Northwest Fishing Reports

I have been itching to sink an arrow into a plump common carp... Only problem is I am in Island county and the only carp I can find is the protected grass carp (which should be harvested seeing as they are all at over 20 lbs in the lakes around here and can't be good for those lakes).

I want to say that I know some people in the past have had issues with people floating them or gutting them and throwing them back.. I make it a point to remove them. They are an invasive species and the more I kill, the more trout or bass that can occupy that body of water.

So where would I be able to find these guys close(ish) to Island county? I would even come to someones private pond to help lower the carp population. I think bowfishing is a blast and if its helping the enviroment to remove a destructive species then I'm all in!

I'm no pro at it but I'm not new to bowfishing carp either. Any help would be appeciated. Thanks guys!

A few years ago I called the WDFW about the carp in Lake Sammamish, and the guy said to kill as many as you can. I thought about it but haven't gotten the equipment. I think crossbows are illegal so only a regular or compound is legal.

the regs state;

bow-and-arrowfishing-

taking fish with line attached to an arrow and propelled by a bow. does not include the use of crossbows.

Yeah crossbows are illegal but pole spears and my little compound bow are the ticket. I've taken carp with both legally and it is fun. I think using a crossbow would be no fun, too easy point and click. but a trigger release and compound bow give you such an adrenaline rush when you see that arrow hit the water and jiggle from being in a fish. Its a great high.

The regs say that common carp are the only fish for bow and arrow or spear and I have never heard anything but "kill em all" from anyone associated with the fish and wildlife. They are a pain. I personally hate them with a passion and get a lot of sick joy out of harvesting them... for every pound of carp that dies that another pound or game fish that can live in those waters...

What do you do with the carcasses? There has been hot discussions here on that. The dock/land owners get pissed about the rotting carcasses, and the bow hunters don't want to mess with those crappy, slimy, smelly things.

Well I take them out to the wilderness and let the wild life eat them. Or I take them to a local plant store and donate them to become compost. Or I contact local restaraunts and see if they dont want them. There are a ton of reasonable options beside gutting them and floating them or just tossing them into peoples yards. Some options like the giving them to be used as compost can even be profitable... Not usually but it could!

If its only a few I let the local wild life have at them. Not by tossing them into someones yard but by taking them to a secluded place and putting them there. My wife thought I was being stupid and just hiding them so we went back to where I had put a good 10 carcasses and low and behold they were all gone. Animals love free fish.

There are a lot of better options than just being an idiot about it and dumping them anywhere. They smell pretty bad once dead and I would not wish that on anyone lol. but the smell of dead carp is better than the smell of a live one in my book..

Actually hacking the fish with a machete and letting them sink to the bottom, in deep water, is very beneficial to the lake. The nutrients from the fish are then spread throughout all species of the lake, creating a very healthy aqua ecosystem.

Grass carp are also very beneficial to the lake as well and the main reason they are protected, not all carp are as detrimental to a water way as the common carp is.

Bow fishing for them is super fun though, as I have killed thousands of the things. I do commend you for not letting them just float, that gets nasty real quick.

Abomb wrote:Actually hacking the fish with a machete and letting them sink to the bottom, in deep water, is very beneficial to the lake. The nutrients from the fish are then spread throughout all species of the lake, creating a very healthy aqua ecosystem.

Grass carp are also very beneficial to the lake as well and the main reason they are protected, not all carp are as detrimental to a water way as the common carp is.

Bow fishing for them is super fun though, as I have killed thousands of the things. I do commend you for not letting them just float, that gets nasty real quick.

Im pretty sure that too many nutrients, mainly Nitrogen(the nutrient provided by rotting fish) cause algae blooms. And those make the lake have low oxygen levels.

Carp are good crab bait. Ive caught so many carb with carp chunks in a perforated tin can!

Well I throw them in the woods. I make trees and animals happy. The water is already better off not having it in there.

I can see grass carp being good but once the thousands that were stocked get to be about 40 pounds and turn into shallow water sharks I see them being bad and in need of harvest. I will NOT be harvesting them I just think they should be thinned out once they all get that big..

OK! If we don't answer the main question the rest will never happen so its irrelevent....

The original question... Where can I find them around the Island County area? (so I can kill them and throw them in the woods. Or donate them to a plant nursery)

this sounds like an amazing hobby, is this possible from the shore in eastern wa, or strictly a boat?

Anywhere you can SEE a common carp you can shoot it with a bow and arrow. you just have to aim lower due to refraction. Dispose of them properly and you're good to go. Its a great time. The adrenaline rush is great.

I got started in bowfishing by making my own bow out of pvc and fiberglass rods. cost for the whole setup was 15 bucks total and I got about 20 fish with it and upgraded to my current setup of a real bow, arrow, and bowfishing reel. I cant tell you how much fun it is.


This is it before I painted it and added the reel. Its 5 foot long before its strung. About a 60lb pull. (thats not a bowfishing arrow in the back just a normal arrow for size comparison.)

Cool! And the bows are fun to make and shoot in the back yard too. With Sch80 you can make a pretty stout bow but good thing they're cheap they don't last a long time.

NimmunDay wrote:

Abomb wrote:Actually hacking the fish with a machete and letting them sink to the bottom, in deep water, is very beneficial to the lake. The nutrients from the fish are then spread throughout all species of the lake, creating a very healthy aqua ecosystem.

Grass carp are also very beneficial to the lake as well and the main reason they are protected, not all carp are as detrimental to a water way as the common carp is.

Bow fishing for them is super fun though, as I have killed thousands of the things. I do commend you for not letting them just float, that gets nasty real quick.

Im pretty sure that too many nutrients, mainly Nitrogen(the nutrient provided by rotting fish) cause algae blooms. And those make the lake have low oxygen levels.

Do you really think a few fish are going to change nitrogen levels to such a level? Do your homework man, THOUSANDS of carp died off in Long(Lake Spokane), place is still an amazing fishery, and no algae blooms.

Yeah that ones sch40.

Ok but seriously... places to bowfish near Island County?

tbeaty516 wrote:Well I throw them in the woods. I make trees and animals happy. The water is already better off not having it in there.

I can see grass carp being good but once the thousands that were stocked get to be about 40 pounds and turn into shallow water sharks I see them being bad and in need of harvest. I will NOT be harvesting them I just think they should be thinned out once they all get that big..

OK! If we don't answer the main question the rest will never happen so its irrelevent....

The original question... Where can I find them around the Island County area? (so I can kill them and throw them in the woods. Or donate them to a plant nursery)

I went carp fishing at Blackmans Lake today and a guy told me he catches carp in the San Juan County lakes. Really big ones like 30 pounds.

Thats awesome! Were they commons or grass? because I know there are some people who rod and reel for carp and catch grass carp because they get huge and put up a fight. You cant bow them. if i could i would go to Campbell lake or Erie lake because there are some monsters in the shallows there.

Thats a great tip tho thank you! Does anyone else know of an area near Island county?

The guy told me they were common carp.