Bow Fishing?

[GALEX]

Hi, I got my son some bow fishing equipment for Christmas. He is dying to go out with it. Anyone know when the carp start to show themselves at Utah Lake?

Thanks,
Gregg
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[LLOMichalchik]

I've seen a lot of talk about bow fishing.. I've never done it personally, but people argue that it is easier than fishing with a rod. I would think it's a lot harder.
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[Dry_Fly_Guy]

Check out the Utah bowfishing association website. I also think they will have a booth at the Sportmans show in two weeks. The carp can probably be shot when ever there is open water and will just get better closer to the spawn they get. Just be careful its highly addictive and can get spendy shooting the tournaments and getting the boat decked out for shooting fish day and now night.

Good luck and go shoot some fish.
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[GALEX]

Thanks. What time of year do they spawn?

-Gregg
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[flygoddess]

I would say the last part of May on through summer the carp are along the shore lines at different times of the day. You will see them moving. Deer Creek is also a great place to shoot them.
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[bassrods]

Deer creek may be better with the clear water, and Starvation has a lot of carp..Good shooting..
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[GALEX]

Perfect! Thx,

Gregg
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[CoyoteSpinner]

the warmer the swarmer . . . run into pods of 'em in the same holes I hit for spring kitties. Along the shallows, shores - slurping right into the plants. Plus some of the separated ponds. Willard, and Cutler - Bear River have plenty of 'em to pick on.

Only tried the bow for the first time last year, pawn show bow, then picked up a reel setup. Oh, and arrows. It can be pretty fun, but harder than you might first think. They got some pretty thick hydes! And when they get a whim, they can run like a dickens.

But carp are real wary too, and are quick to skedaddle when the sense your presence.

[Joeyfish89]

I'll start shootin some carp come April and may. I usually go to Willard, Utah, cutler, pineview. I go every weekend and often after work. If u guys ever wanna go then pm me. I'm always willing to take newcomers!
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[Dry_Fly_Guy]

I would say mid to late may is the peak of the spawn. But it can change from year to year. Also mud lake is a little clearer and can shoot good plenty before the spawn.
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[isda]

if i have a bow set up for heavy elk will it be too powerfull for carp? right now it is set up at 70# with a 340 Full Metal Jacket arrow shooting 301 FPS!
I have always wanted to try and shoot a carp with it!!!
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[Joeyfish89]

I tuned down my pse and it did just fine but decided to get an all new setup but it was a good one to start out with
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[FNA]

You can find them in the tributaries to UL. Right now. Carp spawn when the water temp hits the low to mid 60s.
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[Dry_Fly_Guy]

I shoot 50 pounds. 70 is to much for shooting fish in the shallow water because you stick the arrow to far in the mud and its a pain in the buns getting it out. Deep water shooting would be great with that bow. I wish my bow fishing bow would go that high for deep water shooting.
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[Flyfishinglover]

Ha ha ha If you went to bear lake last memorial day you would love shooting thousands of carp close to shore on cisco beach. [crazy]

I saw a few ice fisher man this winter pulling some out of the ice by the springs so you might be able to hit there and find some if your lucky.
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[bobwhitebarry]

My boys and I start shooting carp mid May and it is fast and furious until mid June. Are you fishing from shore, wading the shallows or shooting from a boat? You can have a blast with any of these ways.

I don't like risking my prop getting into the shallows with my big boat. I also have a square stern canoe that can get us into extremely shallow water if needed.Usually the electric motor works best and we just slowly and quietly troll through the carp slurping the surface in groups and we ventilate 'em! When things are hot and heavy during that time we often pass up on fishing for game fish because from sunrise to about 10 am we just look for groups surfacing, motor by, shoot 'em, turn around and do it again and again. It's crazy how many you can shoot at the peak.

Speaking of the peak, around June 1st give or take. We can motor by with my little gas motor and they really don't seem to spook with that either. When things are not quite as hot, they tend to spook more with the gas motor noise. If we are heading to our favorite fishing holes, the gas motor is faster, and I only want to shoot carp when we are coming or going. So if they are a bit more spooky I just kill the motor as we glide through and we still shoot enough to keep us grinning from ear to ear.

I have seen guys shoot them from the shore around the marina in Lindon. They cast out and while waiting for a bite they walk the shore line and shoot them. I tried it once and I bent my arrow tip up and got a couple of arrows stuck through a carp and into the mud so deep I lost the arrows. They cost to darn much, so we really stay with the canoe. It's quiet, fun and they just don't spook bad enough to swim off until half the group is dead.

We have also waded out around Springville in the shallows. Instead of shooting them with a bow, we ended up just stabbing them. I don't know if using frog gigs is legal but I thought that would have worked great and not risk loosing arrows. I have got a really bad knee, so mucking around in the mud out there was not good for me. It also didn't feel very sport worthy. Although shooting from our canoe is not the most challenging when it is hot, it is certainly the most fun for us and it is a great way to thin down the never ending supply of carp in that big pond.

Best of luck to you!
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[GALEX]

We'll try the bow fishing from my little fishing boat. All the good info has me really excited to get my son on the water. I'm going to keep any carp we shoot and bury them in my small orchard...
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[GottaBite]

To bad the question isn't "When does bow fishing season start?" so that your son's new bow doesn't get set down after the carp are done spawning...only to gather dust til deer season or next carp spawning season.....We NEED to get this a SEASON, all of you that bow fish!! I'm trying to do my part, but don't know how or where to start other than RIGHT HERE and for THIS REASON!
Underwater fishing is legal (in the fishs' element), why not above water OUT of their element??!! I PROMISE you there is way more of a challenge trying to get a limit of fish with a bow, than it is with a pole! There's just no catch and release...so length limits are out....and that is the un-selling feature of a bow season...IMO!!
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[spoondog]

I will be at the booth helping to represent the UBA during the expo. Feel free to stop by and ask all the questions you want. Carp will begin spawning when the water temp hits 63 degrees. Mid April to first of may the carp should start spawning. Attached is a pic that should hopefully get some blood pumping to get out and shoot a few...
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[humpy]

sounds fun, i'll look for you at the expo.

humpy
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