Aiming Low

Middlecreek is a small flowing creek that flows through central Pennsylvania, directly past the small town where I grew up. It had a dam that formed Middlecreek Lake, which was situated among the oak forests where I called home. At some point during my youth, exactly when is unimportant, the state elected to tear down the dam and let the creek flow naturally. This change in the creek left several miles of shoreline that was a virtually unpassable bed of slimy, mucky silt.

It was in this slime pit I first learned the magic and exhilaration of bowfishing. It all started in my high school cafeteria when a classmate brought pictures of a weekend bowfishing trip he and his dad had taken. They had a healthy pile of large carp they had shot in a nearby river. I was immediately captivated and asked how to bowfish. He told me about the spool fixed to the front of his bow and the heavy fiberglass arrow used to impale the bothersome carp and suckers we targeted in those days.

I had the problem of limited funding and no access to the larger river my classmate had fished. As this was the days before internet and I didn’t have a mentor to teach me the fine art of bowfishing, I set out to improvise a method to go to the creek and play. My mind was already bent on the slimy shoreline where we had seen innumerable carp while fishing for sunfish and bass. But how was I to rig my old Bear Whitetail Hunter to massacre carp?

Time passed, as quickly as it does for a teenager. As the summer days began to approach I brooded on how to get into my new found hobby. Working for four dollars an hour as a farm hand I was able to save the money I needed to buy my first bowfishing arrow, but I was still left with no way to keep the string to use it. When I purchased that first arrow I did spend more than a reasonable amount of time looking at the spool needed to keep the bowfishing line on.

I randomly came up with an idea that became my first bowfishing rig. While taking out the trash I noticed our discarded coffee can laying on top of the week’s garbage. I immediately had a strange notion. What if I could somehow wrap my line around that can? It was the perfect size. What if I could cut the sides of the can and fold them in and somehow attach them to the old fashioned steel stabilizer on my bow? Could it be that easy?

Nope, not at all. I used the old coffee can to fashion my first bowfishing reel. I was as proud as a peacock when I finally finished the project, even though I reflect and realize it looked like it was made by an overly smart polar bear. But that was okay because everything it lacked in looks it faired much worse in functionality. On one occasion the line fell behind the spool and snapped an arrow back directly into the ribs on the left side of my body. I was pretty sure I was going to the emergency room that day, but God was looking out for me.

Stubborn as I was, I kept plugging away at it. Literally, all I was doing was plugging. When you see other people bowfish it looks easy and really cool. The truth is it is really cool when you finally get to ta point where you can hit the fish. I made hundreds and hundreds of shots with my coffee can reel and antique bow, yet never managed to sink an arrow in to a fish. Despite my many near-successes I kept at it. Evening after hot, slimy, sweaty evening along those creek banks until my frustration levels nearly drove me to madness.

One day, during the height of a Pennsylvania summer, I had occasion to pack a small lunch and take to the creek with my bow and what by now had proven to be my trusty coffee can spool. By this stage in the game the point on my bowfishing arrow had been well worn from a ton of misses. I walked the shore for a bit and took to a tree to have my lunch. While I ate I saw the carp jumping and splashing about while in the high point of their spawn. Seeing the sheer number of fish in Middlecreek on that day made me glad to be young, healthy, and stubborn. I decided I was going to stab my first fish even if I had to dive in and do it by hand.

I fished my way upstream until I came to a small cove where the creek made a bend. As I approached through some tall grass several feet away from the silted bank I could see a number of large carp congregating in the still water. I made my approach, as I had well learned by this point the fish can see you when you try to stalk them from the shore. I stood up, dew, aimed, and loosed my arrow into the cove. The arrow struck the water with a plunk, and then stuck straight up as I had seen it do so many times. Dammit, another miss!

No sooner had the thought crossed my mind when the arrow began thrashing around violently and heading out of the cove. As it turned out I missed the fish I was aiming at and hit one I didn’t even see under the water. Within seconds all the cove was alive with splashing tails and I was doing all I could to make sure the fish didn’t tear the reel off my bow. I gained control of the line and drug in my first prize as a bowfisherman. It was a lovely carp which I’d guess weighed about ten pounds.

I was so pumped and ready for more. I fished the rest of the day, and went so far as to use my pathetic little flashlight to fish my way back. It was easily one of those days a person will take with them to their grave. A day where even a foolish young man can appreciate life. It was the day that I learned the true value of persistence, though I had no idea at the time.

In the twenty-five-ish years since I have drastically improved my game. My coffee can spool finally found its wat to the scrap heap, my bear whitetail hunter got traded in on a Oneida Eagle Aero Force, and I finally started to drive. Year after bloody year I filled the gardens of family friends with carp to be used as fertilizer. The sport itself never lost its appeal or high energy excitement. It wasn’t until I moved to Georgia that I learned that all people don’t go after carp on a regular basis. The simple fact is many people simply don’t know how easy it can be to get started.

The main piece of gear you need to bowfish is, duh, the bow. When you go bowfishing your bow is going to get muddy, bloody, wet, dropped, stepped on, jammed, jarred, and any other form of abuse you can think of. For this reason you want to find the most budget friendly, functional, piece of equipment you can get. It’s going to get beat up. The only time you’ll want something bigger and better is if you progress to a point where you are after big far or alligator. Otherwise, keep it simple. The bow should have a bowfishing rest, which you can get on EBay for under ten bucks. EBay will also have bows that are more than adequate which can be had for a leisurely price.

