Bowfishing?

[Fisher.King]

I've been looking into bowfishing (carp) for a few months now, but I still haven't bought a setup because there's only one place I know of that has carp that can be taken by a bow (Fern Ridge) Is there any other streams or ponds (outside the city limits) where people have spotted any carp? I usually fish all the way from the Oregon coast at Florence all the way to Oakridge but I can't remember seeing carp anywhere to be honest other than inside the Eugene city limits...

 

[livin2fish]

Bass dont fight as much as a carp of course. Dosent mean there stupid.
Carp can overpopulate a area REALLY fast. Why is that a bad thing?
When they feed they stir up the bottom. Of course there bottom feeders. What can that do? well It uproots plants and stirs up the lake. Making it seem muddy.
Lets have a example.
Blue lake and Fairview lake.
Blue lake used to have a lot of carp in it until they started removing it. Now it dosent have as much carp. (and it gets 1 carp less everyday in the summer ) Now its a nice Clear blue color.
Fairview lake, Has the same Species of fish. Same flow and everything. But It has WAY more carp. The carp in Fairview stir up the bottom and make the lake muddy. Since there are no parks on Fairview no one cares about the carp problem. That lake is Muddy as hell.

Bow Fishing is Leagle for a reason. Same why theres no limit to carp and you can snag, Gaff, net, Tangle, Or Shoot carp. Odfw just dosent want to spend $$$ to rid carp of lakes and rivers.

Ataboy t.b. this guy wants to throw somebody in the drink for doing something perfectly legal but wants to shoot bass with a shotgun to get rid of them.what a dumbass, hope to see ya out there with a bow in my hands youkay. Fishon.

 

[Troutier Bassier]

Are you sure the Carp there eat Weeds? I dont think so. Ive seen a guy gut one from a lake and it dident have grass. It had Crayfish and such bottom dwelling creatures.

Take a look at that.
http://www.lindenhurstil.org/lakescom/Images/wAerial Comparison tx.jpg

What dose it tell you?
If the carp DO eat weeds there taking natural filters and nutrients out of the water.
Everything has a purpose. Carp dont have a Purpose in the PNW. There not Native.

 

[Troutier Bassier]

Now Im not saying this guy is a Dumbass. He likes carp and so Do I.
What would you do if you saw people snagging salmon with treble hooks? Thats his point of view.

 

[youkay]

Ataboy t.b. this guy wants to throw somebody in the drink for doing something perfectly legal but wants to shoot bass with a shotgun to get rid of them.what a dumbass, hope to see ya out there with a bow in my hands youkay. Fishon.

reading comprehension my friend.<sarcasm> i'll wrap my sarcasm with a special container from now on.</sarcasm>

yes, carp eat weeds, yes - they take out valuable oxygen and nutrients from standing bodies of water BUT without them your lakes and ponds would become almost unfishable and that is a fact, carp (especially grass carp) are introduced into lakes and ponds to help manage overgrowth, weed, snags etc.

like i said bro, its a fine balance and it works, especially here in the pacific NW because you have no other species that could do even a remotely good job as carp can.

My problem isn't with what you think of carp, everyone is entitled to an opinion and i respect that, my problem is with bowfishing. when you shoot the fish (any species) then drag it through the water, then onto the bank, its in incredible pain. its not like hunting where you try and shoot to kill, there is a lot of unnecessary suffering which i do not agree with.

 

[Troutier Bassier]

Fish dont feel pain.
Carp were introduced Illeagly.

 

[livin2fish]

lol, sorry for the missunderstanding youkay but what do you think the indians did for generations. They were the only ones who truely had this earth in any kind of balance then we came along, screwed things up and have been trying to fix things eversince.I am proud of my heritage, but it is sad to think about sometimes. I have seen bowhunting from east coast to west and most of the bowhunters are true sportsman but like everythingelse you always have your few.Fishon.

 

[youkay]

we agree on that at least

bow hunting, hunting for food, hell - even bow fishing for food if your hungry.... will never be a problem with me.

shooting a fish just for the hell of it, kinda pisses me off lol, bit hot headed so apoligise if i came across as a tool

 

[Troutier Bassier]

If I saw a carp in a puddle, I would try do bring it do decent water. Same for any other fish. Because thats not to the fish. If the fish is in the water it has a decent chance of swimming away or something to protect itself.

