Trying Something New

[Dark_Knight_9C1]

I was up at Big Bear Lake on a warm weekend mid April and saw lots of carp swimming along the shores spawning. I've seen people bowfishing before there and thought I'd like to give it a try.
I've only shot a bow and arrow on occasion in the past. I looked online and found a nice compound bow kit with all the bells and whistles. These new bows have sights and string releases with triggers so it takes away a lot of the finesse you needed to shoot an arrow. I took a few shots in my backyard to get it adjusted and sighted and took it up the following weekend.
Unfortunately  it was 10 degrees cooler and the carp weren't as active but I did manage to find a few.

I got about 20 shots and got two. As expected, my side to side aim was right on but up and down was bad due to the refraction. The two I did get were 15 feet from shore and in about a foot of water. You have to shoot 4 inches lower for every 10 ft of distance and 3 inches for every foot depth. I shot 9 inches below and got them spot on.





I'm looking forward to trying again on a warmer weekend. In the meantime, I'll be practicing with pieces of submerged pool float noodles in my pool. 

-Keith

[Latimeria]

Cool and very interesting!  I know they need to cull carp from many of the reservoirs, but I am curious to know what you do with them?  I've seen quite a few people carp hunting with the bow, but I never inquired about what comes after.  I'm guessing fertilizer since I'm probably certain they are not great table fare, but I really have no idea.

Thanks for posting boss!

[Dark_Knight_9C1]

Big Bear Water District has a bin you can drop them off at and they mulch them. 

-Keith

[Latimeria]

Big Bear Water District has a bin you can drop them off at and they mulch them. 

-Keith

Thanks for the intel!  I always wanted to find out, but never followed up on my curiosity.   

[Tim524]

 Looks like a fun sport, them pool noodles probably taste better

[jrodda]

I saw something online about a grass carp recipe so it had me curious if carp is actually good. Also saw that in the south they will butterfly a mullet during mullet runs and BBQ them and it's hyped as a pretty tasty local tradition. Two fish I would otherwise never eat but now I'm curious.

Looks like a fun sport, them pool noodles probably taste better

Hahahaha

[Dark_Knight_9C1]

There also the Tradition Christmas Carp recipe.
https://www.atlasobscura.com/foods/christmas-carp#:~:text=The%20latter%20method%20is%20a,holiday%20dish%20in%20Central%20Europe.