It is the most fun you can have not sleeping. I have done it for years and it never is boring!

I use a fifty # recurve, any make will do. I used compound for a few years but found shooting instinctively allowed me to hit more carp, shoot faster, hit moving fish, and hold the bow for longer periods while looking for a fish to shoot. My son went last summer and he shot a thirty-five pound recurve and when the fish were not right on the surface, he got little penetration even with new sharp muzzy fish points.

I would highly recommend the bottle type reels that are available. They have no drag, allow for second shots with the dumber fish, both unlike a closed faced reel that screws into your stabilizer hole. Bottle reels dont accidentally get tripped so that the line wont feed and bring your arrow right back to you. (or break off and be lost forever in river muck)

BUT ANY SET-UP WILL GET YOU OUT THERE HAVING FUN.

Those are some nice carp above! My personal best is 26#.

In NJ, we can shoot any non-game fish and the channel cats are not only big but also great eating.

Greg