A carp to the jaw hurts

Bumps, bruises, cuts and slime are all part of boating trips on the Illinois River these days. Spend enough time on the Illinois and you’re bound to have at least one close encounter at least one flying Asian carp.

But your odds of a collision go way up when you are actively trying to make the fish jump so you can shoot them with a bow and arrow.

Few people know that better than Jodi Barnes of Bartonville, fiancee of carp-slayer Chris Brackett. During a carp-shooting outing earlier this summer, Barnes had her jaw broken when a large silver carp slammed into the side of her face.

The collision occurred within view of Johnny’s Hideaway along the Peoria riverfront with Driven TV hosts Pat Reeve and Nicole Jones in the boat.

“We were going really slow because that seems to get them to jump really high,” Brackett said. “Jodi had shot at one and was leaning forward to reel in her arrow when another fish came out of nowhere to her right and then hit her in the jaw.”

Photographer Bill Konway actually photographed the moment of impact. Click here to see the rest of Konway’s pictures and to check out some of his other cool outdoors-related photographs.

Hours after she was hit Barnes had her jaw wired shut. She still has four more weeks of eating instant potatoes and smoothies until the broken jawbone heals.

The experience left Barnes with a vendetta against flying carp. Moments after her collision, she sent a text message
with three simple words: “Kill ‘em all!”

Incidentally, film crews will be on the water with Brackett Aug. 22-23 to shoot footage for an upcoming episode of
Hooked, which airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on the National Geographic channel.