Bowfishing

[cjrodarme]

Not sure if this is the right part of the forum to post this but I am interested in getting into bowfishing. I have the whole bow thing figured out and am proficient at shooting so I don't need any help with that. I''m taking a trip to banks lake this summer and I have heard that you can bowfish there. Where on banks lake are the carp? Also what species are legal for bowfishing in this state? I haven't been able to find a definite answer in the regs.

[Amx]

I've read it somewhere that you can't bow hunt sport fish. Carp in Banks? Probably the back of the coves, the south end, and all along the sides of the lake in the shallow areas.

[G-Man]

Under the Statewide General Rules it states you MAY NOT: Fish for Game Fish, SALMON, SHAD, STURGEON, or SHELLFISH with bow and arrow or spear. That doesn't leave you with much other than carp. Banks has plenty of carp, as AMX mentioned, look for them near the weedy ares and shallow flats of the lake. They do spook rather easily so an electric motor or a quite paddle stroke is helpful in getting close to them.

[DavidA]

At times I have seen them surfacing all over Linde Coulee. There sure seems to be no shortage of them there, though I haven't been this year. Best of luck!

[fisherman92]

I saw quite a few carp in Lake Washington last weekend bass fishing. They're in there too. Pretty sure you can bow hunt for them in there as well. But don't take my word for it haha.
Shallow areas with weeds is the key for finding carp though.

[branweeds]

There are tons of Carp over near Priest Rapids below the Wanapum Dam. All really shallow coves have them, and there are mass numbers in the summer. Just went over for Memorial Day weekend during spawning for carp and shot tons of them, including my PB which was over 30#!

[TrackerPro16]

You can bowfish for carp in Washington State. Any lake stocked by WDFW is fair game but do that at your own peril on some lakes. WDFW wanted me to get in the middle of a bowfishing spat on Greenlake a number of years ago but I just stopped going there instead. Legal? Yes. Do I want to be the test case? No.
Look for weeds or loose structure. On this side Lillie pads are good. Anchow up wind and use your rope to drift back into or by the pads. You will see their grey backs (what some call them) sticking out.
Bowfishing is NOT the same as fur hunting, so you do NOT "have it down" as you state, unless you specifically have it set up for bowfishing. The bow set up is different and how you shoot is different. If you have a bowfish set up, great. Best advice is 'Aim low, no, lower.'

[cjrodarme]

This might seem like a dumb question to some but how do I aim for them? I've heard that you aim under

[cjrodarme]

Best advice is 'Aim low, no, lower.'

So between 6"-12" or more than that

[TrackerPro16]

If the back is out of the water you are shooting at the head or body just like a target. As soon as they are under the water the light refraction goofs everything up. Start by aiming a foot under. The deeper they are the further under you shoot. I would say 'aim', but using a site of any type is usually not a good idea, but people do use them. More stuff to get caught with the string which is a very, very bad thing.
Max effective depth depending on the power of the bow is about four feet deep. I have pulled in carp with bows all the way from 25 lbs to 65 lbs. The 25 lb bow I had to be right on top of them. I presume you have the fiberglass arrows. They are about 1600 grains. The tip should have some sort of reversible barb. Usually it is released by twisting the shaft which allows the barb to rotate and turn the other way so it can be pulled through the fish. The 25 lb bow would often go into the fish but not through, which means you have to push it through then pull it out. Not as easy as it sounds. Carp have some very thick scales.
I went through a number of different types of set ups, and while you can go simple and cheap and tie the arrow string direct, it is much safer to skip that and get 'safety slides', which keep your arrow string in front of the bow string. It will only take having an arrow coming back by your head one time to convince you... Yes, there are people that have lost eyes. There are other things too. I ended up with 'Retriever Reels' on my bows and would use the same if I had it to do over again. They work, are safe and simple. I have used other types of reels but those are my preference.
There are lot’s of YouTube vids that will give you an idea about what it is like. It IS addictive. Seriously.
I eat them, but most do not. Washington State record is just under 50 lbs. A big carp can be 20+ years old.
You can PM me if you want to get together and talk gear or see mine. Lake Washington and many of the other lakes on the ‘wet’ side have carp. I will only eat them out of the cleaner lakes. Lake Wa is a no go for that. This is prime time for the Potholes. You will NOT run out of target opportunities…

[cjrodarme]

What brand/lb test line should I purchase?

[TrackerPro16]

Part of it depends on the type of reel you are using. I use the 200 lb cord sold for bow fishing. I think the old manual hand wind reels use the same. If you are using the big closed face reels heavy mono is probably the ticket but it has been so long since I used one of those (30 years) I do not remember. One of my bow's cord is over 10 years old and has never had a problem. They sell 'bowfishing' kits that come with everything you need.
http://www.cabelas.com/product/hunting/ ... 713267.uts
Your hunting rest will most likely not work well because of the arrow weight of the bowfishing arrow. Since you move around a lot bowfishing the arrow needs to be pretty secure. A big piece of slick slotted plastic works well or the heavy Whisker Biscuit rest with an open top. A regular Whisker Biscuit rest will not work but you can buy a new insert for the one you have if you use them.

[riverhunter]

Remember no license required for bowfishing of common carp. And yes there is plenty of carp in the potholes, moses lake, priest rapid to wanapum dam

[meandermeadows]

I used to bowfish back in the day, it is great fun! We got our bowfishing setups at the archery place in Mountlake Terrace, I believe it is called the Nock Point? His setup was like $30 and worked excellent, it just screwed on to your bow and you're good to go.

We went over at Crab Creek near Vantage and slayed them. It was a bit earlier in the year though, I think mid-late May. They were everywhere. We had the most success with two guys shooting from either end of a small jon boat, so you are up above them and have a much better angle to shoot from. Shooting from shore creates a lot of glare and a perfect shot is necessary. We only got a few when we shot from shore.