Bowfishing -guidance

[JDinPA]

I went out bow fishing a few times last year on the river, but I didn't have any luck. I missed all the carp I shot at. I'm thinking they were about 4-6' deep in river current. I'm shooting 45#.
How deep is too deep? What depth should I be targeting carp at?

Looking for some advice.
Thanks,
JD

[Fletcher]

Man, I don't think I have any water around here that I could even see 4 ft in.  That is pretty deep for a bow to penetrate well and judging the refraction would make any hit straight up luck, at least for me.  I prefer my fish to have a fin sticking out, but seldom shoot more than knee deep.  Even there you have to aim pretty low.

[brmorris]

I have a 45# bow and it will work to 4', the problem is refraction and having to aim so low.  If you can shoot more straight down, 6' isn't too deep.

[val]

Around here where I live thats pretty deep!! and the deeper they are the harder they are to shoot.

[LimbLover]

If the water isn't too murky, 4 feet works okay.

I've had a lot of trouble seeing them as the Grand River has been flooded due to all of the rain here in West Michigan.

My bow draws around 60# and I've shot through 5' of water and stuck into the muck below with no problem.

[Ragnarok Forge]

We shoot them in the Columbia down to 8 feet deep in clear conditions, the deal is to be straight above them when shooting that deep.

If the fish are 4 feet deep you need to aim what seems to be 1 to 1.5 feet below their bellies.   It looks really silly to your mind at first but once you start hitting them you get a feel and hit a lot more frequently.   Use the point of you arrow as a reference and start by aiming at their belly and see where the arrow goes, then aim 6 inches low and see where that goes.  Then just keep moving the point of aim until you start to hit.  Also note that the further away they are the lower you have to aim to him them at the same depth.

[bmfer]

Where you at on the river?

[Chris Shelton]

I too do do most of my bowfishing on rivers and creeks.  The creek I have had luck on was about 3 foot deep where the fish were.  If the fish would come up(they never do) I would miss alot less.  I can put the shaft right where I want to above the water, but with the refraction business, well I miss more than I hit.  I have to aim approximately 3 foot low!!!  How strong is the current?  That is also a factor, I was on the potomac and the water was only 3-4 feet deep, and I kept hitting behind them, couldnt figure out why.  Let me give you a hint, dad had the 55lb thrust trolling motor at full blast and we were inching upstream, or actually more like keeping still, so that water was trucking through there.  So keep that in mind too!

[JDinPA]

I bowfish the Delaware river from Trenton to Easton.

I've never seen a carp with a fin out of the water on the Delaware.

Thanks for all the advice guys, hopefully I'll do better this year.

[frank bullitt]

JD, being in the river, sometimes it's tough to get at the shallow working fish! Find some feeder creeks off of the main river and look for shallow spawning fish.

It can be tough some years, but keep looking. Weather conditions and such, play alot in the clarity of the water and time of spawn!

It's alot like the Deer Rut around here!

[LoweBow]

IMO 45# is a little soft for that deep.  When shooting deep water you need razor sharp tips (brand new) a little more poundage, and the most important thing is a well tuned arrow that enters the water like a bullet and doesn't plane.
Many of the arrows you can purchase have diff spines.  The Muzzy Carbon Mag (super stiff)  the Cajun Yellow Jacket (stiff) and the normal white fiberglass (softer)  All of them are stiff when compared w/ what you shoot most often.  I prefer the yellowjacket for deep water, but I've had to change my knock points to really high to get them to shoot well at times.

[Cory Mattson]

That section of he Delaware has a lot of carp. Second half of May and all of June you will see carp rolling - rooting - and spawning. All 3 situations will have tails and backs out of the water - atleast for moments at a time so you can spot - then get over after them. Calhoun St Bridge in particular is very solid dependable hunting (unless a severe drought draws the saltwater line up past that bridge) - this only happens at less than 10 year intervals. If you hunt at the right time of year depth will not be an issue as you will be shooting at fish on the surface or in shallows (less than 3 ft) - summer is OK - Heavy Rain ruins any and all of this - avoid hunting the river after a heavy rain. 45# should be no problems - all our kids POUNDED carp when they were little shooting 45's, 35's and a 32# bows.<><
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