'Redneck fishing at its finest'

~ Sportsmen use bows on invading Asian carp in Illinois River.

BARTONVILLE, Ill. -- As soon as the motor revved, the sky came alive. Asian carp littered the air behind Chris Brackett's boat, offering numerous point-blank shots.

Finally Brackett let loose his bowstring, sending fluorescent line through the evening air and an arrow through the gut of an acrobatic silver carp.

At almost the same moment another carp flopped into the boat, narrowly missing driver J.P. Becker of Washington. The flopping fish sent blood and slime flying, dotting the once-white shirt of cameraman Jimmy Lee with red circles of blood.

Welcome to the wild world of bowhunting for Asian carp -- a messy, exciting pursuit gaining in popularity along the Illinois River. As populations of nonnative carp have skyrocketed, creative anglers have turned to new and innovative ways to tap into this otherwise problematic species.

And while snagging is closely regulated, bowfishing for Asian carp is legal year-round, up and down the river.

Bartonville resident Brackett finds bowhunting for fish so enjoyable he ordered a boat from TNT Marine that's customized for carp. His 20-foot-long, 70-inch-wide Triton has two seats on the rear deck to provide better shooting angles.

Not that you need a customized craft to shoot carp. Greg Lingenfelter of Canton and his buddies have spent a good part of this summer bowfishing from a standard bass boat.

"We get all the shots we want," Lingenfelter said. "Sometimes it's like trying to shoot into a flock of blackbirds with a BB gun."

That's part of the appeal for archers, who are accustomed to waiting in the woods all season for one or two chances at a trophy buck or big gobbler.

'Most addicting thing I've ever done'

Skewering a flying fish is no easy task, but connecting is exhilarating, said Brackett, who has produced a carp-shooting video he plans to air at a later date.

"It's the most addicting thing I've ever done," said Brackett, who hit seven carp during one outing.

Standard bowfishing equipment includes a reel and a line-holding jug that attach to the bow. Line runs from the reel to a sharp-tipped fish arrow.

Brackett and Lingenfelter both use compound bows and crank down the devices to as low as 45 pounds. Lingenfelter stressed the need to shoot with a release and wishes dearly he had a bow with 80 percent let-off -- a mechanism that allows archers to hold a bow at full draw longer.

"Your arms just get to burning back there holding the bow," Lingenfelter said.

Safety also is a concern. Collisions with Asian carp can be dangerous, costly and painful.

Missouri carp researcher Duane Chapman -- who calls carp shooting "redneck fishing at its finest" -- mounted boards on his boat to keep flying fish from hitting the throttle. Otherwise, he said, speaking from experience, "Things can get out of control almost instantly."