Last weekend, while most of us were focused on shooting a turkey or helping someone to kill a turkey, Justin was putting a hurting on our local carp population.

Our inland lake bowfishing season started on May 1st – last weekend – and Justin took full advantage of it.  He managed to put two really nice fish in the boat – one weighing in at a whopping 14 1/2 lbs.

And just looking at these pictures makes me want to stand on a boat – with bugs buzzing my head while the sound of a generator makes conversation difficult – and try to put an arrow through a nuisance carp.  Under the generator-powered lights the carp seem to glow, but putting an arrow through them has been a difficult prospect for me up to this point.  As you can see, though, Justin certainly doesn’t have a problem putting a few carp in the boat.

Once turkey season completes – maybe even before then – a few of us, myself included, will be trying to put an arrow through our first carp.

And we better bring our A game, because Justin already has a commanding lead.

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Photo Credit: bowsite.com

Launching the boat right before dark, I must admit, felt a little strange.  Usually, during our “normal” fishing experiences, you launch the boat a few hours before dark, and then fish til dark; not with bowfishing, though.  Here we were launching just before dark, and making our way to our first spot.  Honestly, I was hooked already.  There is just something about bringing your bow along on the boat.  Too cool!

The day before our little fishing excursion Mother Nature didn’t make things very easy on us, however.  The southern and southwestern portion of the state had tornadoes and torrential downpours.  We were lucky enough to not have to deal with the tornadoes, but the torrential rains reared their ugly head the minute we arrived at the launch.  I left my camera at home on this particular night, but lets just say that the dock was about 2 or 3 feet underwater, and the launch area – that is usually dirt and gravel – was entirely covered with water.  We honestly almost called it quits and headed for home, but after some strategic planning, and Jeff almost bathing the floorboards of my vehicle, both boats were launched safely and we were on our way.  Take that Mother Nature – you can take your flash flood warning, and head on outta here!!

We fired up the generator in our boat – after replacing a burnt out light bulb – positioned the lights in the correct spot, and I readied for my first bowfishing experience.  Honestly, my expectations weren’t very high because the water was so high and murky that we didn’t think we would be able to see any fish.  Thankfully, though, we were wrong.

It was only a few minutes into our first spot, and there, glowing white on the bottom of the lake, was our first prey:  a carp just waiting to be arrowed.  Whoosh, I miss.  Then Justin shoots, and another miss.  Missing didn’t really deter me, though, this was fun stuff.

We headed to another sweet spot that our “guide” Justin was familiar with, and there, right before our eyes, was another fish.  Splash, and another miss by Justin.  The carp was not a smart one, though.  He only went a few feet, stopped, and waited – at point blank range – for one of us to put an end to him.  Justin’s arrow is still in the water from the miss, so it’s up to me at this point to come through for the team…………and I miss……at point. blank. range.

I consider myself to be a pretty good archer, but this bowfishing thing is a completely different animal.  The fish are so fast and so wary that you don’t have time to use a site or a release; it is completely instinctive and requires some awesome reflexes.  Sure I’m using a compound, but that is where the similarities of bowhunting for deer, and bowfishing for carp end.  It definitely gave me a new respect for all of you traditional instinctive shooters out there; it truly is one hell of a skill.

Eventually, after three of us in the boat went 0-10, Justin successfully arrowed a fish for the team.  It was a difficult “hunt” because all of the high water allowed the carp to go pretty much where ever they wanted.  It was an interesting experience to watch the reeds moving on top, and waiting for the carp to pop out the other side; it was very similar to deer hunting in that respect.

There was one aspect of the experience that took a little getting used to, though:  Bugs, and lots of them.  In order to hunt these fish at night you have to have some sort of powerful artificial light, and with that light comes bugs.  They weren’t as bad as they could have been, but it still takes a little getting used to.  I’m sure Jody won’t be going with us anytime soon, though.

My first bowfishing experience was a great one, and according to the expert in the boat, we didn’t even see nearly as many fish as normal.  If that is the case, you can bet that I will be heading out again and going after a few carp.  As I said before, there is just something about taking your bow on a boat that is too cool.

Note: Hopefully, once Jeff gets around to it, he will share a little bit of footage that we took from the other night.  We did manage to capture the one kill on film, and we’ll get that posted as soon as we can.

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Since I’m not one to shy away from any new outdoor activity, and since it isn’t going to cost me anything this weekend, I am going to venture out on Saturday evening (if the weather cooperates) and try my luck at something I’ve wanted to do for a very long time – - bowfishing.

My sister’s boyfriend has been doing it for the past couple of years, and every year I keep saying I’m going to go, and then the whole summer would be gone before I even got a chance to try it out.  Now, with Jeff having a boat set up, and Justin having a boat set up, I have no excuses for not hitting the water, fighting the bugs, and trying to arrow an unsuspecting carp.

Jeff has went out a couple of times now, and he just loves it.  Of course, he isn’t as good as Justin is, but over time he’ll get better I’m sure.

Four of us, plus a camerman, are going out on Saturday evening – and since we have that many guys, and two different boats – we have to make it a competition.  I’m glad Justin is in my boat, but he will have one handicap:  me!  It will be interesting to say the least since I really have no clue what I’m doing.  Hopefully, for Justin’s sake, and the sake of the team, I figure it out quick and put up at least one score;  I’ve heard rumors, though, that this bowfishing is tough.

My setup is going to be a simple one:  I’m going to use my old bow – it’s ten years old as a matter of fact – and Justin has a spool that I can attach to the front of it.  It isn’t a top of the line one, but it will do the job for this weekend and help me to decide if I really like this new activity before I go out and drop serious money on a little bit better rig.  He has arrows too, and hopefully I can at least contribute to the team a little bit.

Our boat setups are pretty simple too:  each boat has a little generator, and a couple of spotlights; it’s nothing major really, but it gets the job done as you can see here.

I’m really looking forward to it, and I will be sure to update everyone once the weekend is over.  I’m sure it’s going to be a blast, whether I actually arrow a fish or not.

And hopefully the bugs stay away.

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I have to say I’m a bit jealous.  My sister’s boyfriend, who has been featured many times on the site, is at it again.  I wish I was young again, and didn’t have all of these obligations that I have, so that I could just enjoy the outdoors like I used to, but I have to do other things.  Sometimes I hate life.

Alright, so maybe I’m kidding.  Justin does have a job, and he does have obligations, but for some reason he just tends to get outside more than I do.  His recent excursions have taken him outside to do something that I wish I would have done by now.  As you can tell from the title of the post, I’m talking about bowfishing.

Justin, his dad, and a few of his friends have been going out and trying to put an arrow through a carp or garfish.  I have honestly been wanting to do this for the last few years, but just haven’t gotten around to it yet.  Justin even, just recently, bought a generator to use to run his flood lights that help you to locate fish in the dark.  I will have to get pictures of the whole setup at some point, but for now you’ll just have to settle for a picture of this huge carp that he shot on a recent trip. Look at that monster.

For now, I will just wallow in my own pity until I can get myself out there with them one night to fish.  I have an old bow, and I really should set that up for bowfishing, but I just haven’t gotten around to it yet.  I’m not sure if it will happen this year or not, but hopefully it does.  Even if I only get to go with them on a trip and get to witness the event, that would be alright with me at that point.  I guess I’ll have to make an appointment, as I’m not sure how many spots are open on the boat, or how big the boat is.

So for all of you out there who are willing to give it a shot, get yourself out there and try to shoot some pesky fish species with bow and arrow.  It looks like a great way to spend a summer evening.

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