i saw the damnedest thing..

[teeroy]

i was watching "relentless pursuits" on the men's channel. these dudes were bowfishing the illinois river, which has asian carp (flying fish) invading. they are legal to bowfish, as long as the boat is moving. so these dudes, and a little (maybe 4 year old ) kid are zipping down the river at a pretty fast clip. as the boat goes over the fish, they get startled, and leap out of the water, where the hunters draw and shoot, usually trying to shoot at the spot the fish will re-enter the water. looked like a blast! the funniest part, was when they got a fish, they tossed it in the boat, to the little kid, dressed in a lifevest, and a baseball helmet, and toting a 12-14inch piece of pipe. as the fish flopped, the kid attacked it with the pipe....hilarious. the reason the kid wore the helmet, was explained later in the show, when one of the shooters in the back of the boat, was drilled by a big fish, leaping into the boat.

i wish i had taped it. that trip would be alot of fun, if you could handle drawing the bow a couple hundred times in a couple hours. all for $250 a day...kinda pricy

 

[Central Iowa]

Sounds like fun!

 

[baggin_bucks]

That would be a blast. It does not compete with deer hunting but it is alot of fun to be able to bust out the recure and do some shooting in the off season.

 

[Iowa1]

I watched that show with my two boys and we laughed through the whole thing. I knew about those fish doing that I had heard some people actually had them jump in the boat but to see them by the dozens jumping all over the place. Man that looked like fun!

 

[River1]

I recall a reading that there's been a few people injured by these fish. Picture a BAJA speedster at about 50mph and one of these big fish up out of the water.

That would take the party out of the barge.

 

[Tomo]

Yep, here's a bighead that I shot last year and one my buddy arrowed. Didn't get out much this year. These asian carp swim in pods and we drift into them. They are very spooky so the idea is to be very quiet. The silver carp is the flying one. They look alot like the asian carp and will most definately jump out of the water. Several people I know have been whacked by them while they were minding their own business cruising up the river.
All of these fish are non-native to the Missouri river system and there is no limit so if anyone is in the Sioux City area next summer and are looking for an absolute blast of a bowfishing time look me up! Pat