With the growing popularity of bowfishing, I’ve been hearing more and more stories from fellow outdoorsmen and women about how much they enjoy this sport. We had a trip planned to Branson for my nephew’s birthday and I thought this might be a good opportunity to get out with some friends down there and experience it for myself. To no surprise, after an email notification that I was coming to town and a fish hunt was in the works.

My guide for the night was Branson local, John Pate, who I had crappie and catfished with on Bull Shoals a couple of times previously. One of my good hunting buddies, Bryan Miller was also able to make the trip, along with his young son Ethan. Ethan was looking forward to netting fish for us, but kept most of his focus on netting turtles to put in the fish barrel. After a few instructions on how to use the equipment we were on the water and scanning the shallows for fish. We quickly realized the heavy downpours of rain earlier that evening in Branson had the water fairly muddy in our fist location, so John took us across the lake and found a cove that was much clearer. We did find a few fish in that area, and after five or six shots I finally hit about a ten-pound carp. Getting my first fish kill with a bow and shortly after that watching Bryan shoot, fight and land a carp about 30 pounds was exciting, but I had no idea about how much more exciting the night was going to get as we left that cove and headed for a different area. I think John saved his best spot for last, possibly to give me an hour or so to practice this new form of shooting and to get acquainted with the equipment, so that I would be a little more prepared for what we were about to encounter. Upon entered the mouth of a wide creek we began seeing several fish (carp, gar, big shad and suckers), then groups of fish and before long all three of us were shooting almost constantly. Now I could see why this is such a popular sport, the numbers of carp and gar in that area made this hunt fast paced and exciting. Another thing that I enjoyed was watching all the bass chasing the baitfish that were drawn to our lights, especially the one that looked easily over six pounds that almost jumped right in Ethan’s net while he was trying to catch some of those baitfish. I would definitely recommend taking advantage of any opportunities to experience this fun and fast paced adventure. Unfortunately I have to say our fish hit percentage was pretty low for the night (especially adding in my numbers), but we still ended up with over 20 carp (two around 30 pounds), three gar and John stuck one shad about 10 inches. Another idea we discussed that night was combining this with running trot lines, especially if you have a couple of days and a quiet place to get a few hours of sleep during the day. I know I’ll be looking at the calendar soon to try and get another night or two out with John for some nighttime fish shooting action.