Maybe not big by some guys standards, or for some locations.....But it seems twenty pounds is the magic number where Gary,Tim,and I have been bowfishing......
Gary shot and weighed one last year that was a shade under 20#......so I'm gonna make sure we have a scale from now on to see if we can break the 20# mark this summer!
Yesterday we went out and again Gary showed us how to do it. When Tim and I came back from spending about 2 1/2 hrs down river and had nothing to show for it except for a few missed shots. Gary had this.....
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v77/Guru39/bowfishing/bowfishin7-4001.jpg)
So we decided to try a different spot on the river and Tim and I faired a little better. Timmy did real good with a fine sneak and shot on a real big fish and made it 2 for 2 with another good shot. One is a whopper that I think might have beat Gary's mark,but we didn't have a scale with us. According to Gary it was for sure no bigger than 19#'s :goldtooth: .....
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v77/Guru39/bowfishing/bowfishin7-4003.jpg)
I think we'll continue to update this as the quest continues.....
I wouldn't know a 20 pounder if I shot one, but that would rank as a big fish on my arrow.
very nice
Nice...looks like the area I smallmouth fish in...great fishing guys.
Congrats.
I've never seen carp that big down here, but I'm sure they have them.
We have big garfish. I wanna try making some garfish scale arrow points like they say the american indians did around here. I found a pic of some the other day they were pretty neat. Sharp looking too.
Those are nice fish you guy's shot, here is a pic of my biggest this year it weighed 35# but I shot it in a lake, I took a number of 20# fish in this spot.
(http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y275/420W/IM000100.jpg)
Like I said......"#20 might not be big to some or some locations"......but where we are.....
Time will tell.....we're trying again tomorrow morning :pray:
them are nice fish guys...looks like you all had a good time :smileystooges: :D
:clapper:
NO CADE...... :readit: :eek:
Nice fish, Curt! Well done and congrats! :thumbsup:
Nice shooting guys,Looks like alot of fun.
I guess this is kinda a dumb question but.. you guys do just kinda randomly search grass flats for them right?
I've seen carp in ponds, and a few lakes, but I hardly ever see them in the bayous. It seems like with all the grass they'd be everywhere.
Am I missing something? You guys all look like you're fishing in creeks or lakes, not backwaters or flood waters. Am I looking in the wrong areas?
I usually try to find a fertile area that is protected from wind and full of grass. Is that a bad strategy? Should I look for access to deeper water like they are bass?
SP, We are finding these fish as tail up to feed on the bottom in the shallows. It's not at all like the frenzy of spawn time. It's spot and stalk hunting at it's finest,but it's fish. This is very challenging! We also get them sometimes by cruising along slowly in a canoe. The most difficult stalk is when we have to stalk in the
water as opposed to the hunter being on shore while stalking. Carp are very sensitive to vibrations in the water. Flip a rock, slip and take one bad step and they just disappear.
The hunt continues.....
Starting out...Gary ran right into some deer....
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v77/Guru39/bowfishing/7-6-08002.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v77/Guru39/bowfishing/7-6-08001.jpg)
From a distance I could see Timmy was quickly attached to a fish as Gary and I moved up different sides of the river.
I was soon into fish and within a half hour I had these.All three stalked from shore....
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v77/Guru39/bowfishing/7-6-08004.jpg)
After it slowed down I worked my way back to the truck and soon Tim showed up with these......
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v77/Guru39/bowfishing/7-6-08006.jpg)
Gary showed up a little while later with one fish of his own....at this point we had 6 fish...all between 8-10lbs.
We moved to another spot on the river. The same place we hunted on the 4th,where Tim shot his big dog.
Tim did well again...bring in two more fish....
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v77/Guru39/bowfishing/7-6-08008.jpg)
Check out where he hit this one....
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v77/Guru39/bowfishing/7-6-08021.jpg)
We waited to see how Gary did.....
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v77/Guru39/bowfishing/7-6-08010.jpg)
Gary showed up again carrying one fish....
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v77/Guru39/bowfishing/7-6-08014.jpg)
He had another stashed down river that we went to pick up making our total 10!
Since all three of us starting bowfishing together last year I think the most was 6 in a day,and that was last Friday. We were on a roll and Tim again had the big dog of the morning.....
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v77/Guru39/bowfishing/7-6-08018.jpg)
The "de-liar".....
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v77/Guru39/bowfishing/7-6-08020.jpg)
Have any of you guys seen anything like this? Gary shot this fish and it had the same open sore looking spot on the other side gill plate too......
