For starters, I have been trying to take my friend Tim on a huge bowfishing trip for some time now, three years actually, and we finally were able to make it happen. I tuned up the boat and fan the week prior to our trip, and we made preparations for the long haul.
We had four nights to shoot, and I was going to make sure we made the most of it. I spent the night before working on a few arrows, ensuring that all time on the water, would be spent shooting. Tim drove straight from work to my house, and got there at 5:45am. So after some quick shut eye we were out the door finally.
After fueling up my truck, multiple, multiple times…we made it to our first shooting location. The weather looked good so we threw on a bunch of layers and got the boat ready for what we hoped was a decent night. Little did we know that we were on to something…and after a short boat ride we arrived at my honey holes, and soon enough we were into the fish thick!!
While fanning around some areas, I kept noticing the water really muddied up from carp, and I thought it was just a bunch of big fish taking off. But soon we started noticed small carp swimming around creating the mud boils. So with a bit of effort I located a grass bed that the small fish were using as cover, and we worked that area over hard. Most of the time we were taking shots at singles, but every now and then a school would work their way through, and we could help drawing the Oneidas all the way back and seeing how many we could get on at one time. It was INSANE!!!! They must have had great spawning conditions the past two years, as these might have been two year old fish roughly.
The best shot of the night, was when I was racing to get my arrow into a carp, and pulling them in as fast as I can to get to the next shot….well….in this process I just shot a small carp, and I yanked the fish out of the water, and as I did, Tim shot at another fish, and ended up shooting the same fish that I had on, while it was out of the water. I guess that is as close to shooting flying common carp as it gets!!
In the end of night one, we shot 227 common carp in six hours.
A few pictures quick:
3/15/2011~ Muzzy, Muzzy, Muzzy!!! My arrow collection that I made sure was in top condition before the shoot.
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3/16/2011~ Constant fuel up along the drive.
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3/16/2011 ~ Tim and myself with nice doubles on the common carp.
![Image]()
Tim with his first mirror of the trip.
![Image]()
Me with my nice mirror a few hours into the night.
![Image]()
We had four nights to shoot, and I was going to make sure we made the most of it. I spent the night before working on a few arrows, ensuring that all time on the water, would be spent shooting. Tim drove straight from work to my house, and got there at 5:45am. So after some quick shut eye we were out the door finally.
After fueling up my truck, multiple, multiple times…we made it to our first shooting location. The weather looked good so we threw on a bunch of layers and got the boat ready for what we hoped was a decent night. Little did we know that we were on to something…and after a short boat ride we arrived at my honey holes, and soon enough we were into the fish thick!!
While fanning around some areas, I kept noticing the water really muddied up from carp, and I thought it was just a bunch of big fish taking off. But soon we started noticed small carp swimming around creating the mud boils. So with a bit of effort I located a grass bed that the small fish were using as cover, and we worked that area over hard. Most of the time we were taking shots at singles, but every now and then a school would work their way through, and we could help drawing the Oneidas all the way back and seeing how many we could get on at one time. It was INSANE!!!! They must have had great spawning conditions the past two years, as these might have been two year old fish roughly.
The best shot of the night, was when I was racing to get my arrow into a carp, and pulling them in as fast as I can to get to the next shot….well….in this process I just shot a small carp, and I yanked the fish out of the water, and as I did, Tim shot at another fish, and ended up shooting the same fish that I had on, while it was out of the water. I guess that is as close to shooting flying common carp as it gets!!
In the end of night one, we shot 227 common carp in six hours.
A few pictures quick:
3/15/2011~ Muzzy, Muzzy, Muzzy!!! My arrow collection that I made sure was in top condition before the shoot.
3/16/2011~ Constant fuel up along the drive.
3/16/2011 ~ Tim and myself with nice doubles on the common carp.
Tim with his first mirror of the trip.
Me with my nice mirror a few hours into the night.
