Bowfishing Roughfish pictures

[bigg edd]

Nice mirror!

With the lack of ducks I got the carp boat ready to go for tonight. Going to be a little chilly but it's going to be calm. We had one of our best nights last year in late October

[Neighbor_guy]

is anyone still getting any bow action in MN in Oct.?

I found a spot on the Minnehaha where I've been having some fun wading during the warmer days

kinda like pheasant hunting coming up on weedpiles where I know they're hiding

thats a pretty fish, mirror carp are cool.

[bigg edd]

Shot a tub full last night, the light snow falling made it even more fun.

[aquafang]

[Stick500]

that's a doozy aquafang! Must have been earlier in the season judging by the T-shirts.

I went out in my creek spot yesterday and the consistent cold temps have changed the carp behavior drastically. They are already slower and much less alert than they were just a couple of weeks ago. Even saw a few of them buried down in the leaves and mud- too easy to shoot so I let them be!

I actually prefer them more wary and fast, at least in my little spot that I hunt.

Does anyone here ever bowfish in the winter using a darkhouse?

[aquafang]

Here in SD we can shoot our bows in place of spears if we choose.

[fishuhalik]

Geez aquafang, how big is that carp? Bruiser!!!

[Stick500]

do any of you guys ever count the rings on the scales of those big ones to see how old they are?

I gotta do that myself sometime- I have my daughters microscope right here in my office

[Stick500]

I found out you don't need a microscope to see the growth rings on a carp scale. I pulled one off a 2-footer I just shot and with my naked eye it looked to be about 6 years old.

I also found this common carp growth chart from an Australian carp fishing forum;

One year old fish may be up to 200 mm (100 g)

Two year old up to 300 mm (350 g)

Three year old up to 400 mm (800 g)

Four year old up to 500 mm (1600 g)

Five year old up to 650 mm (3800 g) - Translation 24" and 8 pounds

of course all those numbers can vary depending on average annual water temps and food available but it would make sense that a 6-year old MN carp would be about 24" and 8 pounds which is what mine appeared to be- the next time I get a 32"-incher I'll check his scale out and let you guys know how old some of the bruisers can be

it kinda stinks killing grand old fish that have survived for so long, but that's what we signed up for the day we bought a fish arrow

[aquafang]

The carp was weighed officially 18 hrs. Later the next day at 48 - 3 oz. When i first weighed it my 50# digital scale flashed 3 zeros.

I had it aged by a fisheries biologist and it was 27yrs old.

[TrapMan13]

Carp

[hillbilly...]

[Neighbor_guy]

Ok now that the season is open for everybody, let's see some pictures. We like success as much as failure in the spearing forum so share what you've got.

And let's try to make it look like we are enjoying ourselves and just try to smile once in a while ok?

Like this...

From seasons past

[Stick500]

Ok, here's the coolest carp I got all year (yesterday) and the biggest (May).

The first one is either a koi, koi/carp hybrid, or simply a carp with an unusual color variation that resembles a koi.

When I shot at it, I thought it was diseased or had mud stuck on its head as it was obviously much lighter than the rest of the grey-colored commons.

The big one (37-inches) is actually one of two that I got that size that day last spring. Both were perfect shots right in the shoulder and put on very long and hard fights. Glad I was patient and let them tire out to be able to bring them in.

I actually spent most of the summer spearfishing rather than bow fishing and had an incredible season. Though I got lots of fish in the 30-34 inch range, nothing topped my two 37-inchers bow fishing.

At the bottom are some bonus buffalos from real early in the season.

[Archerysniper]

Brought a fellow HSO member out for some tournament warm ups last week and it was a blast,big fish of the night was a 41 pound common,I managed a 30 pound common and a 11 pound sheephead.

[Neighbor_guy]

Filling barrels 👍 nicely done.

[fishuhalik]

Dang. That 41 is a giant