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v77/Guru39/bowfishing/7-6-08017.jpg)
Closest fish is Tim's big fish, 13lbs. 4oz.....
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v77/Guru39/bowfishing/7-6-08026.jpg)
Three happy hunters with our 10 fish.....
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v77/Guru39/bowfishing/7-6-08025.jpg)
So far Tim had the biggest, but still no 20#'ers
We weren't done yet though.......
Tim went off to take his cousin fishing/bowfishing.
So with me running out of time,having to be home, we went back to a spot Gary had done well at this morning and had seen a lot of fish......
It had slowed down....But with Gary watching I lucky enough to made a long, slow stalk thru a long stretch of shallow water to take my biggest fish of the day......
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v77/Guru39/bowfishing/7-6-080272.jpg)
A while later with very few fish showing themselves, I looked up stream to see an active fish tailing at the head of the same shallow flat I'd shot my other. As I again made my way very slowly toward the tailing fish. Getting closer, almost in shooting range, I noticed a dark shadow cruising up toward me. I quickly turned my attention from the tailing fish to this closer fish. It was hard to see,but my polarized shades definitely helped. She was feeding/rolling on the bottom, the flash of her belly helped me keep track of her progress. Within seconds she rose up off the bottom and with her dorsal about out of the water I released.......
This was now my biggest fish of the day.....
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v77/Guru39/bowfishing/7-6-08030.jpg)
Kind of a blurry pic, but you can get a better idea of her size......
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v77/Guru39/bowfishing/7-6-08031.jpg)
more to come......
This was now the fish of the day.....
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v77/Guru39/bowfishing/7-6-08032.jpg)
That made 12 fish,doubling our previous high of 6 fish in a day!
What a way to finish up a great day with good friends. Thanx again guys :notworthy: :notworthy:
Let's do it again soon.Hopefully with Shawn next time......
The quest for the twenty pounder continues......
Seeing the sore on the gill of that carp makes me wonder if you have lamprey up in those waters.
Nice fish and good shootin. Got a few today myself in the flood water. 3 gar and a big head carp.
Lampreys do come into fresh water to spawn and they have to eat. Looks like their sucker work to me. Nice shootin Guru and friends.
Looks like a blast Curt, thanks for taking us along.
I was on a turkey hunt earlier this year (the one where the hog chased me) and I had the chance to shoot some carp out of a tank there on the ranch. I didn't have the proper rig with me so I just shot them with regular arrows/broadheads. It was a blast. Looks like you guys are having way too much fun. Thanks for the pictures.
It is a blast guys!
This summer bowfishing with Timmy and Gary K. has really bridged the gap for my bowhunting passion between turkey season and the fall seasons. I look forward to it all week. I hope to do it again real soon.
I don't know of any Lampreys in this river, but Gary would know. He's fished/bowfished his whole life there. The thing is,it had the same thing but smaller on the other side. It also had(as seen in the pix)that green substance in it. It almost looked like an imbedded leaf,but it wasn't.
Thanks for the tip. That sounds really fun.
I haven't bowfished for probably 38 years and don't even own a rig for it, but you guys are having way too much fun and guess I'm going to have to bite the bullet and spend some money on new equipment.
Nice going Guru, love that tailgate head on (or mouth on) shot.
Congrats Guru! Great fish. The invitation is still open for any night bowfishing from a boat. It is addicting. There are tons of eels in the river.
Terry, If I ever get two days in a row off,I'm up for it bud!
Kurt not only do they sense vibration but they can see you moving, when Joe and I first started this year when we saw fish we would try to get on them quick. After awhile we noticed that they would dart off at any sudden movement, so we began to raise and draw our bows slowly and had much greater success.
Well yeah Jim, ya can't just rip your bow up and shoot. Fish see very well,especially in smooth water. I'm convinced they'll feel ya way before they see ya though if you're stalking in the water.
A fish that's distracted feeding, or in choppy water is way easier to sneak up on than a resting fish in slow water.
I wish Gary or Tim would get on this thread. :help: :pray:
hey curt just got my first chance to check this out, stayed down there fishin till almost ten at night sunday! talk about a long day of runnin whild in that river... lets get somethin clear... any time i am not around and there is a fish that is going to be the biggest of the day (and beat mine) i expect to see the entire fish hanging FREELY from that scale, how do i know you arent tuggin on that things tail huh? it looked like a 12.9 fish to me. jk lol :knothead: :banghead:
so we had another one but my clumsyness took it away. and even after all that i pulled another one out of that same spot only a minute or two later.
