Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations Grass Carp Removal ?

I have 13 of these submarines in my 1 acre pond...well over 20 Lbs each, probably closer to 30...need to thin them out. I bought a bowfish rig and have started attempts to hit one, right now my batting average is about 0/30 (I've never used a Bow before)

Remember to aim low.The fish are usually deeper than they appear.Keep trying and you will get the hang of it.Sometimes you have to aim below the fish to hit it....Joe

Look up refraction and see how it applies to objects that are under water when viewed from above the water.

Take a liter soda bottle, put some sand in it, and fill it full of water. Tie a string around the neck, and toss it into the pond in a couple feet of water. If you can, remove the barb on the arrow. Practice, practice, practice. You'll get good quickly. The amount that you have to aim under the fish all depends on the depth of the fish. There's no substitution for practice. I can't count the number of times I've thrown an arrow at a fish, and at first, my success mirrored yours.

Thanks for the good advice, I'm kind of having fun with it though still haven't hit one. I'm using a basic Recurve from PSE, it seems a compound would be easier, though not sure why I say this as I've never shot a Compound either.

Lots of guys like the recurve better for bowfishing because for a quick snap shot they don't have to be drawn all the way back to the "wall" like a compound.

With that said, I use a compound because I had one that is ancient and I don't use it anymore for deer hunting - I'm too cheep to buy a new bow for a couple weeks of bowfishing in the Spring.

Do they surface much?
Would a scoped 22 rifle shooting hollow points work?

That must be the "EASY" button your talking about.

Yes, mine surface a lot and are very shallow...wouldn't even need a scope, a shotgun with a heavy load would work as well; However, unfortunately, I'm in the city limits and to make matters worse, in the burbs. I keep expecting the cops to show up when I'm out shooting at them with a bow.

Not sure it would work on the carp
but I bought a really nice pellet gun that shoots hollow points ($141)
it even came with a scope & it's real quiet.



Gamo Big Cat 22 Pellet Gun w/scope

Probably wouldn't work well but if I was one of these rich guys like others on here, I would try one of these, at least it would give me an excuse to buy one...I think they go for $2000 or more



Airwolf

And that price is probably without optics. You'd also need for a way to fill the scuba tank to fill the reservoir on the rifle. PCP's are the best shooting air rifles out there! Also, on the spec sheet, I believe the pressure readings are in BAR, not PSI.

Grass Carp are easily the most elusive fish I have ever seen. I too had a pond overstocked with them and tried everything to catch them....to no avail. After they had cleaned the entire pond of all vegetation, they got so hungry I finally caught some on worms while bluegill fishing. They will break tackle if you manage to hook one....extremely strong fish. I tried shooting them with a .22 rifle like someone else mentioned. Only confirmed one kill....they have really hard heads. They do seemingly live forever, well over 20 years. Finally had to rotenone the pond and they were the last fish to die. They actually beached themselves to get oxygen and then flopped back into the water. It was an amazing acrobatic display. Be VERY conservative with your stocking rates for these fish.

are carp stunned during an electric survey?

Yes, grass carp are just as susceptible to electroshock fishing as other species... They are however often very wary and will scoot away from the boat before the electric field gets to them.