Bow fishing question

Stevireno

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Hi all.

So, my ten year old has become obsessed with bow fishing. We now have the equipment and are ready to go carp hunting... It looks like most people have bow fished the CT river or Merrimack River, so we may start there.

Anyone ever done this before? I've called the fish and wildlife dept in mass, I sorted through their muddled laws, and now I'm just looking for any advice before I make a fool of myself in front of my kids!

Steve

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I have done a shit load of fishing, but I SELDOM can see a fish swimming around in front of me. I get the concept, just shoot a little low at the fish....but I would probably just stand there all day with an unfired bow.
 
Yeah, that's probably what will happen! If we wait until spring the carp spawn in swamps, they might be easy pickings then.

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Like I have said in the past. " Kill all you want, just take home what you kill". Don't leave rotting carcass's all over the bank. Your best bet is to pre bait a shallow area several days in advance. Use field corn and pressure cook it to make it soft (leaving it hard will kill the fish). Prebait several days before your hunt.
 
Looking for carp, I don't even know what a sucker is and a web search showed me more than I bargained for!

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Man O man I got excited to open this thread when I read the title! I loooooove bow fishing. It's the most fun you can have with your clothes on. I never bow fished NE but grew up bow fishing huge alligator gar in Texas. I moved from CT to MO and I'm in bow fishing heaven. I bow fish several times a week, mostly from a boat but when the rivers are up we wade fields hip deep in water and shoot fish. Mostly silvers, a few common carp, some buffalo, and plenty of long nose and spotted gar. Got my wife into it, she got her own rig and loves it too.

Like mentioned before, aim low, you almost can't aim low enough.

i invite everybody and anybody to go out with me, it's an excuse to get out more than I do already. Out here in these rivers, I think the slowest day I had was shooting maybe 30-40 times. The action is always hot down here in my area.


ETA the silver carp (commonly called Asian carp) are like the cockroaches of the rivers here. We often shoot two 55gal barrels full of fish. Most of it we sell for next to nothing to bait stores for cut bait, some farmers want them to grind up for their fields, and occasionally some folks want to eat them. I'll toss a few up,on the banks way back deep on the river, coons, birds, turtles and coyotes gotta eat too.
 
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Personally to me bow fishing is a waste. Carp are some of the best fighting fish on hook and line but to kill them just for fun to me is crazy. if your going to take the fish use the fish. At least you can use it as fertilizer.
 
Personally to me bow fishing is a waste. Carp are some of the best fighting fish on hook and line but to kill them just for fun to me is crazy. if your going to take the fish use the fish. At least you can use it as fertilizer.


No disrespect, but folks that don't see the numbers or the impact of an invasive species just don't see it the way we do. It's almost like saying you're sport hunting for mice and someone says "don't waste them, use them". Sure, I get the point and they can be used for many things, but no one will chide you down here for filling your boat with fish. Additionally, many bow fished species are sought for consumption. Gar, yeilds two huge white back straps that taste allot like crab, very sweet, stringy meat, not flakey or fishy at all. Buffalo are great fried, and I've had smoked carp that was good. It's kinda like varmint hunting the water.
 
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Find a place that holds large carp. Find a spot you want to bow fish where the water is clear enough for a shot and the angle steep enough to shoot. Buy a bag of corn from the bird seen place. Chum those locations with a handful or two at the same time of day and do it for 7-10 days. Show up a little early and set up and toss in some more corn. You will walk away a winner. Continue till they stop feeding.

Go to next location and repeat.
 
the Chinese have good recipes for carp. If you order "crispy whole fish" and it comes out with a tail on it....it is probably carp.
 
My son bow fishes for carp on the Charles River in Watertown.Someone called the Game Warden who showed up and said it was fine.
 
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