Went for first time, fluff report and questions

[Gopher_Guy]

So the gamefish weren't cooperating last week, nor were the turkeys. We saw a ton of fish flopping in the shallows so I went out to Fleet Farm, bought a reel and a couple arrows and decided to give it a shot. The water was higher on Friday but the fish were still there and very active. I only had a couple hours to shoot and we were done in an hour. We made 6 our artificial limit and quit when we got to 6. Mostly buffalo and only 1 carp.

We went back on Saturday and the fish were not nearly as active and the water again had gone up quite a bit. It was more like deer hunting where we just stood in a spot and waited for a fish to come by. I did manage to get a 46 inch gar, it weighed just over 12 lbs which I guess is a big one. I didn't manage to get anything huge as far as the buffalo and carp go, only 12 lbs was the biggest. I missed a couple really good ones though.

My question is what do you do with all these things? We quit at a total of 10 fish for 2 days as my dad has a smoker and was going to smoke them all. I took one buffalo and fried it with Shorelunch and it tasted pretty good I have to say. Had a few bones to pick out but nothing major.

Also do they tend to wander? ON Thursday it was like a tidal wave with all the chasing, Friday it was a little less and Saturday it was practically non-existent. We think they may have gotten out into the main portion of the river as the water had risen quite a bit. They weren't in the woods as I got out of the boat and wandered around quite a bit and didn't find many more fish.

[TylerS]

First, that is a HUGE gar for Minnesota! I hope you're getting it mounted!

River fish are a different breed. They definitely wander, but you can also find them if you keep searching for them. If you have the opportunity, try bowfishing at night with a spotlight. It helps if you have someone else along and take turns shooting/shining fish. Sometimes when the fish disappear during the day, they reappear at night.

[Gopher_Guy]

Thanks for the advice Tyler! I am tempted to try the night fishing this weekend, we had talked about trying it last weekend but didn't get to it.

As far as the gar I had no idea it was all that big at the time. We cut it up as best we could for the smoker. Bummer.

[K_Josh87]

the one i shot yesterday was close to that, I didn't pull a tape on it, but judging by my boots it was about 3'-8.... should have pulled a tape on it, i didn't think it was a trophy... someone else took him to smoke him up... crappers....

[Archerysniper]

Gar are good eating I cooked mine like walleye battered in shore lunch. Be careful when cleaning and make sure you clean the eggs off,this is second hand advise but I was told they can poison you so I'm always careful.

[MattL]

I haven't bow-fished in a few years, but I did shoot a gar about that size several years ago. I got it mounted and hanging in the living room. Turned out really neat, and its pretty cool to have such a unique fish on the wall. It was not a cheap mount because they charge by the inch, but I don't regret doing it at all.

[pushbutton]

My question is what do you do with all these things?

Great question and one I thought a lot about before purchasing a set up. My main concern was wanton waste and the dilemma of killing the fish just for sport. What I personally ended up with was that carp are going to really be the only target, but only after I could find someone to take them that would put them to use ...ended up finding a hog farmer. Actually could justify a big rotting pile of them as long as they are moved off public land.... not much benefit to our waterways. Also could see harvesting a few of the other species for the smoker, but things like bowfin, that are beneficial, are let proverbially go. Would be torn with the gar, especially big ones, makes me feel good that something out there will be shredding up a few of the many asian carp that are coming, but glad to hear people are at least utilizing them.

[K_Josh87]

yes, at the VERY LEAST have a plan for them... even if its a field you have permission to dispose them in, they are good fertilizer. DO NOT leave them behind. Take them with you... We went to check out a spot down by Mad Lake last weekend, only to find 50 plus rotting carp laying around stinking up the place... this makes the local COs very upset, as well as anyone else who intends to use the area...

I am not afraid to say I do it for the sport, and that mainly a invasive species is targeted, i am ok with that, I am glad when others wish to use the fish I harvest... out of the 15 i shot on my last outing, 7 where taken to be smoked up by others, including the gar, which is a much more economical use than hanging on my wall :-)

[pushbutton]

Was not directing any of my thoughts at anyone .....just "thinking" out loud...nice gar by the way! We don't have any of those critters around here and would love to catch one someday.......

[Gordie]

I used to ask around town if anybody wanted them for their gardens they are about the best tomato fertilizer ever. Lots of people said no but alot said yes.

[TylerS]

My buddy had a hobby farm in high school, and we always buried the carp in his manure pile. I never felt bad about it, considering common carp are an invasive species that deserves eradication.

If I could give the fish away, however, I would. Families of Hmong frequented many of the lakes we bowfished in the Twin Cities, and if any were around the dock when we were done for the day, they'd often take whatever we had. You should have seen some of their eyes bulge out when they were handed 25+ pound carp!