Big Bear Carp

[Dark_Knight_9C1]

I saw this from last week in Big Bear Lake.
71 carp in about 3 hours from a boat.


Water in the lake has warmed up and looks promising. 
I'll be up there for the holiday weekend. Hope to get my 30 in a day.
Since the carp abatement in Big Bear Lake is pretty active, the size of the carp are typically 1 to 3 lbs. Lake Elsinore isn't so the ones I get out of there are 3 to 5 lbs.

- Keith

[jrodda]

Pretty wild that these lakes have that many carp in them to where you can kill hundreds of fish and still go out again and have another high numbers day. All the more reason to hunt them.

[Latimeria]

I saw this from last week in Big Bear Lake.
71 carp in about 3 hours from a boat.


Water in the lake has warmed up and looks promising. 
I'll be up there for the holiday weekend. Hope to get my 30 in a day.
Since the carp abatement in Big Bear Lake is pretty active, the size of the carp are typically 1 to 3 lbs. Lake Elsinore isn't so the ones I get out of there are 3 to 5 lbs.

- Keith

I think I saw this pic only with Andrew Mack in it instead!

Damn, 30 in a day?  That's a feat for any type of fishing! 
Good luck boss! 

[Dark_Knight_9C1]

Managed two on Saturday. The first one had its tail out of the water shot below and got it. There were a lot of carp in the shallow seaweed beds. Had a similar problem as Elsinore in that I had to shoot thru the seaweed to get to the fish.  Made several shots below a fin on the surface just to see the fish torpedo off. Finally decided to just aim for the fin. Second one came in with the arrow just below as targeted. Wasn't thru much meat but managed to bring it in without pulling out. 2.5 lbs but didn't measure it.

Had a new first for loosing an arrow on Labor day. Previously;
I've shot at a fish far away and hit the end of the line and snap off.
I've shot at a fish, hit it and realized the line snapped and the fish swims away with the arrow
I've shot at a fish, it snaps off and goes low and hits a fish I didn't even see and it swims off.
Today, I had a perfect shot. The fish was at the surface and facing me, lining me up for a perfect head shot. Aim and fire. Arrow makes a hard thud into the fishes head....
And the arrow bouces back.😮
I'm wondering what just happened? The fish is gone. I reel up my arrow and the head of the arrow is gone. They do unscrew sometimes but I had just tightened it. I look closer and see the arrow head broke off at the threads. 🤔

Apparently there was a crack in the shiny area and it fractured in the dull area. (My college materials lab coming to good use)
Anyway.  Didn't loose the shaft so I can put another arrow head on it at least.

- Keith

[Latimeria]

Huh, the elusive "Hard-Headed Carp" does exist!  lol

Interesting gear failure with a busted arrow.

Cheers!

[Tim524]

Losing a Lure hurts, so I assume this one hurt too but at least there was something to see other than a broken leader

[Dark_Knight_9C1]

8/8/2025 Went up to Big Bear Lake to do some bowfishing and wasn't expecting much since when water temps dropped 8 degrees since last week to 57° F.
Got to the lake just before sunrise. Air temp was about 36° and there was lots of frost on the boardwalk.
Lake was like glass so it was going to be easy to see any ripples caused by fish.
First thing I see, about 60 feet out, what looked like a bunch a carp skimming around just under the surface. Dang and it was. Got my bow ready and took a shot. Arrow flew and "twang" hit the end of my 75 feet of line and dropped short. Well was a good sign anyway.
I walked back and forth on the boardwalk and shoreline and found a few singles to take shots at but miss slightly and sent them torpedoing off. Got back to the same spot and the group had resurfaced and moved closer. Took another shot and this time got to the target but maybe a little low. Reel in the arrow and see something on the point. There was a scale stuck on the point. I was amazed it stayed on after dragging it back thru the water. Looks like it was going to be a good day.
Found another group right next to the boardwalk with their little faces smiling up at me. I abliged them and proceeded to feed them... arrows. Took the shot and the arrow hit the water with a heavenly thud sound. Started pulling it in and found two carp on the arrow.


Didn't find anymore and was ready for breakfast so I left and came back around 11:30.

I walk out and find another group of carp (as tightly packed as the last one) 10 feet from the boardwalk. Took the shot, got another nice thud, and pulled in another double.


I proceeded down the boardwalk another 50 feet and see another group of carp even closer. I picked the one closest to me and shot. Another thud and see what looked like three or four fish on the arrow. 

The suckers were heavy and I couldn't get enough grip on the string to pull them up. I ended up putting a rag over the rail so I could pull and hold it on the rail while grabbing further down to pull the next foot or so. Luckily it worked. Ended up with a triple.


By this time I had a crowd of bystanders around. Most of them were pointing another 50 feet further down the boardwalk. Walked over and there were more!
This time there were three groups each between a subsequent set of pilings. 
I chose the ones closest to me hoping the shot wouldn't scare off the furthest group. Anyway took the shot, thud, and another double. By this time there were too many people and I didn't even get a picture. But interesting thing about these two was that one went thru the head and the second went in just below the gills and came out about 3 inches above the tail. Had almost a foot of arrow in it.
That was it except for one more which I managed without hitting a group.

The next morning I got out around Grey light and there was still frost again. Went to the same place. The water was a little ripplely from a light wind. I couldn't see into the water yet so I had to watch for telltale ripples from the fish. Didn't take long to find some about 30 feet out. I aimed a little lower this time since I couldn't tell how deep they were. Took the shot. Another double.

This time hit right in the mid section. They must have been on the surface like the rest.
That was it. Went and ate breakfast  went back at the same time around 11:30 and didn't see any more groups. Only saw a few singles in the weeds.
So, ended up with my second 10 fish day and first triple. Definitely an unexpectedly good weekend.

-Keith

[Latimeria]

Doubles and triples?  WTH!?!?  That seems crazy to get them like that!

Well done once again Keith, pretty epic bow fishing if you ask me.  I can't believe they are showing up there like that in November!

[Dark_Knight_9C1]

Doubles and triples?  WTH!?!?  That seems crazy to get them like that!

Well done once again Keith, pretty epic bow fishing if you ask me.  I can't believe they are showing up there like that in November!

I was quite surprised too. But another factor I didn't mention is I was fishing in a marshy area which is landlocked from the lake as the level recedes. These carp have been trapped there since probably late August. So the ones that didn't leave after the spawn are stuck there. The water level has probably dropped at least 2.5 feet since then and the surface of the now pond has decreased maybe 20%.

Still it was quiet unusual for so many to be at the surface and so tightly packed.

- Keith

[jrodda]

Doubles and triples?  WTH!?!?  That seems crazy to get them like that!

x2 That is a wild shot.

[Dark_Knight_9C1]

This is what the groups looked like when the water was warmer.


These have plenty of room between them to miss.
I'm guessing that they may have been closer together since the water was cooler, 57° F.

The theory of why they come to the surface opening and closing their mouths is the are cleaning the silt out of their gills after feeding in the mud on the bottom.

In warmer water it's also possible that they come up because there is more oxygen in the water.

I've got to try throwing a bunch of corn in an area to lure them in and when they are done feeding coming to the surface. 
And I'll feed them a side of arrows.

- Keith