So a buddy and I went to Illinois to bow fish the Illinois river between Henry and Chillicothe. We had a blast. the river was VERY high and we had no idea where to go. But we did shoot about 50 Gar and a dozen Carp. It was the very first time that I have ever done this and had a ton of fun. Now I would like to do it again. I need advice on where I can go in Southern Wisconsin or Northern Ill? Lakes or Rivers?? Time of year?? I do not have a setup to shoot at night so I have to go during the day. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
You did good! Where you find the gar, in backwaters or on the main river? When the river is high like this, backwaters/flooded fields are the places to hit. You can find gar/dogfish/grass carp and common carp in the backwaters and the water clarity is way better than in the main river. If you want to get into the jumping silver carp you need to be in flowing water like tributaries or the main river. Last year Chillicothe was full of silvers (late summer). There's a bowfishing tourney on June 20th on Wonder Lake in Mchenry County. (northern IL) It's from 6am to 12 noon. You need a boat or canoe. It's only 20.00 per person and there's free food and door prizes. It's a fun shoot. Wonder Lake is otherwise private so you can only bowfish there during the tourney. We also have a 20 hour long tournament on Lake Shelbyville on June 13-14th. It's big 12 tournament (weigh your biggest 4 gar, 4 carp, 4 buffalo). You can just shoot the daylight portion of it if you don't have lights. It's a pretty laid back tourney. For lakes and rivers to shoot in N. IL, there's places near Joliet on the Kankakee and Des Plaines Rivers that can be really good. I think Rock Cut State Park near Rockford is open to bowfishing for a couple of months. I've never bowfished that lake tho' so I'm not sure how good it is.
We found the gar near Cillocothe. There were tons of them in the shallows where it had flooded. Carp too. I shot one Bighead two silver carp and a few common carp. Yeah the river was real high, in fact we were shooting in three feet of water over the camp grounds. Thanks for the info Christine. I might be down for the tourney at Wonder Lake in Mchenry County. Let me talk to my buddy. He may want to go too.
Ok here are some pics from my first trip bowfishing. My first Bowfishing kill Finally a Carp! 2nd Carp. Head Shot. More Carp.
