We Michiganders are no strangers to adversity. When confronted with lemons, we know exactly what do: We recall them. Or blame the UAW. So it is with the challenge of Asian carp emanating from the brownish backwaters of neighboring Illinois. Instead of fretting and fuming about the threat they pose to our beloved Great Lakes, we propose an exciting new form of outdoor recreation: Sporting carp shooting.

It adds one more attraction to Michigan’s already diverse package of enticements for sportsmen. Imagine yourself cruising along on one of the Lakes. Suddenly dozens of carp begin leaping into the air all around you. Some might be shocked or frightened by the occurrence. But not you. You are a member of Sporting Carp Unlimited.

You see flying carp for what they really are: Targets of opportunity. Your trusty 12-gauge is at the ready. With a single, fluid motion you raise your weapon from hip to shoulder, swinging the barrel with the arc of a selected carp as it soars against the sky. Ka-boom! Where once there was the scaly, airborne body of an Asian carp, now there is nothing but sucker lips and a caudal fin.

Score one! Your loader proudly records a tally mark on the score sheet and smiles knowingly while passing you a fresh box of magnum #6 shot. But this is no time for celebration. There are dozens more leaping carp to deal with.

Again and again, your autoloader swings into action -- Ka-boom! Ka-boom! Ka-boom! -- spitting lethal charges of bismuth into the school of soaring fish. Now the air is filled with carp scales. Plummeting carcasses and intestines fall harmlessly to the water from which they came.

Two, three, four more X's go on the tally sheet! And then, as quickly as they appear, the wily carp dive for cover, disappearing into the depths. The frenzy is over. But they will come again. And so will the sporting pleasure they provide. Because you are a member of Sporting Carp Unlimited.

Back on land, you and your fellow SCU members will likely share a cold beverage and compare score sheets. And of course relive the adventure: "I swear I had one, he must have gone 40 pounds... scales the size of half-dollars. He was dead in my sight... but I decided to let him go. He was just too beautiful to take..."

Where else but PURE MICHIGAN can you boat, hunt and fish -- all at the same time?

What's that? You'd like to join this elite organization? Click Here to Join.