Bow-fishing on TV
PROSPECT — Tim Huff thought it was a joke.
Instead, he's going on TV.
Huff, 64, of Prospect charters small bow-fishing excursions with his boat on Lake Arthur. He enables people to shoot at carp with a bow and arrow at night.
“That's the best time to find them,” Huff said. “We shine a light into the water ... The're big enough that you're able to see them.”
Huff will demonstrate what he's talking about during an episode of Erie Extremes, a fishing show. His episode will air at 9 a.m. March 7 on FOX 53.
The same episode will be shown on Channel 12, an NBC affiliate in Erie, at 7 p.m. that day.
Erie resident Dave Lefebre is host of the show, which is in its fifth season.
“We like to take on challenges, something we've never done before, and we ask people to email in,” Lefebre said. “We received 600 emails last year, including about a dozen that involved bow-fishing.
“I shot a bow and arrow when I was 16 or 17 years old, but I've never shot at fish.”
Lefebre said he started calling around, trying to set up a bow-fish hunt, and came across Huff's number.
“I thought it was a joke,” Huff said of fielding the phone call. “I asked the guy if this was on the level and he convinced me that it was.”
Next thing he knew, he took his boat and equipment up to Erie and took Lefebre out on Presque Isle Bay.
“Tim had all of the equipment, the bow, arrows, lights, all of that,” Lefebre said. “But we couldn't find any carp. I had no idea how to do this anyway. He showed me everything and I was able to shoot at some gar, but they were much smaller.
“He convinced me to come down to Lake Arthur. We wound up doing that and I was able to shoot at some carp.”
Usually a daytime angler, Lefebre enjoyed the experience. The episode was taped in August.
“Just the nighttime sounds in the wilderness, it was a little foggy and spooky on the lake ... I loved the atmosphere,” Lefebre admitted.
And Huff loves bow-fishing.
“I've always shot a long bow,” Huff said. “You go on the water and shoot at carp, it really is challenging. It's like anything else, though. You get better and more accurate the more you do it.”
Huff takes two people at a time on his boat for two hours at a time.
“I'll get out a couple of times a week,” he said. “Once the winter weather breaks, I can start scheduling people.
“It's a different type of fishing and people enjoy it. Shooting into water at a moving target isn't easy. Basically, you're hunting fish.”
As for his experience taping a TV program?
“Definitely different, but I enjoyed it,” Huff said. “It gets the word out and that's a good thing.”
