Yeah, I’ve got a problem with this…

They say invasive species. And they’re right. I say highly intelligent, elusive, challenging…downright one of the most formidable game fish that exists today. And I’m right too.

The common carp has been introduced to waters across our land, and in many cases it has become a nuisance. Destroying vegetation, turning grass flats into mud flats. The fish is on a number of state wildlife management organizations’ invasive species lists. On this we all agree.

But, my colleagues and I have also heard of bowfishing (as well as other like-kind slaughters) where multitudes of carcasses were dumped in nearby refuse bins, or simply left in an obscure backwater to rot. In other words, we’re not necessarily buying the good-guys-cleaning-up-a-problem image that participants in the massacres are trying to convey.

Can’t we find a better way?