one in the boat.

That is a nice big fish.