U.S Open Bow-Fishing this weekend at Bass Pro

[Ketchup]

The info leading up to this event grows daily. Now i read about them having carp burritos, smoked carp, carp in a cup, and so on. Thinking i may venture into Bass Pro tomorrow between 10/7 and see what this carp tasting is all about.

[Ketchup]

Got a hankering to taste some fried carp?

Or would a carp burger, carp sausage or chili-con-carp be more likely to land on your plate?

You'll have a chance to try all of the above during the first-ever World's Bowfishing Fair on Friday and Saturday at Springfield's Bass Pro Shops.

The Bowfishing Fair showcases the growing sport of hunting nongame fish with a bow and arrow and is part of the third annual U.S. Open Bowfishing Championship that's being held on five area lakes this weekend.

Carp is a popular table fare in Europe. But Mark Morgan, associate professor of the School of Natural Resources at the University of Missouri, hopes to sway Missourians to give carp a try.

He and a chef from Columbia will be cooking up a variety of carp-based dishes Saturday from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. as part of his campaign to "Eat MO Carp."

"The fish we'll be dealing with are bighead carp and silver carp — the one that's famous for jumping," Morgan said. "But any of our recipes will work for common carp and grass carp that you have down in your area."

Because carp is a very bony fish, Morgan said the key is getting the fish into a ground, boneless form. On Friday, Missouri Department of Conservation will show how to clean carp and will cook free samples for the public.

On Saturday, Morgan's crew will offer carp-in-a-cup "walking tacos" for $3, carp chili for $3, carp burgers and sausages for $4 and carp burritos for $5. Money raised will help promote the Eat MO Carp campaign to market carp as tasty food.

"There's a larger movement taking place where eating invasive species is a tasty way to deal with an environmental issue," Morgan said. He notes that silver carp and bighead carp populations are exploding in many U.S. lakes and rivers, with detrimental impacts on native fish.

"Once you get carp into ground form that's 100 percent boneless, you can put it into just about anything where you'd use ground meat."

[Ketchup]

If you're curious to learn more about bowfishing, there will be numerous booths, exhibits and hands-on activities at the Bowfishing Fair, from 10-a.m.-7 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Among them:

•Vendor booths displaying the latest bowfishing gear.

•Opportunities to try bowfishing and test gear by shooting at targets in the pond at Sunshine and Campbell.

•Free bowfishing seminars led by the experts, including winners of the U.S Open and World Championships.

•Carp cooking demos and free fried carp samples.

•Opportunities to purchase burgers, sausage links and chili made with carp.

•Conservation displays that explain why removing nongame and invasive fish benefits water quality and gamefish populations and how these harvested fish are put to good use as environmentally friendly fertilizer.

•Bow shooting contests.

•Live music by the Mark Chapman Band.

•Opportunities to meet Brian "Pigman" Quaca, host of Boss Hog and Aporkalypse; Mike Hunsucker, host of Heartland Bowhunter; Kevin VanDam, 4-time Bassmaster Classic winner and 7-time Bassmaster Angler of the Year; and other celebs.

•A dunk tank, proceeds going to the Bowfishing Association of America.

[ollie]

Your really promoting this hard!

[Ketchup]

You bet. Anything that gets guys on the water, im a fan. And if they learn something new, im a fan.

And, free carp and be in the presence of KVD. Yep, im a fan.

And, i dont even bow fish. Go figure. Weird i would promote this huh? Stranger things happen.

[mjk86]

I think people would be more willing to eat carp if it were called anything besides carp. Carp in a cup? Lol! I saw a bunch of carp really shallow while bass fishing the other day. It made me really think about getting into it. Just one more thing to spend money on. :/

[Riverwhy]

I fried Bighead carp a couple of weekends ago and it was very good. Meat was white and mild . We found no small bones to deal with, just a few big ones.

[Seth]

I've had fried bigheads and some that were pressured cooked and made in to fish patties. Both were very good. The fried fish were cleaned so that you had a few big bones that pulled out to give you a boneless piece of fish.

[5bites]

I'd like to try carp a few ways to see if I liked it. I love fish and am less picky than some so who knows.

I did see a bunch of bow fishing boats on the road today around Carthage and Joplin.

I saw this on facebook. This would be an awesome sight fishing boat!

[Ketchup]

Thats John Paul Morris there with KVD. That boat was slick. Its Nitro's new Z21 bow fishing rig. Lots of boat to fling arra's, but looks good getting there.

There were 28 states competing this weekend. A team from Clinton Mo. won it including a 60 pound carp. Huge