The arrows are pretty standard across the board, but the point is what will make or break you. I tried to save money on points one time. The result was a night of no fish as every point had broken seconds after I struck a good sized fish. I wasn’t able to land one single, solitary due to equipment failure. Talk about being sick and furious, which is never a good thing when you’re on the water. So the moral of the story is get some better bowfishing points. Muzzy and Cajun are among the best products, but there are still more that perform very well. It never hurt to have one or two or twelve extra arrows as you are almost certain to damage or lose one on occasion.

Another skinflint trick is to try saving money on bowfishing line. Don’t do this, said the voice of experience. Regular string frays easier and doesn’t allow for twisting nearly as well as regular bowfishing line. Aside from having a high test, the bowfishing line is also better adapted to fly off your spool or out of your reel at the higher speeds modern bows fire that fiberglass arrow at. The neon color of bowfishing line also helps you keep track of where a fish is at when you’re fishing at night. A little pro-tip is to attach your line to your arrow and throw your arrow in the water before you make your first shot. This will bring the line in to the water where it can moisten up and speed away from your reel better.

You can bowfish with a release if that is your preference. Just remember, you are going to have a potentially large fish attached to a high test line flinging around an arrow with a sharp point on it. Caution is recommended and of extreme importance. You want to make sure you are practiced and able to control the fish without the reel getting in your way. I strongly recommend using just fingers for your first few trips before graduating. You’re going to spend a lot of time missing anyway, so there’s no big loss in the beginning.

Aiming at a fish under water is the real challenge. Because of the optical games the water play on our eyes the fish will be lower that it appears. Always aim low when shooting a fish with a bow. How low should you aim? Honestly, you’ll just have to go out and miss a few hundred times until you can really fine-tune how to aim at the fish you’re after. Size of the fish, water clarity, depth of the fish, distance from the shooter, lighting conditions, and current all play in to how the fish appears on the surface of the water and how you should aim. Practice will bring you fish.

All the shows you’ll see will have a large boat with an impressive deck and several high pressure sodium lights charging through the marsh spelling death to all bottom feeding invaders. The reality is you can have a lot of fun along the stream without all the fancy gear. I wore out several sets of waders along untold miles of river and creek banks, stabbing carp whenever I could before I managed to get a boat of my own. The walking is good for your health and the stalking is good practice to make you better in the woods. Both are things nobody should shy away from.

However, if a boat you must have, some pointers I will give. Essentially, hunting fish from a boat doesn’t have to be complicated either. In the years after I met my fishing partner, Scott, we simply used a plug in spot lamp we shined around as we drifted the shoals of the Susquehanna River. The only draw-back to this method is only one person can shoot at a time. But that didn’t stop us from murdering hundreds of invasive carp. The key was teamwork, and from there it all fell together.

After purchasing my own boat I did some more creative engineering and came up with a lighting system that simply involved five-hundred watt halogen lamps ran by a three-thousand watt generator. You would think the generator would scare the fish, but it really doesn’t. The only important parts are to keep the generator dry and position it in your boat so it doesn’t hinder the boat’s performance. With my simple setup I can easily convert my boat from a bass fishing rig to a bowfishing rig, which is important for the obsessive outdoorsman like myself. Some days I just can’t decide what I want to go after.

You’ll also want to make sure you have some form of receptacle to stow your fish in. Remember, carp are big and slimy fish. If you leave them lay on your deck you can create a serious slipping hazard which could easily land you or one of your shipmates in the hospital, or worse. I’m compelled to remind everybody you may find yourself on a small boat with a bunch of sharp objects sticking out in any of a number of directions. Plus a flailing fish can add to the danger of a slippery deck.

What do you do with the fish once you’ve shot them? Well, that can be a challenge some days. You can look around your area. Where I grew up there were several farmers who had large, commercial, grinders they would use to shred tons of newspaper or fish to spread for fertilizer. You can also find local people who like to bury fish in their gardens for fertilizer. ON my property in Georgia I have several holes away from my house where I deposit the fish to make compost for the garden the deer recently gorged themselves on.

You’ll need to check your local laws, but carp, catfish, gar, and suckers are the major bowfishing targets in America. Any of these fish can be eaten depending on the area in which you live, though some of the afore mentioned species may not be something you’d really want to eat. That being said, many a fantastic catfish dinners can be had after a good night of bowfishing. If you’re going to make a stab at larger alligator gar or alligators I definitely recommend a guide.

If you elect to go on a boat, one final piece of gear that is handy to have is some form of gaff hook. As I keep remind you, you can potentially have a large fish thrashing around a sharp pointed arrow. It is important to be able to gain control of that fish as soon as possible for safety sake. Have a small pair of pliers in your pocket so can be as quick as possible top gaff the fish and remove the arrow. This is especially important when doing battle with gar or other larger species.

One final point is to always be sure to identify your target. Musky, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, pike, and some other fish can easily be misidentified and are illegal to shoot across the board. Catfish are only legal to shoot in some states and some locations in some states, so you really need to make sure you know your local laws. Any fish found in your possession with a wound will be charged as a bow kill, even if the officer didn’t see you shoot the fish, so protect you license and always remember to be legal.

So, there you have the nuts and bolts of bowfishing. For those of you who have tried it you can attest to the fun it is. For those of you who haven’t done it before I can guarantee you’ll be hooked on it the first time you sink an arrow in to one of those trashy little fish you always see at your local fishing hole. Bowfishing is a cheap and fun way to introduce yourself and your kids to the many possibilities of bowhunting. Now there’s nothing left to say or do except getting a cheap bowfishing rig and going to get all bloody and slimy while stabbing some fish.

Remember, a bad night on the water is better than most everything else. Enjoy