July 11, 2012
By Melissa Bachman
just shooting at targets in the summer . One way to combat this is to spend an afternoon or weekend bowfishing your local lakes. Carp have become a real nuisance in many area lakes in Minnesota and around the country, so not only are you honing in your skills as a shooter, but you're helping take out some of these pesky carp as well.
When it comes to your bowfishing gear many people think you need to buy a ton of equipment and have another bow setup. Although this is nice, you can also take your regular hunting bow and sight and rest. The only other item I needed to add was a $29 carp arrow and string. We headed out on some local Minnesota lakes and found a pocket of carp that proved to be one target rich environment. I would simply wind up the string after each shot and leave it at my feet so I wasn't messing with a reel or spool mounted on my bow. This can help with accuracy and also makes for a quick setup.
Although many people shoot instinctively when it comes to carp fishing, I really like having a sight on my bow. I was using a one-pin slider sight that allows you to move your pin accordingly. If I found that I was going over the top of carp, I simply moved my sight down and could aim directly at them. One of the biggest problems with bowfishing is dealing with the refraction of the water, but when using a setup like this you can adjust your pin and aim right at the fish.
The bottom line is the more you can get out shooting your bow, the better off you will be this fall when hunting season finally arrives. This was my way of getting out, having some fun and getting a little added practice in for my upcoming season.
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