Carp Shootin’

this is very true. i live far enough out of town that i can shoot in a safe direction out over corn fields for several miles.

I know what you mean by living in the country but I still don’t shoot at things in trees other than a squirel that has the tree itself as the backstop. You may think it’s all clear but a mile away is a long way. There are farmers out there, cows, horses and who knows what else. I believe it’s also illegal to shoot at birds with a single projectile like a 22. I was once informed this when I was out hunting by the game warden. Thank goodness I didn’t have any grouse yet that day. Steve.

Thanks, Beach Brian. I may wait until it warms up a little and get out my little 20# bow (can’t handle the left handed 50# recurve the first time out) and give it a try. Mmm can’t wait, cut off blue jeans and old tennis shoes and then pull the leeches of my legs when I get done.

I wonder if my wife will haul the gunny sack for me. lol

It comes down to what could be referred to as ‘Collateral Damage’. Early in the year you have a lot of other fish, mainly pike, frequenting the same areas as the carp. Even during the season I’ve seen and heard of numerous northerns and even a 6# walleye shot by accident. I also guarantee you that the season dates are enforced. It’s very common to have WI residents written up while shooting on the wrong side of the channel in the early season.

i’m sorry, but i don’t see anyway that you could possibly shoot a walleye, and certainly not a northern by accident. they don’t look anything like a carp. if it really was an accident they must have been in some pretty dirty water to mistake those fish.

I think that is the point of the open season! There are times when you can catch a carp on one cast, then on the very next cast to the same spot, hook into an 8 pound walleye. (Fact – I have done it!) An errant bow/arrow shot can get you into a world of trouble.

There are reasons the rules are set the way they are! Don’t scoff at them until you have a very good understanding of them.

Jon J.

i know the rules are there for a reason and i honestly follow them, as do most people. that still doesn’t mean i have to like them. it’s just that in the spots i go bowfishing i can’t see any chance what so ever of accidentaly shooting another fish. it’s shallow and clear enough that you can see exactly what you’re shooting at. i realize that this is only a few spots that i go and it’s probably a lot different in different situations.

all right, i’ll be done now.

Hi Jake, I don’t know if your old enough to remember…about 10 to 15 years ago, lake Minnetonka was open to sprearing northerns…but not muskie. Some guy speared this big muskie…don’t remember the size, but he said he thought it was a northern. If I’m not mistaking, a year or two after that they close spearing altogether in that lake.

Now I know that I can tell the differance between a muskie and a northern and I’m sure you can too. But the fact is, as in other parts of life, the group sometimes suffers because of a few that “didn’t know the differance”.

I have to tell you about my Dad. Great fisherman, hunter and beer drinker in his day. When he changed the oil in his car, he would dump the oil down the sewer drain. He would always tell me “a little oil down the drain is good for the sewer, it keeps the roots from clogging the drain”. At eight or nine years, who was I to think any differant….after all, he was my dad. A few years later, in school we were talking about fertalizers on farm field and how the get into the area lakes and the damage they can cause. Someone brought up salt being washed down the sewer and ending up in the river. I DIDN’T KNOW THE SEWER ENDED UP IN THE RIVER!
I went home that day and told Dad what I had learned in school. But I added, “if two people on each block in town dumped 4 quarts of oil into the sewer, what would the river look like?” From that time on, he took the oil out to the farm. (I think they burned it out there, no recycling at that time).

My long winded point is, sometimes things that look very harmless have very big outcomes, once you start “peeling the onion back”.

There…now I’m done!

PS Next time I end up in Rochester, I’ll let you know ahead of time and I’ll meet you at the A&W if you have time. I work out there.

“Shallow-Clear water” and “carp shooting” are two phrases I’ve never heard put together in one sentence, unless it was somebody making a wish. When carp are working in the spring, the water is usually high and the fish have the water so muddied up that more often than not, all you can see is a fin sticking out of the water or shadows an inch or two down. I’m not saying that you get a walleye or slimer for every two carp you shoot, but it does happen on rare occasions. If the season were open earlier, would it happen more often? Maybe. Would the number of game fish taken by accident be enough to bring a fishery to it’s knees? I doubt it! But, it’s a law. You have to learn to live with it or bang your head against a wall trying to change it.

I was born and raised in St.Paul,Mn.I don’t live there anymore but,back in the late 60’s,early 70’s,we would go down to Lilydale and slosh around the backwaters and ponds left after the high water receded and spear carp.One Sunday afternoon,in mid-April,I was spearing out on little Pickeral lake in a small rubber raft.When I returned to shore,a man,who identified himself as a photographer for the Pioneer Press,asked me if I minded if he shot some pictures of me spearing in my raft.Thinking nothing of it,I said sure,go right ahead,went back out and continued spearing.Lo and behold,the next morning,there I was,on the front page of the morning paper.A great big picture of me,paddleing my raft,spearing carp.The story doesn’t end there.That same afternoon,my Dad got a call from the DNR.They wanted to issue me a citation for spearing out of season. Well,Dad has a way with words and after eloquently suggesting to them that maybe they should find something better to do than harass a teenager out spearing a few carp,they decided to leave it with just a warning.The next day,there was a small article in the paper explaining that the spearing season was closed and that the young man(me)pictured in yesterdays paper,was in fact in violation of the law.I know,ignorance is no excuse but,in all honesty,I was unaware of the law until that time.How does that old saying go?Young and dumb and…………….anyway the lesson here is,it’s been the law for a long time and they can and will enforce it. Mike

TROUTMAN,

Great story, thanks for sharing that one!

Ok, starting to get off the original topic here but that story reminded of one that happened about 3-4 years ago….. The Outdoor News had published a picture of a guy holding a huge Paddle Fish. The caption read something like, “Here is Joe Shmoe holding a Paddle Fish he caught on the Mississippi River near Red Wing, Mn. Last weekend” Well, a week later in the next issue was a short note that the guy had been ticked for violating the possession law on Paddle Fish. Even though the angler released the fish after a photo, the law states the “Paddle Fish must be returned to the water immediately”! And to this CO, immediately did not mean after a photo. Not sure how the case ended up however….

Jon J.

anyone bowfish the backwaters of pool 4? I’ve only tried it once, on the upper end… some good backwater areas on the north end, but it looks like down by Wabasha there is more… anyone try that area for carp or buffalo??