Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Around the Campfire => Topic started by: Hillbilly on June 01, 2009, 10:59:36 pm
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Went down to Chris Cade's (Mechslasher) in SC this weekend, and had a blast. We did a bunch of bowfishing and got quite a few gar and one carp. That was my first serious try at bowfishing, and I'm definitely hooked now-just like hunting, and those gar are more like a big lizard than a fish. We got a couple that were just shy of four feet long-these gar are big, mean critters, and a challenge to hunt. We also each got a black-phase female, pretty freaky looking critters when they're coal black. Took me awhile to get that refraction thing figured out, but we finally got so we were nailing them pretty regular. The old ash selfbow did good on the fish-we're gonna try 'em with primitive arrows soon and see how they do. We threw out some juglines and caught a nice mess of catfish Friday night-I just got done snarfing down a bunch of cat fillets, hushpuppies, and fried taters, I'm about to pop. Saw ospreys hunting, a bald eagle, and a newborn fawn in the woods along the lake one morning. Great trip and a great time-life is good down in the Heart of Dixie.
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Looks like to much fun.. ;)
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Couple more pics, we forgot to take a pic of our mess of jugged-up catfish:
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Oh man you guys are living the good life. Looks like a blast and Those catfish fillets made me hungry just reading about them.
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Looks like a fine time Steve! your out there doin it - I need more of that :).
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Looks like a good time. You got a few bow backs there too. Justin
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sure looks like fun. Sorry I missed it...and catfish fillets too? :o Looks like some nice bow skins there!
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Did you Guys eat the Gar??? I like Gar when it's cooked right...sorta like Walleye....Looks like you had a Blast...wish I was there....and tell Chris it's nice to see that He does own a pair of Real Britches.......... >:D
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Pat- I should have guessed that you like CATfish....;D Those gar skins would look good on a bow, but they're just too thick and stiff to work, I think. It's a shame too, because the biggest one was almost four feet long. I skinned a couple (with tin snips and a hacksaw) and the skin is literally like a sheet of tin. We bounced arrows off of several that weren't hit straight-on-they have some serious armor, and the scales are an integral part of the skin and won't come off like they do on other fish; you'd have to snip each one off with tin snips. Might make good arm guards or handle wraps though-I'll have to see what I can come up with from my skins. Those scales are razor sharp, too. When they're mad, they flare them out and start whacking at you with their tail. I dropped one in the bottom of the boat, and while I was watching out for the teeth, (it bit me on the knee anyway :) ) it slapped my foot with its tail and laid the side of my foot open like you had hit it with a stick with a handful of razor blades glued to it. Haven't tried eating any of them yet, but the backstrap meat looks really good-more like snake or something than fish. I've heard that it tastes like lobster.
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Looks like a fun time fellers wish I was there.Ron
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Man that looks like a blast,Glad to see live is good there also. ;) :)I haven't done that in a long time but got to get back at it.I like catfish to. :) :)
Pappy
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Pappy, you got gar down there? Yeah Chris has got me "hooked" on catfish jugging, too. I was already hooked on eating them. I stopped on the way home and bought some foam noodles and circle hooks.....
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Looks like ya'll had fun. I wish I could have made it. I was too busy at the lease trying to get bit by a big ol' mocassin to make it. Steve, those Gar were good eating size, ya'll missed out on some good meat. I think it taste between lobster and scallops. I make a dried jerky out of it that is good too.
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Yep, them are good eating size gar - kinda reminds me of gater tail. I saw somewhere that a guy had made a quiver outa one of em - it looked kinda OK ::).
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Chris: Looks like those gar would be twice as hare to shoot as a carp! Good job and great fun! Joe
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Man that looks great. Now I have to get me one of those spool rigs and give it a go. Looks like great fun.
Even better if they are good eating. always thought they were trash fish and once ya shot em ya just threw em back in. part of what kept me from giving it a go. that and not having the setup.
Looks like y'all had a great time of it.
wade
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we definately had a blast! the rain from earlier that week caught up with us sat. morning. the water was fairly clear fri. afternoon but when we came back from breakfast it was muddy as all get out. that really threw a monkey wrench in my plans and kept us from going up river where the prime bowfishing is located. we did fairly well anyway, even went to the main lake to hunt some clear water and where the game wardens critiqued my life jackets. needless to say, they were not impressed with them. steve almost went after a beaver one time. it was a medium size rodent and there is no telling where we would have ended up after if finished dragging us all over the river.
i think i was just telling steve about hunting that stretch of woods when the fawn jumped up and gave us the dirty look. thinking of going back sat. afternoon and hoping the water will be clear.
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I woulda stuck that beaver if you'd take it off the arrow for me....;D It could be dangerous getting towed by a beaver with no foam in your life jackets, though.......
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No foam??? ??? ::) ::) :-\ ;D
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That's what the nice po-leece man told us. ;D
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my life jackets had "seen there best day" several years ago. i'm just glad they didn't try and blow the safety whistle. :P the carp gar slime would have tasted great.
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Yea we have some serious beast's here in good ole east Texas, They pull monsters out of the Sabine river, Caddo Lake and most other lakes around here also hold some big fish. 100lbs plus I believe the record is 213lb heres a link http://www.kansasangler.com/4fishingnews/photographs/040427texasrecordgar.jpg