big carp problems

[chiefks]

When you guys shoot big carp, say over 40 lbs. What do you do to keep the arrow from pulling out of the fish? The last 2 carp I shot were pretty big and the arrow pulled out of both of them.

[phall2]

your arrow might not be pennatrating far enough in the fish, you could be shooting the edge of the fishs' body. It sometimes happens when I shoot big fish. What kinda bow are u using and what is the draw weight? Lighter the draw weight the less it will penatrate in a big fish. also the 3 barb interloc tips are really nice and might help.

[Allseasonhunter7]

the innerlocs are vvery heavy.. try the muzzy arrows + try to get another arrow in it if u go with someone

[KASKASKIA BIG HEADS]

this may sound stupid but

if you shoot muzzy tips nock the sharpness down and you wont have to worry no more but if that dont help higher your weight

a couple of guys from this web site told me this and i was like ya right hen it wont penetrate at all i have had 2 fish pull off since then and that was almost 2 months ago

[Bulzeye]

Almost every pull-off I've experienced was because of lack of penetration where the point doesn't exit the fish, or hitting near the tail or too low in the gut where the flesh tears too easily to survive a sustained fight.

What points are you using? Some points allow the fish to spin-off.
If the barbs on your points are on the part of the head than spin when you reverse the barbs to release a fish, you could be getting spin-offs, but I usually see that on smaller fish that thrash like wild. If the point is loose when you reel it in, then it may have been a spin-off.

[chiefks]

Jenngins compound bow, some where around 55-60 lbs of draw weight. Its my old deer hunting bow. Think I am shooting 400 lb fast flight line. Arrows and tips are what ever the local archery shop had. I don't have a clue what brand the arrows and tips are. I don't have much experience with big carp. I'd show a bunch of small ones, and only those two big fish and they pulled off.

I was bow fishing out of a 2 man scamp in a strip pit that I kept seeing some big carp in. I got a arrow in one when it was start'n to get dark. It stripped off quite a bit of line and I recovered some, and then it went down to the bottom under my boat. I fought it a bit try'n to get it to come up and the arrow came out. Big fish #2, same body of water. Idrew back and let flyand the fish took off on a runnnnnn, so I turned the min kota on high try'n to chase after it. It took all the line off my reel and yanked the arrow out.

My bow fishing reel is the one with the jug that holds the line and there's no drag unless you pull the level back to pinch the line. I couldn't pull that level tight enough to slow that fish down.

So thats why I was wondering what you guys thought. I've never tryed bow fishing at night. Are big carp less spooky at night? I'm bow fishing in strip pits that are reclaimed from the old coal mining days. Seems I rarely see these big fish. I've seen several monsters one day in one pit, and haven't seen them since. Theyare really spooky.

[RobinAim Low]

I will have to respectfully agree that knocking the sharpness down ona Muzzy point does sound stupid!

Seriously, that makes no sense, you want it sharp as can be for big fish. When you get into truly big buffs and carp, penetration is an issue. A couple of tricks for Muzzy's on huge fish I have learned...
1. Take some pliers and squeeze the barbs in towards the shaft so they don't flare out so wide. Makes a smaller entry hole, but the barbs still have the same holding power when they fold out.
2. Use the "gar" tip. They cut the scales better than punching thru them. I finally figured this one out when every time I would loose a giant, I would have a big scale wedged on the "carp" tip that I couldn't get off without pliers. Seldom happens with the gar tip.

Also, it is important to keep some pressure on the fish at all times. IMO, when you give the fish slack, bad things happen.

[chiefks]

I know on big gar, especially gator gar, penetration is a issues due to how tough thier scales are. Are big carp just as tough?

[Rebel Hog]

Ask the Rev, he's always in the Religion Forum!

[bowman15]

Absolutely agree with Robin; penetration is key to bigger fish. If you can get a pass-thru, all the better. I sharpen the crap out of my tips. When I lose fish, it's usually because I'm not coming to full-draw (I shoot a recurve), because of rocks/cement behind the fish. I ALMOST NEVER lose a fish if I come to full-draw, have a sharp tip and hit the fish solidly. The only fish I lose consistenly are quillbacks, because they are softer fish and they freak-out and shoot side to side and roll when hit.