


August 21, 2009
Cermele: Flying Carp & Broken Jaws
By Joe Cermele
In the past I've said that marlin and mako sharks are, in my opinion, the two most dangerous fish you can chase. Or at least the most likely to cause you bodily harm during the fight or once in the boat. Now I'm not so sure. Asian carp may be a contender.
In this photo (which you can click on to see more), Chris Brackett of Brackett Outdoors in Mapleton, Illinois, assesses the damage inflicted to his fiance Jodi Barnes after a carp jumped and caught her in the face during a bowfishing trip. Turns out the sucker broke ...
... her jaw, which will now be wired shut long enough that you'd never want another smoothie or straw full of blenderized mac and cheese again when it was over.
Brackett's outfit specializes in "extreme aerial bowfishing." The boat stirs up the fish. They leap. You kill them in mid-air. Pretty neat, but when 25 carp go airborne at once, you'll want a helmet, a cup, and apparently a mouth guard wouldn't be a bad idea. To see a photo gallery of this mayhem, including the actual impact shots of Jodi getting smashed, click here or on the photo.
Have you ever shot carp out of mid-air? I'm thinking I'd like to try it, though I might be more worried about getting whacked than shooting fish.
JC
Comments (29)
Sturgeon jump like that too. Boaters have actually been killed by flying sturgeon. In spite of the danger, this type of fishing looks like a lot of fun. I'd like to send a huge GET WELL to the young lady & all the best to the young couple. I hope this little incident doesn't put a damper on the engagement--if it doesn't, congratulations to the future groom--she's a keeper!
I think that would be fun with my Benelli!
As kids we would shoot carp with bows after a good morning of duck hunting, although, this looks like much more fun.
Up to 40 pounds of flying silver carp ... not sure even hockey goalie equipment is enough. Still has to be bowfishers' heaven.
What's coming next? Martial arts classes out practicing with their katanas? Fish fry to follow. Or shotgun ranges on the river? Yell, "Pull!" And a jolt of electricity sends carp airborne. Will doubles count? Would make quite the mess but not as much a mess as these things are making of the ecosystem.
Done it. Fun, untill a 30 pound algae sucking, game fish killing, carp hits you and knocks you off the boat.
I can barely hit them in the water let alone in the air.
However just last night my son was throwing lids to 5 gallon buckets in the air and I was taking aim with my stick bow. Lets just say the lids are fine. It's hard to hit stuff flying through the air.
Are these carp good eats? What do you do with them after you shoot them?
Not sure if they eat them, but they're invasive, so they want to kill as many as possible. As Alex said, they harm gamefish populations. Fun and environmentally friendly!
I hope she heals well and comes back with a vengeance. Kill 'em all!
yes they are edible, but most americans don't eat them.
would like to try this sometime.
that would hurt
Two thoughts: Extended tubes and several cases of shotshells loaded with 9 shot!
Nothin like a carp messing up your man room hours!
I think that shooting carp in mid air would be a blast but im not too handy with a bow. Think they would let me use my 20ga. instead.
True Story: We drifted over the top of hundreds of GINORMOUS! I mean HUMONGOUS, carp, breeching the water like freshwater Whales! Some of these things were 50 or 60 lbs! I whispered to my buddy " I think we're going to get MORE than what we bargained for.
" Just then, one of the whales (I mean carp) RAMMED our canoe!! The shock wave rippled through the canoe, as we nearly flipped it,from the impact and scare from the size of the fish.! The water was no more than 8” deep & you could see HUNDREDS fish, CARP & GAR laying eggs in the murky mud. WHAM!,WHAM!, FISH ON!! We BOTH hooked up to monster gar that were mating in the same area. As we engaged the fish in a mighty battle. It spooked all the surrounding fish. That's when the real fun started!! It was quite the sight!
Muddy , Bloody & WET!, from head to toe ! (index finger wounded in “hand to fin” combat) We left the frenzied fish, to finish their mating dance. We watched them from a safe distance, across the creek, and discussed our days battle with the Breeding BEAST!,
I hope she recovers from her encounter. At least it makes for one hell of a fishing story!
23 of 24
NOT GOOD! B(
6-7 of 24
Fisharated!
How about a kiss baby!
YUCK!
I couldn't agree more with some of the other comments:
Forget the thin sticks and lets get serious with some steel shot and my Red Label. Great practice for the upcoming quail season. These things are invasive and are ruining fishing stocks. Then gather the carcasses and send back to the far east where they came from. Emerald ash borer, the little bugs killing all the hemlocks in the Smokies, anything at Walmart........does anything good come from imports from the East?? Okay, maybe the ringnecks, but that has to be it!!!
I've been hit my flying fish and it hurts like hell. Poor girl, hope she's doing fine. I wathced lee n tiffiny leboski shooting these a while back, tiffiny wore a football helmet. Might be a good idea if ya taking ur girlfriend on a carp shoot to put some protection on.
Man, that sucks. Bowfishing still sounds like alot of fun though.
I had a broken jaw once. Head on collision, broke in three places including right hinge. Wired shut for 16 weeks. He's going to suffer as much as her.
If you ever want to mess a guy up, break his jaw. Just the smell of food will kill you after a couple weeks.
No nights out at the Out Back Steak Housefor a while!
It is one of thoughs things you don't think about until it happens to you. I'm sorry it put a damper on their fishing adventure and her wedding. But that sure looks like a fun sport I'd like to try.
