Washington Bowfishing



Carp'n at Potholes Reservoir



      I was invited this weekend to go fishing for carp, bow fishing to be exact. This of course is not your conventional hook, line and sinker technique. I was told that all I needed to do was to convert one of my bows into a bow fishing "rig" which basically only required me to buy a couple of solid fiberglass arrows with barbed fishing tips, a reel for the bow and string. A "must have" accessory includes polarized sunglasses to help spot the fish swimming below the surface. Other accessories, not necessarily optional, is a lot of sunscreen and bug juice! I knew the mosquitoes and black gnats are horrendous this time of year when the wind stops.

     At 4:30 a.m., with boats in tow, we headed from Cle Elum to the Moses lake/Potholes area of Washington St. We arrived around 6:30 and launched the two boats. Jim Schill, Chuck Anderegg, and Colton Kennedy(photo above) in one boat and Jim Haeckel, Shawn Perez, and myself in another. Our guide for the day, Jim Haeckel, took us to the secret spot where they had shot (or shot at) hundreds of carp in past outings. For whatever reasons, high water,water too cold, the spawn was over, the spawn hadn't started etc., their were no carp to be found! Not to give up, we headed to shallower, warmer water and started to find fish, not hundreds but enough to keep us interested! We found them in the weeds, sunning in the grassy areas, in the sunken timber, some just cruising by. This was beginning to be a lot of fun! And challenging! They are not easy targets, definitely not like shooting fish in a barrel! The deeper the fish, the more challenging they were, caused by the refraction by the water which required aiming farther below them and then allowing for the deflection of the arrow after it impacted the water surface. This made for some very interesting shooting.

Chuck(left) and Colton

      At about one o'clock things were slowing down, we were ready to head back. Then Jim Schill in the other boat called us and told us they had found an even better location. Re-energized, we made the run to where they were shooting. More carp and more shooting opportunities! Another couple hours of this and we were ready to head back. We weren't all that successful at "hitting" alot of carp but every chance was just as exciting as if we did! This sport requires a bit of on the water practice and then seasoned with a little luck. Not unlike any other kind of fishing.

Shawn and Jim

     If you haven't tried this "fishing", you're missing out on some interesting and challenging fun! It doesn't have to require a  large investment, an old recurve or compound bow and an inexpensive bow reel, line and arrow and you're ready to go. There are even many places to go that doesn't require a boat, just wading the shore lines along some of these lakes or creeks, being always careful of rattlesnakes in some areas of course.

     Shawn believes there is a good recipe for carp and is currently working on it, we'll keep you posted if he's successful! If anyone can help him out, please let us know!!

     In the mean time, summer is almost here so try to get out and enjoy what the Northwest Outback has to offer!

Rich