 

[livin2fish]

we agree on that at least

bow hunting, hunting for food, hell - even bow fishing for food if your hungry.... will never be a problem with me.

shooting a fish just for the hell of it, kinda pisses me off lol, bit hot headed so apoligise if i came across as a tool

lol kinda the same way myself.Fishon.:lol::lol:

 

[TTFishon]

if i ever see anyone bowfish for carp they'll be goin in the drink. it's illegal in a lot of states for a reason, its $^&%&% inhumane.

TT: do you have ANY idea how good carp are for ANY still water eco system?... please... not to mention they are still the number 1 foodfish from freshwater and actually relied upon by some

they eat a lot of the oxygen producing vegetation but they also do a pretty damn good job keeping lakes and ponds fishable for everyone to enjoy their trout/bass angling.

its funny how blissfully ignorant most Americans are to things they have no clue about. carp are in your lakes, rivers and ponds for a reason, you think they just grew legs over night and walked there? or some avid carp anglers planted them there?

you think if they were even the slightest threat or nuisance it wouldn't take odfw a few weeks at most to dredge the ponds/lakes and eradicate them? or post a notice that they must be destroyed when caught?

I hate bass. they are boring fish, they fight like wet blankets and are pretty ugly to look at. I'll take my shotgun to them next time to save you the trouble of having to catch and go through that...



cmmon now..

I understand your anger. Those are things I did when I was a kid. I did a lot of other horrible things too then that I do not do now. I like carp fishing but bow fishing for carp is legal here so go ahead and throw someone in the drink for committing a lawful act and you will find yourself in jail with an assault charge.

 

[solution7]

someone should put some vegetation eating fish in Huddleston pond

 

[Troutier Bassier]

Grass carp.

 

[TTFishon]

someone should put some vegetation eating fish in Huddleston pond

Well if you want the water to slowly turn brown then put some carp in there.

 

[Troutier Bassier]

:lol:

 

[Raincatcher]

Keepin' it cool...

Keepin' it cool...

I love it when cooler heads prevail,Gentlemen. Thank you all for not turning this into a name calling mudfest. :clap:

 

[robells]

Hey thanks for all the information about were to go bowfishing. I'm new to it, and sites like this make it easy for new guys like me to enjoy it.

 

[TTFishon]

Hey thanks for all the information about were to go bowfishing. I'm new to it, and sites like this make it easy for new guys like me to enjoy it.

Heck yeah, hopefully you'll post some pics of your kills.

 

[Theosprey94]

I get that this post is from like damn near 10 years ago but I'm on a mission to slay some scumsuckers so any and all information on local carp spots around the Eugene/Corvallis area is greatly appreciated. I will not rest until the complete eradication of these "water rats" is brought about.

 

[Fisher.King]

Weird how this of all posts has been around so long... I've been bowfishing since I first posted this and have a couple things to say.

Bowfishing in state parks is illegal, the bow is considered a weapon even if the carp are considered non-game fish able to be taken by bow. Places like delta ponds, golden garden and especially somewhere like Alton Baker are absolute no-no's for discharging weapons for any reason.

Being below the high water line while you bowfish along private property is legal, but frowned upon without permission, unless it is within city limits. No discharging weapons.

This means that technically somewhere like the coyote creek canoe launch or Kirk park are state park areas, you can still be cited and have your gear confiscated. However, that depends on the trooper that stops you obviously.

The last thing to say is that one single female common carp lays an average of two *million* eggs in her life. Common carp diets consist of invertebrates, seeds, fish/frog eggs and the layer of algea on the bed of waterbodies. When I first fished Kirk Park in the early 90s, the panfish were edible and plentiful. The water was clear and deep, the mud turning black from the compost layer under the muck when you swam in the lake. Today, you see schools of 5-20 carp in the pond, hydrilla blooms that cover acres at a time, and sores on the few under 2 pound bass rarely caught or spotted. Where'd the crappie and catfish go?

From now until I can't physically draw a bow anymore, I will shoot as many carp as I can, when and where it's allowed. I have sick them in bonfires, slag piles, crab bait and just plain trashed them. I hope anyone seeing this will do the same and not feel bad. We as non-government workers will, unfortunately, never return what this species has taken from us. Thanks for the read if you made it this far.

 

[Admin]

Weird how this of all posts has been around so long...

Who knows. Maybe it was meant this way.
Who could answer your question better than you with 10 years of bowfishing experience under your belt.