Henry Rifle Forums

I bow fish and this is one of my bigger catches this year this one was pushing 40 lbs. and I had one over 50 also. We eat all of the fish I shoot this one included except the common carp which we use for catfish bait and fertilizer in the garden.

We have tons of carp around here. Sometimes the small streams will be more carp than water.

That is a big fish, it looks like being hit with an arrow was quite a surprise.

Carpus delicti

Wow. That's nice to hear that nothing goes to waste.

What's a good way to prepare them for eating?

Just like any other fish just a lot more bones. They have ybones and I just cut my fillets in the same angle the bones run. We deep fry the fillet and then bend them, the bone will pop out and can be pulled out of the fillet. This way there is very little waste. My favorite is the gar back straps totally boneless and taste like chicken lol, actually don't taste like chicken but are the same consistency. Nothing like a fish at all.
Here is the 50 lb grass carp

Wow. Thanks for the tips on how to eat them. I've heard gar are very tasty. I've never had it.

Good job with that starrider,

Is that a generator in your boat?

I imagine that must be fun, never tried it.

Yes I had a generator in my boat for two years and halogen lights on the front for night fishing. I found though that I didn't enjoy it very much due to noise and bugs. My favorite times to bow fish are spring and early summer. I can go out on the lake troll the shallows for hours. I enjoy the peace and quiet this provides me and gets me away from all the noise in the world. There is so little quiet time in this world anymore. The rest of the summer I just rod reel fish like everyone else and I'm on a lake somewhere usually at least once a week.

I like the way you think. I enjoy putting my canoe into an Adirondack pond or lake and just enjoying the atmosphere. It's best in the more remote areas. I may be the only one on the water. The electric motor if it's big enough to need it. Quiet, except for birds or loons.

Afraid I wouldn't know what to do if I hooked a fish this size. I fish from a kayak because of the peace and quiet. Have fished mainly for catfish but would love to hook into a 4 foot gar sometime. Although 50 lb cats are around here too.

I was hoping for dynamite

lol

daytime dave wrote:Wow. That's nice to hear that nothing goes to waste.

What's a good way to prepare them for eating?

We used to filet and smoke carp. Mix with cream cheese and eat on a cracker.

Mmmmmm. Sounds delicious

When I used to river dive here in the lowcountry of South Carolina, I used to run across some pretty big fish. I was not unusual to look under a log and see a 50+ lb catfish staring back. The big ones don't spook that easily. I've seen a few that were probably in excess of 70 lbs. Hard to be sure just how big they are underwater.

I've thought about trying to take one, but can't imagine grabbing a hold of one of those monsters.

I've seen a few sturgeons that were absolutely huge.