MS Delta Bowfishing II

With a good amount of early summer rainfall, the bowfishing areas that I frequent have been a little higher and muddier than normal. The bowfishing has still been enjoyable, but there have been no big sticks to get my blood pumping. All that changed on a humid Tuesday Delta afternoon. In prior years, night outings with a spotlight have been my clear preference, but this season my habits have changed. Assuming the responsibilities of corporate treasurer, a lot of work in the office has me rising early and putting in a full, often stressful, day at my desk. As a result, I started either hitting the links or the lakes in late afternoon with the intention of bowfishing or hitting balls into the early hours of darkness. The consequence has been the discovery that I prefer late afternoon expeditions.

The 12th of June, I stood on a favored bridge on a hot, muggy afternoon with no shooting. Walking down the edge of the bridge, I spotted what looked like an umbrella opening and closing about a foot under the water. On closer examination, there was a Big Ned floating along the surface feeding lazily. I drew the arrow and stuck the huge Asian Carp, and the fight was on. Garrett came up behind me to be ready to assist in landing this monster. The fish thundered up the lake away from the bridge and struggled against the line for about 10 minutes. As I felt the fight fading, I walked the fish down the edge of the bridge and drew him into the lake bank. Pulling the massive carp from the water, I lifted up a fifty pound mammoth and the biggest fish that I have stuck to date. Guess I'm getting old and settled, but the afternoons are now for me.

The Asian Carp is an invasive species and bowfishing won't begin to put a dent in the rapidly expanding population, but the harvest of a big fish is a win for the environment. Large, mature fish are reproductively significant as they tend to produce more young than small fish do. There is now one less huge fish out there, and an equally large smile on this sportsman's face.