Bowfishing on Lake Erie

Don Dolph bowfishing on Lake Erie on 6.10.09. Looking like an alien spacecraft approaching out of the night, Don Dolph's 25-foot TriToon pontoon boat "Black Cloud Bowfishing" slowly creeps across the water on a calm, cool night in June.The only source of light on the otherwise pitch-black surface, Dolph and his seven passengers are on the prowl. The boat is rigged with eight 70-watt metal halide spotlights in hopes of attracting prey close enough to the boat to strike.Spotting a carp, Dolph rises up next to a makeshift platform 32 inches above the deck and fires a fiberglass arrow with a Muzzy Stingray tip into the water. As he reels in the carp, a youthful exuberance comes over his face.Dolph and his passengers are bowfishing, a small but growing sport in Michigan that's making traditional fisherman forget about the rod and reel.Bowfishing, or archery fishing, is the technique of hunting fish with a bow and arrow. Bowfishing combines the thrill of hunting with the skill of archery and the sport of fishing.Bowfishing is most effective at night using lights. The biggest challenge to fishing at night is that the refraction of light through the water distorts the shape of the fish, requiring the hunter to compensate when aiming.

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• David
• Coates

[TheHDInstinct]

you kill them because they are a invasive species and are bad for the lake or river.

[SweetRhythemTX]

what was thd purpose of fishing for carp an gar? just to kill for funn?

[greatwhite1222]

@SweetRhythemTX their invasive fish....they destroy native habitat and depleate native fish by eating all the food sources...and carp eat everything and anything

[quiltsrus93]

bowfishing is a great sport and lots of fun. i can totally agree with removing foreign, invasive species such as carp or snakeheads but gar are NOT invasive. Want & Waste is exactly what gives outdoorsmen a bad name. There is no excuse for it, no matter what the species is.

[catman529outdoors]

I am not against bowfishing but I don't agree with shooting gar for fun and leaving them to rot... they are not invasive

[ENTERRAPTURE20]

ISAIAH 19:3-4 THE SPIRIT OF EGYPT SHALL FAIL IN ITS MIDST;I WILL DESTROY ITS “COUNSEL”:..THE EGYPTIANS WILL I GIVE INTO THE HAND OF THE CRUEL/FIERCE LEADER.DAMASCUS SYRIA–OLDEST CITY,NEVER BEEN DESTROYED(ISAIAH 17:1)ISRAEL DIVIDED(JOEL 3:1-2)JESUS SAID,HIS 2ND COMING,IF U SEE DMASCUS DSTROYED & SRAEL DVIDED.IF U THINK QUAKES R COMMON THINK OF THESE PROPHECIES,THESE R N THE NEWS NOW.1THESSALONIANS 4:17,WE’LL MEET JESUS IN THE CLOUDS(RAPTURE) REPENT!READ BIBLE,MATTHEW 24 –GIV YOUR LIFE TO JESUS.

[bowhntr16]

@pressgreen. That's cuz you're a dumbass.

[pressgreen]

i thought fishing like this was illegal

[ItztehDarklehcat]

@ApocalypticStorms "but we don't kill humans do we" Afghanistan. Iraq. Revolutionary War. Vietnam. Korea. War of 1812. Yeah, we do kill humans.

[ItztehDarklehcat]

@scrotters Yeah, because Carp and Gar kill and endanger other species. Bow fishing kills them and is a sport. So Bow fishing is good for the environment. Try not comparing things that aren't even similar.

[mtvbeatiscool]

that thing is quiet... how do you power the lights?

[turtleguy923]

@bigricherich Oops, my bad, didn't realize it 6 months ago, but I know that now.