Both DeeAnn and I were brought up in a world that believed girls should grow up to be wives and mothers. Young girls were supposed to engage in ladylike behaviors and hone their skills to get a man. In DeeAnn's case, her father came from the old German school and left her at home to learn wifely things while he took her three brothers hunting and fishing. She felt left out and wanted to go do these exciting things too. When her father wasn't home, she would go out occasionally and shoot the shotgun. Growing up in an environment where hunting was an integral part of life, she was determined to get in on the action. By the time she was out on her own, she had a boyfriend who hunted and took her with him. When she met her husband he informed her that hunting was a big part of his life and he would be happy to take her with him, but he was going no matter what. She was ready to go. After several hunting trips with rifles, DeeAnn started to feel that there wasn't enough challenge in shooting. Shortly thereafter, she heard people talking about bow fishing. She was fascinated. Her husband informed her that he had too many hobbies already, so she went down and bought herself a bow. When she got home he wanted to know where his bow was. He went down and bought one too.

Like most hobbies this one took off. They rented a aluminum boat to try out and ended up buying a boat. They entered the first tournament in 1985. This boat was sold to buy another that was even more well suited to the sport. They now have a 19' Ski Barge with a platform 33 inches above the gunnel (4 feet above the water) The boats are rigged with platforms on the front to shoot from. The platform affords the shooter higher visibility and better trajectory. They use two trolling motors, one as a backup, for spotting fish when they are not spawning.

As DeeAnn and her husband got more involved in shoots she came to the attention of the then Bear Jennings Archery company and they offered to sponsor her in a team tournament with Cliff White. The Great Lakes Bow Fishing Championship is held in Michigan. The contestants can shoot carp, gar and even goldfish (some up to 5 pounds) and teams bring in from 2000 to 4000 pounds of fish in a tournament. Unlike a boat tournament on a lake, in this tournament you wade and drive a truck from spot to spot. DeeAnn says its quite a sensation when you step on a catfish spawning bed and one of those huge catfish grabs your foot. You can see the scuff marks on your boots when you get out. The contestants shoot fish, string them up and drag them onto the bank. Then they load them into the truck and keep on going. As you can imagine, bowfishing like this takes skill and stamina. DeeAnn proved to all the men in the tournament that she could compete at their level. She also used her head, and convinced Cliff that if they built a plywood ramp, they could get the fish into the truck faster and with less effort. When times up, you have to unload your fish into garbage cans, weigh in the cans, and dump them into the loader. Needless to say this is a messy proposition as well as exhausting. When DeeAnn initially arrived at this tournament the men were standoffish, wondering what this woman was doing there. By the time the tournament was over, DeeAnn and Cliff had taken 2nd Place and she was recognized as a full participant, not relying on her partner to carry the load. For the next four years, their team finished in the top 10 of 200 to 225 teams.

Bowfishing Magazine did an article on DeeAnn that year. When she returned the next year she was overwhelmed to find that these same men who would barely acknowledge her were coming up and telling her how this article had enriched their lives and their marriages. They had asked their wives to get involved in their sport and they had been spending many more enjoyable hours together. DeeAnn felt satisfaction that her efforts had been inspirational.

DeeAnn has expanded her bowfishing to include several species. She and her husband began participating in the Kirby Park Slough Shoots for small sharks and rays. The Bay lured them ever farther for larger and larger sharks. They would go out 12 to 15 miles to look for fins, then they created the "carpsicle". They take the carp, mulch them up, and freeze them into blocks. These blocks were placed in chum baskets and flagged. Then you wait, tied to the platform for a shot. The shark takes out the line with an attached buoy and then it's hand over hand to bring them in. A good sized shark is 6 to 7 feet long. When they have their dinner they sometimes do tagging for the Fish and Game. DeeAnn says you see whales, porpoises, and other fishes swimming by and it makes a great day.

Around the Fourth of July the Saint Lawrence Seaway in Northern New York has its carp tournament. DeeAnn's fish of 40+ pounds was not far behind first place at 50 pounds. DeeAnn goes whenever she can. Bowfishing is her spring sport and keeps her in shape for bow hunting in deer season, for her it is a year round sport. DeeAnn has also bagged two black bears, a 5x5 elk, and a caribou in Quebec with the Inuit Indians. She shots a 65 pound bow for game and a 45 pound bow for fish. The lower poundage is necessary when you have to draw and shoot a lot, sometimes over 200 shots in a tournament.

I wanted to find out what is involved in getting started in bow shooting so I visited the Hunters Lodge Archery Shop in Upper Lake, run by Chuck Worthen. A factory trained archery instructor, Chuck offers professional bow tuning, custom made arrows, clothing, bows both modern and traditional, videos, and guided carp shoots. His shop has an indoor archery range where archers can practice or participate in weekly shooting leagues. Chuck tells me that you can purchase a decent bow for about $200.00 and the rest of your equipment from $50.00 to $100.00. Of course, you can run up quite a tab if you want custom equipment or opt for a high tech bow with increased kinetic energy. Chuck carries bows for the whole family and in fact has many families participating in the Lake County area. While I was there a father and son came in to practice. The boy was about 10 and handled himself like a professional. It was good to see that this was something that they could share. Chuck and his wife and daughters meet up with other families on the lake on weekends to shoot, picnic, and otherwise enjoy the lake in their boats. If you have questions about bowfishing or want to participate in either of their Clearlake tournaments, you can contact Chuck at (707) 275-2697, Cliff White at (530) 877-7907 or check your yellow pages for hunting specialists.

Columnist Joan Carter co-owns, with her husband, Dan Carter's Guide Service.