Naa, we went back to the spot your dad said that we could have the rest of the river,if he could have just that spot. It's a great spot!!
Talked to Shawn today....if you're good for Sunday, I think he is too....
That was funny when you shot that first fish off the tree and you were having a heck of time trying to land it and you said....."I don't think I thought this one all the way through" :biglaugh:
But you got it done!
looks like fun was had.
yall boys wouldn't know what to do with yourselves bowfishing down here in texas.
Kyle, We'd luv it!! :jumper:
Curt... certainly sounds like you all are having a blast. Nuthin better than buds and bows.
Mostly I go at it alone these days. Not by choice, just the way it is.
Had a good day yesterday. Shot 5 gar, 1 carp, and a bullfrog.
Here's a little story... went down to my spot early only to find a guy already there, so I turned around and went scouting for another place.
Came back a half hour later and he was gone. So I started shooting fish.
Turns out he'd lost the only fish arrow he had and had gone home for another.
So he shows back up and takes up a position on the bridge with me. Nice enough guy and we were having a nice conversation.
His very first shot he hit a gar and it yanked his spinning reel off his bow... KERSPLOOOSH!!
Tried to drag it up for him with my arrow, but no luck.
He hung around and watched for about an hour. Imagine I'll see him down there again as long as it lasts.
we sold our big bowfishing rig, so we are in the market for another at the moment. But last year we were boating about 50 fish a night between 2 of us....Did i mention they go up to 50 1bs? HEHE
That's too cool Charlie!! :scared:
Kyle, curious about your set up for fish that big. Do you have a reel attached to your bow? and do you reel them in, or do you pull them in hand over hand? I use a 30 year old bear disk (?)
you know, the kind you just wrap the line around by hand. And a 25-30 lbs fish has the potential to burn the snot out of your hands if you're not careful. I think I'd want leather gloves with a 50 lbs'er.
Nice Curt...cool thread. Brought back memories from 1984 when I was bowfishing the Trinity River in Texas with a fellow named Kenny Lumpkin.
We were after alligator gar and buffalo fish. I found this pic from that trip...notice there isn't any gray hair!!!
(http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a281/sf1oak/scan0003-3.jpg)
Sunday's update.....
Sorry to say Tim didn't make this trip. It wasn't the same without ya bud :(
But this was the first time all the stars aligned and Shawn could finally join us, so we went for it. So Gary, Shawn and I hit the river..... I have a great video of Shawn's first shot, but it's a tad too big to load in PB,so I can't get it on here.
But here's some pix.....
Shawn and I got separated from Gary for a while, but I told Shawn that "I guarantee Gary got one when we get back together"....
He didn't have one,he had THREE.....
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v77/Guru39/bowfishing/7-13-08004.jpg)
Shawn and Gary....
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v77/Guru39/bowfishing/7-13-08002.jpg)
Shawn and I had nothing but a few missed shots...we hit another spot.Gary off of Tim's perch...I got there just as Gary shot.....
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v77/Guru39/bowfishing/7-13-08005.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v77/Guru39/bowfishing/7-13-08007.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v77/Guru39/bowfishing/7-13-08009.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v77/Guru39/bowfishing/7-13-08011.jpg)
Last week Tim had several shots off the tree,so after Gary landed his we figured what the heck,maybe one will come back......After one missed, quick exiting shot,I made good on the second one.......
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v77/Guru39/bowfishing/7-13-080122.jpg)
Then we hit another spot and of course Gary showed us how to do it again with another big fish......
Gary weighing the big fish of the day.....
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v77/Guru39/bowfishing/7-13-08015.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v77/Guru39/bowfishing/7-13-08014.jpg)
The day's "catch"....
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v77/Guru39/bowfishing/7-13-08016.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v77/Guru39/bowfishing/7-13-08020.jpg)
Check out the "style"....
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v77/Guru39/bowfishing/7-13-08018.jpg)
So Gary's 14lb. 1oz. fish was the big fish of the day....
The quest for the 20#'r continues......
I finally shot a paddlefish this year after a few attempts. I don't see many of these on the KY River so this was a real treat.
(http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn207/warden609/Paddlefish.jpg)
Man, that's cool!!
I had a blast a posted another thread with my story , I will bring that up to the top. I am heading out this afternoon to try for some farm pond carp, they say there are some close to 40#s in this one big pond. I hope to prove it! Shawn