Here is the text for anyone who may have trouble with the link.
I couldn't get the pics to come up, but here is the story.
Apparently they understood how big of a story this is for the local ecology, because they put it on the front page.
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HOLY CARP!
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[/align]FEARED AS INVADING SPECIES, ASIAN FISH THE NEW CHALLENGE
June 8, 2007
[/align]By JOE HOSEY Staff Writer
[/align]Local bowfisherman Chris Engstrom doesn't have to talk about the one that got away because the two that didn't weighed in at close to 60 pounds.
Engstrom shot and reeled in a pair of bighead carp Sunday afternoon while hunting in the Des Plaines River near Channahon. One of the fish weighed 26 pounds, 2 ounces and measured 37 inches. The other tipped the scales at 21 pounds, 5 ounces and was 34 inches.
Chris Engstrom of Plainfield holds up two Asian Carp he caught last Sunday. The fish (from left) are 26 pounds, 2 ounces and 21 pounds, 5 ounces. "¢ Online:
[/align][/align]He nailed a third fish, but it managed to swim off before he could get it in his 8-foot plastic boat.
The 36-year-old Plainfield resident's good day on the river was tempered by the knowledge he may be the first to catch a bighead carp upriver of the Starved Rock dam, he said.
The bighead carp, one of two species of Asian carp, pose a significant risk to the Great Lakes ecosystem due to their large size and rapid rate of reproduction.
The two species of Asian carp -- the bighead and silver -- were imported by catfish farmers in the 1970s to remove algae and suspended matter out of their ponds. During large floods in the early 1990s, many of the catfish farm ponds overflowed their banks, and the Asian carp were released into local waterways in the Mississippi River basin, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
"If I'm seeing three in an hour, that means they're growing in numbers," Engstrom said.
Engstrom is a director of the Illinois Bowfishers, a statewide group boasting 60 members and found at illinoisbowfishers.com. Besides the recreational fishing of carp, gar and buffalo fish, he said his group is sometimes asked to hunt down carp in privately owned bodies of water.
The 60 members of Engstrom's group shot and reeled in about 6,000 fish last year, he said.
The fish targeted by bowfishermen are not protected by the Department of Natural Resources. Engstrom learned to bowfish from his father as a 10-year-old.
"It's ancient," he said. "It goes back to the Indians."
Bowfishers can work from the bank or a boat. The barbed arrow is connected to a line and often a reel. Bowfisherman working during the day can spot large carp near the surface and at night use spotlights.
While bowfishermen provide a service in eradicating an unwanted foreign fish threatening the environment, that is not the main motivation for an angler like Engstrom.
"Honestly," he said, "we do it because it's fun."
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__________________ http://www.illinoisbowfishers.com
The truest measure of a man's ethics is what he does when no one is watching. -God
An unarmed man can only flee from Evil, and Evil is not overcome by fleeing from it.
- Colonel Jeff Cooper
Nice article! I see the article says Bulzeye is a 'director' of the Illinois Bowfishers. With all of hispublic outreach activities, I think histitle should be'Ambassador of Bowfishing.'
Ah, maybe just 'Court Jester'.
I really like the hat. [:-]
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I just like shooting fish, dude.
Making it public and teaching people how is just my way of getting more people to shoot with and to get beaten by at competitions.
__________________ http://www.illinoisbowfishers.com
The truest measure of a man's ethics is what he does when no one is watching. -God
An unarmed man can only flee from Evil, and Evil is not overcome by fleeing from it.
- Colonel Jeff Cooper
I have to give a lot of credit to Joe the author.
He must have taken great notes, because when we started talking, he had never heard of bowfishing, and seemed to have only the most cursoryunderstanding of the asian carp problem.
I threw a lot of info at him because he seemed so interested, and I think he put it together pretty well. He was great to work with.
...and I gota copyfor you Jason.
I'll trade it andsomevenison snack sticks from the doe you taught me to butcher forthe slug we recovered from her.
__________________ http://www.illinoisbowfishers.com
The truest measure of a man's ethics is what he does when no one is watching. -God
An unarmed man can only flee from Evil, and Evil is not overcome by fleeing from it.
- Colonel Jeff Cooper
Nice article Chris!! Congrat's.
As thorough and knowledgable as you are,I'm sure theauthor went away with a much greater understanding of the importance of what we are trying to do. Plus it's fun!!
I think histitle should be'Ambassador of Bowfishing.'
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ORIGINAL: CHZHead
I'm sure theauthor went away with a much greater understanding of the importance of what we are trying to do. Plus it's fun!!
Yep! He's a great ambassador for Bowfishing. Just remember, we're all ambassadors for bowfishing.
Di, you sound like a carpbusters ad. From Carpbusters homepage, - "Our goal is to involve everyday sportsman and like minded people in the conservation fight by making exotic invasives removal popular, fun and science based."
Green Bobber Makes the News!
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