Hammett Valley Fishing Adventures provides a number of different opportunities for anglers on the Snake River, one of the most unique includes bowfishing.
"It is probably our number one that people love to do because they have never tried it," said Tim Parrish of Hammett Valley Fishing Adventures. "We take out families and buddies, and we shoot until two in the morning."
The best time for bowfishing happens at night as Hammett Valley uses lights to illuminate the shallow water in the Snake River. Anglers shoot invasive species like carp and sucker fish that hang out in the grass; there are no bag limits for these fish.
Archers use a bow with a reel attached so when their arrow lands, they can reel in the catch. It provides a fun experience because you don't have to be shy about letting it fly as long as you identify the correct fish.
"If you are a hunter, you practice all year, and you get one arrow at a big game animal," said Parrish. "When you go bowfishing at night, about 400 arrows get shot off this bow at night. You might only shoot three carp, but there are 400 arrows getting released a night."
Marshall Carruthers and his family took me out on their boat, and every member of their family shot a carp, including their mother Molly, both of their boys Jackson and Jamison, and their 11-year-old daughter Juliet.
"When you shoot an arrow into a fish, and you see the arrow start wiggling and swimming off, and the pull of it, it’s like bass fishing," said Jamison Carruthers. "It mixes regular fishing and archery, which are both huge loves of mine."
Marshall Carruthers came to Idaho while serving in the Air Force and is now retired. However, the family stayed here and Marshall works as a guide with Hammett Valley. It's a family bonding experience when the family gets together at night to shoot some carp.
"It’s been a big part of our family for the past four years," said Jamison Curruthers, who enjoyed seeing his sister land a carp. "I love seeing her excited to shoot fish, I love seeing mom shoot fish and I love helping all of them get them in the boat, it is a blast."
The experience also involved catching the sunset on the water. As we waited for the sun to go down, we saw fish jumping, a deer, a flock of pelicans, and even two animals in the distance we thought were moose.
Hammett Valley Fishing Adventures also takes anglers fly fishing, conventional fishing and sturgeon fishing. We went out for a magical day of sturgeon fishing a few years ago, and you can check out that story here.
