I got to meet up with Mark S. and his friend from out of town, and Chris (bulzeye) today for some bowfishing in new waters. We had a slow start due to the weather. It was rainy or drizzling for the early part of our outing, and we had a steady breeze blowing out of the south-west which made seeing fish difficult to say the least.

I was in a canoe, and Chris, Jim and Mark S. were in Mark's boat.

We ended up taking a total of 22 fish for the day (well, really only about5 1/2 hours).

We tried to get some video, but it didn't come out.Maybe next time.

What a great place! It was a backwater-area that covered at least a couple hundred acres and was just loaded with carp, buffalo and a few gar. It was especially nice because the bottom was either soft muck or sandy-clay, so our tips never got dulled or damaged from misses and pass-throughs hitting rocks.I can't wait to go back again!Whenwe do, we'll let everyone here know as soon as we can so you have lots of notice. I did pretty well out of a canoe, so any small boat or canoe will do. I didn't even have a motor, and I had no problems getting around,seeing fish and getting plenty of good shots. A very productive spot.

Mark with the first fish of the day.



Mark and Jim taking aim at a buff.


Me on Christine's canoe, modified for bowfishing. Note the push-pole setup.

I can honestly say that until now, I have NEVER seen anyone stand and shoot from a canoe!! Looks like your hand is doing well! Nice to see you back at it!

Johnny B and I each drove approx. 2 hours yesterday (me heading south and him heading north) and met north of Kankakee. We decided that we could arrange a day trip bowfishing in or around the area (Des Plaines perhaps?) and make a day of it. Maybe even meet up with a few fellow bowfishers? What da ya say....?

It would be really nice to see you and Johnny B. again Diana. Let us know when you can make it, and I'm sure at least a couple of us will meet you.

Like the canoe-idea, huh? It was a very productive way to bowfish. And it wasn't hard. We really wanted to show people another way to get on the water. It was alot of fun. Thanks to Christine for letting me borrow it.

I had a good time too. Even though the weather was on and off, the breeze did allow us to drift over the shallows without having somebody always manning the troller. Congrats to Jim on his first fish ever with a bow, a decent buffalo.

I kept waiting for Bowman to fall in the water from his perch high atop the canoe, but it never happened. He must have the balance of a cat.

Mark, thanks for sharing your spot. It's full of fish, and good times. Also,thanks for having me back to the house afterwards. I enjoyed my visit with your family and friends. I look forward to making that a regular thing.

Looks like a great time! Sorry we missed it.

It was a lot of fun and I'm glad you guys could make it! Unfortunately it was difficult to see the fish with the weather. And there certainly would have been more in the boat if I wasn't so out of practice! I think the biggest fish of the outing was just over 6 lbs. On a good day there are usually several 10 lbers. in the boat. 22 fish was disappointing when last year I was used to50 fish on average between 2 guys.

Steve's right, it's an easy spot to get to and fish, even with a canoe. I've never seen someone multi-task while balancing standing up in a canoe like that. The wind usually is blowing in my favor and we just drift through the shallows. No troller needed! This area is fishable all year long and I'm thinking it might be possible to see fish all the way into winter. Did I mention how great this area is at night?

My buddy Jim who came with us is hooked bad I'm told and is going to give it a try in Utah where he's from. Thanks for posting the great pictures Steve!

That would be great. THis place is big enough for several boats at one time, and the whole area is less than 4 feet deep, often less than 2. It's also just 20 minutes from the party at Mark's place.

I've only seen one other person--Lou Meglio--stand up in a canoe to shoot like that. Takes a lot of balance to pull off. I need to get someone to paddle me around like that.




Congrats on the fish yesterday. I spent allplaying with a sledgehammer, shovel and a rototiller. I'd have rather been shooting carp.

One of those paddler-type-guys would be pretty handy.
I think I recognize him. What does he charge?

I lost track of the times we saw Bowmanhurriedly attempting to simultaneously hook the push-pole to his beltloop and grab his bow from between his knees without looking so hewouldn't losetrack the fish he'd just spotted. We knew he nailed another oneeach timewe heard his signature evil laugh.

Bowman'sgot his routine down pretty good, and even though our boat had a head start on the water, he stillhauled inas many fish as we did, proving once again that the canoe can be a very effective bowfishing tool in calm water.
(In all fairness, we let the new guy do a lot of the shooting, and we drifted faster over the heavily populated areas faster than Bowman did since we were catching more wind. Yeah, that's it.)

The 40 foot cabin cruiser that came down the river at full throttle did not provideideal conditions for canoeing, but we only lost sight ofBowman once or twice in the 3 foot rollers.