I was out at Willard Bay one day in my boat, and some guys went by me hunting carp…They had these pistol crossbows, with some kind of spinning reel attachment, and they shot these short arrows…I guess it was all legal…They were having a blast, just shooting off the bow of the boat.
It is good those guys were not spotted by a Ranger or a DWR CO. Bows are legal but crossbows are not. And, if I am not mistaken, even archery equipment is not allowed inside Willard State Park.
From the current regulations:
[#221e1f][#221e1f]To take nonprohibited nongame fish, you may use angling, traps, archery (excluding crossbows), dipnets, liftnets, seines or a handheld spear from above the surface of the water.
[/#221e1f][/#221e1f]
I was wondering if it was legal or not…They were small, but they were crossbows…I guess they got away with one.
**COs have some discretion in how they apply the law and when they write tickets. I suspect that they would be a lot more lenient to carp killers than to the happy harvesters that take overlimits of wipers from the inlet area in the spring…and leave tons of trash behind too. **
Trouble is that the officers are stretched so thin in their assigned areas that is difficult for them to catch all the violaters. That’s why we should carry cell phones and have the poaching hotline number on speed dial. They don’t always get there in time to catch the bad guys but sometimes they do. Better to at least make the call than ignore it.
The snow is melting. You ready for a “session”?
see the post Carp Bash for a flyer about a bowfishing tourny at UL this summer…sounds FUN!!
That Bear Whitetail is a heavy bow. I had one my first few years of archery practice. Get it set up and give it a try, but after a long day of shooting, I’ll bet you will decide to upgrade to a much lighter bow. I always liked recurves better for carp executing. They are fast, light, and can be drawn short for quick shots. And being able to un string it and stash it in a rod holder is a big plus.
I’ll post it here too.
Definitely invest in the AMS retriever. I tried to use one of those reel seat things that screws into the stabilizer hole and it was such a pain. I finally broke down and bought this kit on amazon.com.
Totally worth it, it even comes with arrows and a roller rest for bowfishing. As for the disposal, I launch out of Utah Lake State Park in Provo so I just put them in the boat until I get back to the dock and then throw them in the dumpster there. Don’t waste your time with a tarp, this is much more effective, cheaper too.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=96729
Then when you get to the docks, just dump the fish in the dumpster, walk down to the water and rinse the can out with water and call it good. Hell, for $2.00 each, you could just throw the can away after each adventure.
I’m going down to Lake Powell in mid-March, and I’m hoping to find the carp down there. They always provide some good backup when you can’t catch anything on rod and reel. And you feel so cool pulling up to the dock with a boat full of carp. Let me tell ya, I’ve gotten plenty of ladies as I was dumping a bucket of slimy, bloody fish into the dumpsters. [;)]
[#221e1f]** To take nonprohibited nongame fish, you may use angling, traps, archery (excluding crossbows), dipnets, liftnets, seines or a handheld spear from above the surface of the water.**
[/#221e1f]
Whoa… does this mean I can start bringing spears to chuck at carp? I don’t know how to shoot a bow but I can throw a spear pretty well.
I don’t think you can start a new olympic event…carp javelin throwing. As I read the wording it appears as if you must keep control of the shaft of the spear…as in frog gigging. Lots of guys do that already. I doubt if you would get busted for throwing the spear…unless you hit a DWR officer.
**Over the years I have seen carp “euthanized” with just about every kind of weapon and device you can imagine. Louisville sluggers do a fine job. Ditto for oars. Shovels and pitchforks are fairly commonly used. Lots of wooden handles from brooms, axes, shovels, etc. **
Funniest carp killer I ever saw was a guy with his leg in a cast, standing in the middle of a bunch of thrashing carp and beating the tarnation out of them with one crutch while holding himself upright with the other. That’s dedication.
Yes…I made some jigs out of some wooden beads and glow tails the other day, and tried them on East Canyon…Caught a couple of rainbows…I would like to proof them on Starvation with the bunch on Saturday, but I can’t make that one.
I had a buddy that found great fun in killing carp with a machete. It was all good until we tried to get a ride home. He was soaked and covered in carp parts. And we were hitchhiking down to the Lake and back.
The good old days.
**That wasn’t Brad, was it. He doesn’t seem like the machete type. But, ya never know when carp are involved. **
I’m waiting for a chain saw story. Maybe we could make it into a movie…“THE UTAH LAKE CHAIN SAW MASSACRE”.
**I don’t think you can start a new olympic event…carp javelin throwing. **
That’s too bad, because perhaps making a new and popular sport out of carp killing is what we need in the states. Would it be a team sport or an individual one? Would their be uniforms? How rigorous would the training be? How about coaching? Regulations? What country would take the gold?
Anyway, I’ve been looking online for spears. They make some really long fishing spears with many different spear heads. Could just tie a rope to the end if I wanted to throw it. Might be a good purchase.
That story about the guy beating them with his crutch is hilarious.