I spent the vast majority of the day fly fishing today, but I did carve-out an hour or so to bowfish.
The largescale suckers are still in the same areas, but their numbers are dipping with each passing week.
I’d like to know where they’re migrating.
The carp are virtually non-existent now. I’m guessing they’re heading back downriver to warmer water, which is probably what the suckers are doing too.
When I couldn’t hook into the suckers with a fly after several hours of trying (I’ve been able to do this in the past, but not today), I grabbed my bow.
I took a handful of deep shots near a very wide pool with slow moving water, but I missed each of the fish. Since the suckers were now spooked, I headed upriver and found a few more fish.
The suckers always hang out right near the bottom, and they were in around 5-feet of water, but not a great horizontal distance from me—just eight or so feet. They’d cruise by me in both directions, as if they had a destination.
Deeper water makes bowfishing more challenging—at least, that’s been my experience.
But, after a few minutes, a largescale sucker swam up a little closer than normal, and was in perhaps 3.5 feet of water. I pulled my arrow back and let it fly.
BAM! Got ‘em!
The sucker took off just like the other three I’d shot, but this time the arrow didn’t come out after a few seconds.
I was very careful during the retrieve—I didn’t want to pull with any undue pressure, just in case. In fact, I pulled the line in with my hands for greater feel.
And, it was a good thing too, because as the fish got closer I could clearly see the arrow wasn’t securely anchored.
Landing the fish was something I’ll never forget. It was a spectacular feeling.
The sucker was big, too. I wish I’d measured and weighed it–it was close to a state record.
Starting at the ground floor and figuring out what bowfishing is all about, how it works, and the parts of the bow and arrow. Reading books, watching videos, and practicing. Putting in the legwork. And landing a fish.
A plan coming to fruition.
Beautiful.
It’s worth mentioning that I feel vindicated, since I believe my theory was correct that my arrows weren’t penetrating all the way through the prior three largescale suckers I shot. All three escaped, throwing my arrow. If I had pulled too hard, the arrow would’ve come out of this fish too.
And now, the pictures and a video.
