This is gonna be tricky.........
We get a lot of emails from guys asking about Bowfishing and having made so many friends at Kerr over the last five years and with our trip out due in a few days time the last thing I want to do is offend anyone, this message board is one of the best we have come across for its honesty, but we also have a duty to our 1/4 of a million or so visitors to our site per month to ask relevant questions. Before I start lets make it clear that I personally hunt Deer, Ptarmigan, Grouse, Salmon, Trout, Pike, Wild pig and just about anything else that moves in Europe without any qualms or sleepless nights. We use crossbows with 12 inch bolts that travel at 385 ft per second which kind of gives us the edge over our native wildlife !I've also spent 25 years in the army doing things that will certainly not buy me any credits when it's my time to account for my behaviour ....... hunting is a natural part of what makes us what we are and is sadly lacking in so many of the problem youngsters we have in the UK. Apreciation of the wild and all it offers is fast dissapearing. Being out in the open air enjoying all that the planet has to offer is a gift that too many of our young just don't experience anymore , it's all about money, morgages amd computer games. We have many faults in the UK.
So, having openly admitted that all we see is far from perfect, don't be offended by the question,
" Why Bowfish for Carp "? We all know they taste like cr*p so where is the point? Most of our readers find it difficult to understand why people Bowfish for Carp just for the sake of killing something. Using a weapon on something that is just laying in the shallows minding its own business for no other reason than being able too is a little difficult to get a handle on. If you can eat it fine, the death of an entity in return for food, whether we need it or not, is somehow OK. But to kill a lifeform just because we can is a little difficult to reconcile. So. can anyone give me an insight into this ? Again, no critisism here, everyone has a right to lead their lives as they see fit as long as they don't blow the rest of us up in the process or insist that if we don't believe in their own religeous cr*p we deserve to die. Don't misunderstand or get abusive,just curious as to motives.
All the best.

I also dont agree with shooting carp or anything else just for the fun of it. I have been with people when I was a kid, shooting carp. We would come home with,20 to 40 dead carp, and throw them out in the ditch beside the road on the way home, some fish weighing 40lb. It was stupid, and a huge waste. But that was 25yrs ago. at this time I dont know anyone that still does it to that degree. We did go last year once, and killed 4 or 5 but only because we have found out that they are exellent catfish bait. So at least they are being used for something. Which in most peoples eyes probably still dont make it right. In gaston lake which is where we use to go, carp are turned loose by the thousands every year to help control the growth of hydrilla and are considered the biggest trash fish in the lake with no redeeming quality other than they eat grass, which we have an over abundance of. I didnt have to write this post, and will probably be ridiculed for it, but I have learned the true meaning of cruelty and waste by watching my elders, and would like you to know that its not a wide spread sport over here, only a few people still do it and I for one will never kill and animal of any kind just for the sake of shooting it.

I also don't have to post on this topic. When we were young(maybe you still are) we would do things with other people that we wouldn't think of doing now. We are all guilty and to say something different is not being truthful with your self. Maybe we caught any kind of fish,with good intentions of cleaning them to eat. Maybe we drank a few, and decided we didn't have time to clean the fish and threw them away. Maybe we went deer hunting and killed more than we were suppose to. Maybe we stopped at Hardee's and got a meal, ate it and threw the trash out the window. I know I've done all this and more. But when you get older, you look back and think how stupid some of the things you did were. I try to recycle most all trash now. I even see folks throw things out and pick the trash up. Its pay back time. Someone picked mine up 40 years ago. Grumpy, you're not by yourself. We are not perfect. We just learn from past experiences. Our kids here in the states are no different from your kids. They are truly missing out on the better part of the out doors. I'll catch heck from this next comment. When deer season comes in, I love to run my dogs and hear the chase. Half the time, I don't carry a gun. My club has about 6,500 acres and it tickles me to hear a good chase. I will carry a pistol just in case the bobcats or bear come near. Setter

KEITH
SETTER

Thank you both for the response. For what it's worth I am as guilty as anyone ( more than most perhaps ) of not treating the planet we live on or the things that live on it with sufficient respect. I guess the realisation comes with age. This heading wasn't condemning anyone and over the last ten years I have seen a massive change in attitude in Carolina, Virginia and some other states particularly amongst guys who fish and hunt. I'm personally glad that Bowfishing simply to kill is on the decline and that so many fishermen understand the logic of catch and release policies.
Again, thanks for the measured reply.
Take care.

Well said Grumpy, Setter and Keith

10-4 on the WELL SAID!!!

I too am guilty of kiiling carp and gar just for sport. When I was a kid we used to spear them in the shallows when they spawned. Only years later have I grown to appreciate the fight of both these fish.

I haven't caught either on kerr yet. I caught many carp on the Maury using oatmeal and they were a blast! I look forwrd to meeting ya'll and locating some carp on Kerr. I have a pontoon and would love to spend a day learning if you want to go out.

Hi Raymond.
Carp certainly do fight and never know when to give up. I'm lucky in that I get paid to fish for just about every species there is, it's my job and takes me all over the world but I have to say that Carp are my favourites for many reasons especially the ones in Kerr as the bigger ones are amongst the best in the world. We have plenty of bigger Carp in Europe but they bear little resemblance to proper Carp ..... their behaviour is completely unatural as they eat mostly fishermans baits and have got fat, lazy and relatively easy to catch. no fun at all. It's good that you have more respect for the fish now without getting too silly about it. We all enjoy a fresh fish on the table, nothing wrong in that but as many of you guys say it's pointless killing just for the sake of it and as anyone would have to be pretty desperate to eat Carp when you have so many other species that taste much better I've always found Bowfishing hard to understand. It would be an honour to meet you and anyone else that wants to share information and I'd be pleased to give you as many tips as I can. At the very least you'd find our gear interesting !
Our techniques are far removed from what you are probably use to even with the likes of Catfish our methods would almost certainly put a smile on your face.
We leave the UK on Tuesday so a few hours before we face the dreaded airports and all the delays due to idiot terrorists I'll post the phone number of the house we have rented near Clarksville and everyone is welcome to call. As for the boat trip .... love to.
All the very best and look forward to meeting you.

Hi Grumpy!
You sound like anything but grumpy.I really enjoyed your post and agree with you on the bowfishing. Hope you have a good trip over and have good fishing. Hootie

Hi Hootie,

Thanks for the good wishes ...... can't wait to get back to Kerr, it's been over a year since we were last there and I'm getting withdrawal symptoms !
Take care and catch plenty.