A few weeks ago, I drove out to a local reservoir for an afternoon of fossil hunting. My route took me across the reservoir’s outlet, where a few fishermen were posted up with catfish rigs. For curiosity’s sake, I parked and walked up to the railing to take a look at the water.
Pinned between the rocky banks of the narrow channel were hundreds of common carp and smallmouth buffalo feeding in the current, with the occasional longnose gar surfacing for air. In an instant, my plans for the day were rewritten.
Thirty minutes later, I was back at the outlet with my bowfishing rig and a chest cooler full of ice. I’ve spent too many hours since then prowling along the rocks like a heron, stacking up several species of rough fish, and having the time of my life.
Discovering this roadside hotspot was a much-needed reminder that bowfishing doesn’t need to be a big production. It can be simple and surprisingly accessible for anyone willing to do a little homework.
Boatless Basics
Modern bowfishing is akin to modern whitetail hunting in that the media’s portrayal of it rarely mirrors most users’ reality. Most bowfishermen don’t have a dedicated 20-foot skiff, complete with an industrial spotlight system and barrels for the night’s catch. But that’s ok, because there are plenty of publicly accessible locations for bowfishing on foot if you know where to look.
Shoreline bowfishing is also akin to modern whitetail hunting in the importance of e-scouting. Apps like onX Fish allow you to filter through satellite imagery to find public access points for everything from tiny streams to huge lakes and reservoirs, and identify rough fish hotspots such as outflows and weedy banks.
Finding spots can also be as easy as looking up your state’s water access regulations and stopping at a few bridges or other public locations to take a look around. Concentrations of rough fish are often right under your nose, just like I found with the outlet near my house. However, a hot bowfishing location is like finding a staging area covered in bucks rubs in October. Knowing it’s there is a great first step, but then you have to hunt it right.
Improvise, Adapt, Overcome
When most people think about ideal daytime bowfishing conditions, they picture bluebird skies with high sun and little to no wind. But Mother Nature doesn’t always deliver perfect conditions, and the weather is only one factor.
Naturally, you want to be able to wear polarized sunglasses and see fish as if they’re encased in resin. But the best conditions for you to spot a feeding carp might be the worst conditions to get close enough for a shot. They might also not be the best scenario for the fish to be active.
A dead-calm summer day might bring a bunch of gar to the surface to gulp air, but keep the buffalo deep and out of range. A little extra current in a small river might make the visibility tough, but send filter feeders into a frenzy.
You’ll rarely encounter an ideal scenario, so it’s important to be willing to adapt to the conditions you have. I like to keep my options open and stay on the lookout for backup spots. If I want to take my bow out for a few hours after work, but the conditions aren’t great for the species in one spot, they might be better for another.
Of course, if you do solve the puzzle and skewer a cooler full of carp, you still have to do something with them. This is a problem that often requires creative solutions.
One Man’s Trash (Fish)
One of bowfishing’s biggest turn-offs is the reality that rough fish are, well, rough. They’re bony and not known for being the most sought-after table fare. But, bowfishing isn’t exactly a catch-and-release activity–which leaves many anglers with the question: if I shoot a pile of carp, what will I do with them?
In my early years as a trapper, I faced a similar dilemma with beaver carcasses. I didn’t want to be wasteful or foul up public areas, but I was bringing in way more than I could eat or store. It occurred to me in my second season that I had a big cat rescue within easy driving distance. In one phone call, I was set up to drop off whole carcasses at any time.
I had that strategy in mind when I started bowfishing at the outlet, and called up a local nature center that houses rehabilitated eagles. The staff were overjoyed at the offer, and in one quick trip, I freed myself of a weekend’s worth of assorted roughs while supporting a great cause. The ultimate win-win.
If you’re not going to eat them, there are other good uses for rough fish. In sufficiently cool conditions, they can be used for trapping bait–especially when targeting crustaceans or semi-aquatic mammals such as mink and raccoons. They can also be composted into an amazing fertilizer for gardens and fruit trees.
The main thing is not to leave the banks of a public fishing hole littered with rotting carp and gar, or dump a pile of them in a ditch off a gravel road somewhere. That’s a great way to ruin public opinion of bowfishing, and it’s totally avoidable with a little bit of planning.
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