I had gone bowfishing with a friend for the first time 1 month before and caught 19 carp from 2lb to 5lb. It was so much fun I returned to Big Bear with a friend.
We arrived at Grout Bay about 10 am. Air temp. was 80 degrees-ish and was a very pleasant day. Today was an exciting day because it was the maiden voyage of my new 11 foot float tube/raft. We put in across the water from Captain John's Marina, from shore. The shoreline was about 40 yards from the parking lot, and easy access down a dirt trail. We launched right into carp country.
Grout bay was thick with weeds and the fish were all in the weeds. I started rowing out into the water as Jon stood in the front against the lean bar on the raft with bow and arrow. You could see frequent swirls and fish tailing on occasion. The fish were skittesh and would scatter with noise and movement.
John took his first shot and found it was not an easy task to shoot an arrow at a submerged fish. We shot arrows to our hearts content and probably hit .05% of our shots. I have to admit we really sucked. We had a lot of fun, that's really what it's all about. No one got hurt, no lost arrows ,and no holes in the boat.
It seems the locals want the carp out of the lake and are happy whether you ate them or threw them away. They compete with the other fish for food and over populate the lake. I did not have the heart to throw them away. I had fileted the fish and found 3 rows of fine bones running through the entire filet not to include the rib bones. There seems to be no way to get the bones out. One could spend hours with a hemostat and pull out the bones one by one.
With so much fish I decided to sear a small fresh piece with zatarans seasoning and olive oil. To my surprise it tasted very much like an earthy flavored catfish. I dont really know how to describe it otherwise. Although I like catfish and most other fish, this was not a taste I fancy, but for you catfish lovers, it may be something you like...pending you can tolerate the bones. I gave it all to several ladies at work, who had some good recipes. I'm sure someone can make them taste good.
Big Bear Carp 8/27/10
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