I have seen it done many times in videos and such... really don't know how they do it. Seems like it would take some quick reaction time and some good aiming and a good lead on the target.
These Asian carp (both the silver carp and the big head carp) are getting close to entering Lake Michigan. Once there, they would have access to all the Great Lakes and would supplant the salmon and perch and other game fish.
Outdoorsmen and women need to put pressure on Great Lakes state governments to keep them OUT.
http://LakeTrek.Blogspot.com
i think that we need to deal with the foreign carp just like we deal with illegal immigrants only add in avid bowfishermen and spearfisherman
thanks , great post.
Post a Comment
Up to 40 pounds of flying silver carp ... not sure even hockey goalie equipment is enough. Still has to be bowfishers' heaven.
What's coming next? Martial arts classes out practicing with their katanas? Fish fry to follow. Or shotgun ranges on the river? Yell, "Pull!" And a jolt of electricity sends carp airborne. Will doubles count? Would make quite the mess but not as much a mess as these things are making of the ecosystem.
Sturgeon jump like that too. Boaters have actually been killed by flying sturgeon. In spite of the danger, this type of fishing looks like a lot of fun. I'd like to send a huge GET WELL to the young lady & all the best to the young couple. I hope this little incident doesn't put a damper on the engagement--if it doesn't, congratulations to the future groom--she's a keeper!
I think that would be fun with my Benelli!
Not sure if they eat them, but they're invasive, so they want to kill as many as possible. As Alex said, they harm gamefish populations. Fun and environmentally friendly!
I hope she heals well and comes back with a vengeance. Kill 'em all!
It is one of thoughs things you don't think about until it happens to you. I'm sorry it put a damper on their fishing adventure and her wedding. But that sure looks like a fun sport I'd like to try.
As kids we would shoot carp with bows after a good morning of duck hunting, although, this looks like much more fun.
Done it. Fun, untill a 30 pound algae sucking, game fish killing, carp hits you and knocks you off the boat.
I can barely hit them in the water let alone in the air.
However just last night my son was throwing lids to 5 gallon buckets in the air and I was taking aim with my stick bow. Lets just say the lids are fine. It's hard to hit stuff flying through the air.
Are these carp good eats? What do you do with them after you shoot them?
yes they are edible, but most americans don't eat them.
would like to try this sometime.
that would hurt
Two thoughts: Extended tubes and several cases of shotshells loaded with 9 shot!
Nothin like a carp messing up your man room hours!
I think that shooting carp in mid air would be a blast but im not too handy with a bow. Think they would let me use my 20ga. instead.
True Story: We drifted over the top of hundreds of GINORMOUS! I mean HUMONGOUS, carp, breeching the water like freshwater Whales! Some of these things were 50 or 60 lbs! I whispered to my buddy " I think we're going to get MORE than what we bargained for.
" Just then, one of the whales (I mean carp) RAMMED our canoe!! The shock wave rippled through the canoe, as we nearly flipped it,from the impact and scare from the size of the fish.! The water was no more than 8” deep & you could see HUNDREDS fish, CARP & GAR laying eggs in the murky mud. WHAM!,WHAM!, FISH ON!! We BOTH hooked up to monster gar that were mating in the same area. As we engaged the fish in a mighty battle. It spooked all the surrounding fish. That's when the real fun started!! It was quite the sight!
Muddy , Bloody & WET!, from head to toe ! (index finger wounded in “hand to fin” combat) We left the frenzied fish, to finish their mating dance. We watched them from a safe distance, across the creek, and discussed our days battle with the Breeding BEAST!,
I hope she recovers from her encounter. At least it makes for one hell of a fishing story!
23 of 24
NOT GOOD! B(
6-7 of 24
Fisharated!
How about a kiss baby!
YUCK!
I couldn't agree more with some of the other comments:
Forget the thin sticks and lets get serious with some steel shot and my Red Label. Great practice for the upcoming quail season. These things are invasive and are ruining fishing stocks. Then gather the carcasses and send back to the far east where they came from. Emerald ash borer, the little bugs killing all the hemlocks in the Smokies, anything at Walmart........does anything good come from imports from the East?? Okay, maybe the ringnecks, but that has to be it!!!
I've been hit my flying fish and it hurts like hell. Poor girl, hope she's doing fine. I wathced lee n tiffiny leboski shooting these a while back, tiffiny wore a football helmet. Might be a good idea if ya taking ur girlfriend on a carp shoot to put some protection on.
Man, that sucks. Bowfishing still sounds like alot of fun though.
I had a broken jaw once. Head on collision, broke in three places including right hinge. Wired shut for 16 weeks. He's going to suffer as much as her.
If you ever want to mess a guy up, break his jaw. Just the smell of food will kill you after a couple weeks.
No nights out at the Out Back Steak Housefor a while!
I have seen it done many times in videos and such... really don't know how they do it. Seems like it would take some quick reaction time and some good aiming and a good lead on the target.
These Asian carp (both the silver carp and the big head carp) are getting close to entering Lake Michigan. Once there, they would have access to all the Great Lakes and would supplant the salmon and perch and other game fish.
Outdoorsmen and women need to put pressure on Great Lakes state governments to keep them OUT.
http://LakeTrek.Blogspot.com
i think that we need to deal with the foreign carp just like we deal with illegal immigrants only add in avid bowfishermen and spearfisherman
thanks , great post.
Post a Comment