It was around 12:30pm when I parked at the reservoir, got out, and scanned the water.
Carp were patrolling the shoreline. Excellent!
It was warm—almost 80F—and I didn’t have pants with me. I didn’t want to get sunburned, but wearing heavy waders when I wasn’t even going to wade seemed silly and unnecessarily uncomfortable. So, I put on my Filson merino wool long johns, a long-sleeved breathable camo shirt, and grabbed my bowfishing bow.
It wasn’t long before I’d shot my first carp of the day. It wasn’t huge—just 5-6 pounds, but it was an adrenaline rush and a great way to start my bowfishing outing.
Around 20 minutes later I tagged another carp—a nice one this time. Here’s a picture of the fish.
I noticed that most of the carp were coming from one direction. Since they spook so easily, I decided to use the environment to my advantage.
I’d peer over a giant boulder and watch for incoming carp from that particular direction. When I spotted one, I’d use the boulder to obscure the fish’s view of me. Then as the fish came past the rock, I’d be ready to take a shot.
Almost immediately the strategy paid-off with this beautiful fish. My first bowfishing mirror carp!
Notice how dull my carp point is in the above picture–rookie mistake.
Even though my method of trying to camoflauge myself behind a boulder worked well, I didn’t spend all my time in that area. I took good shots in other spots along the shoreline as well.
I spotted a large carp maneuvering through some floating tumbleweeds. It stopped about two feet off the shoreline, and held just a couple inches below the surface. The fish was facing directly at me.
I stalked it to within about 8-feet, and took the shot.
I missed!
How did I manage to miss that shot?! I’m still trying to figure out what exactly happened.
Around that time, I heard thunder rumbling in the distance. I looked up and saw heavy, grey rain clouds, but they were a few miles away.
Fortunately, not too long after, I connected with a carp as it was cruising the shallows–and it was a headshot too.
Here’s the beast laying on the rocky shoreline. It actually fought well, despite the arrow placement.
My accuracy has been steadily improving, and I suppose that’s to be expected. I’d been connecting on around 20% of my shots so far today.
Here’s a close-up picture of the arrow entry wound on the carp.
And here’s another carp that put up a surprisingly good fight, despite a headshot. Maybe it’d be more accurate to call it an eyeshot.
Here’s a quick video showing the retrieval of one of the carp I shot today.
After I’d tagged five carp, I went up to my vehicle to drink more water. It was hot and getting hotter.
I have to admit, ice cold water is the best tasting beverage in the world on a hot, dry day. There’s just nothing better.
Yep, an ice cold beer is delicious too, but not for quenching your thirst. Although, if the only option is Bud Light, I’ll pass. I don’t buy that garbage.
This being the reservoir that it is, another vehicle pulled up literally 15 feet behind me and two kids and their dad jumped out to start fishing the area I’d been stalking.
I was initially annoyed, but the dad said, “Are you coming or going? We’re not taking your spot are we?” My irritation dissipated.
I’d been there for 3+ hours, so I figured I’d let them have it and drive 100 yards or so to another promising spot. It was an area I’d been wanting to explore.
It was there where I shot my sixth carp of the day—an all time personal best thus far—and learned a valuable lesson.
I’d spotted the carp coming from around 50-feet away, and hid behind a large boulder so that I could ambush the fish. I was ready, and as the carp swam by, it seemed like it’d be a tough shot. The fish was 2-3 feet deep, maybe 15-feet out, swimming swiftly, and it wasn’t a big target.
In that moment, part of me thought I should skip taking the shot. But, I pulled my arrow back and took the shot, and reeled in the fish.
The lesson: bowfishing is a numbers game, and you need to take some lower probability shots.
I think this helps dial-in accuracy too.
On that note, I decided to call it a day—and what a day it was!
Six carp, and I used the same arrow the entire day! It’s still in great shape and I can use it next time I’m on the water.
