The Bowfisher

 

Bowfishing - Getting Started

 

By Pat Haefner

Reprinted from Issue 1-September/October

 

 I started bowfishing in the early 90's on a whim after seeing a group of carp spawning in shallow flood waters off the South Skunk river in Iowa. It was attractive to me as it involved three things I really enjoy most in the outdoors. Archery, Boating and Fishing! The problem back then, I had no direction on where to start! I have a pretty good knack of improvising when in doubt, so the Pearson bow I used to deer hunt with was then transformed into a "bowfishing" bow. I taped a Zebco 33 filled with 20lb mono on the riser, drilled a hole in the back of an aluminum Easton, tied the mono through the hole, installed an old serrated broad head and off to the flood waters I went. When I shot my first fish which was swimming over a flooded gravel road, I soon realized the equipment was not going to be long term, as the broadhead disintegrated after passing through the fish and striking the gravel road.

     

   Hopefully after reading this the reader will have some knowledge on what to start with and where to get quality and safe equipment to successfully remove rough fish from US waters.

     

   Since I ended the previous paragraph speaking about breaking a broadhead, lets start with fish points or (heads,) and what most bowfishermen/women use. My suggestion is to purchase something made of steel, I have tried to use aluminum tips with very poor results. If a person is shooting fish in deep water they probably would be fine, but most rough fish are taken in shallow water where underwater objects (rocks, logs) can be fatal to an aluminum point. Three companies come to mind when I think of fish points and top quality. Muzzy, Innerloc and Sure Shot all manufacture stainless steel points with hardened replaceable tips. I have used all three brands extensively over the years and other than dulling the hardened tips, I have never had a failure. There are other brands available, but in my opinion these three are on the top.

    

   Arrow shafts are pretty straight forward (no pun intended). Plain white fiberglass arrow shafts work well in most waters. I have never had one break due to fish size. I have successfully taken grass carp over 50lbs with these. Grass carp have a tremendous amount of strength with capabilities of pulling the boat around the lake until tiring! 

If a person was planning going on a trip after monster gar, or saltwater species I would suggest purchasing Cajun brand yellow jackets, or the Forge brand - Yellow Fin and Shocker. These are multiple composites wrapped together to gain added strength and better straightness.

    

   

 

 

 

   Safety is something that needs to be a concern when bowfishing, when tying a heavy braided line to the back of an arrow to be projected into the water, the risk of the line getting tangled on equipment or even you is there. This can result in the arrow flying away from the shooter, and then back when it finds the end of the tangled line. This is called a snap back scenario that many people have had serious injuries from. One that really stands out in my memory was an individual receiving the nock end, right between the eyes at around 150 feet per second. The photos I observed were pretty alarming. Fortunately there are companies marketing safety equipment to use while shooting fish. 

AMS Bowfishing in Wisconsin have developed arrow safety slides and rings with stops to be installed in the hole that normally accepts the line to keep the heavy braided line out in front of the bow at all times. This reduces the risk of entanglement before or during the shot. When purchasing arrows please make sure they have safety slides installed or that the slides are available for purchase. Never tie directly to the back of the arrow.

   

   Reels have come a long way in the past ten years or so. If you remember earlier I stated that I taped a Zebco 33 to the bow? I did this because I didn’t know what options were available. AMS Bowfishing also makes a great reel that stores the line in a bottle between shots. These are called Retriever Reels, also commonly referred to as "bottle reels". The bottle reels require no buttons to be pushed and are very user friendly. I used the same reel for over five years after purchasing my first, keep in mind it got a work out in that span of time! There are many spin cast type reels on the market for purchase that work very well also, Muzzy has designed a reel for bowfishing along with Zebco, Proton and a few others. These spooled with a quality braided line can be a reliable reel that can take the harsh punishment dished out while bowfishing. They are extremely fast when retrieving the arrow, but require pushing the button before shooting. Not pushing the button will result more times than not, in a lost arrow. I don’t advise the spin cast for beginners. I prefer to use them in tournaments as they are very fast when retrieving a missed shot and time is crucial. Both types of reels have respective pros and cons, but if I were to choose a reel to start out with, I would suggest the AMS reel as its hassle free. One last thing with the above mentioned reels, they require no taping to the bow. They are drilled either to be screwed to the sight bracket holes of the bow, or a reel seat/mount is used with the spin cast, inserted into the existing stabilizer hole.

   

   The line that is put into the reels is as important as the reel itself. The bottle reels come with line already installed, normally its 130 lb white braided line. AMS also offers 200 and 600 lb braided line. I prefer the 200 lb as it retrieves back into the bottle a little easier than the 130 due to it larger diameter, but the 130 works fine for most cases. The 600 lb line is designed for hunting alligators and gar where most of the time there is a float attached to the line. Brownell’s also Markets a 200 and 400 lb fast flight for replacement of the AMS line in the bottle reel. For spin cast reels I prefer 100 lb Power Pro or Muzzy 150 lb as they are smaller diameters yet very strong. I once held a 20ft Express Tunnel Hull Jon Boat in the current of the Des Moines River with the 100 lb Power Pro line when my arrow caught in a snag. That’s tough stuff! One thing to keep in mind when using any of the above mentioned lines, please wear gloves due to the risk getting cut or rope burn. When it is pulled tight it can slice skin, or when a large fish is rapidly pulling out line it can burn your skin when grasped. I use a cheap pair of batting gloves to prevent any injuries, one set normally will last a season.

 

 

 

   Arrow rests have also evolved. It used to be there were very few available for bowfishing, now there is a vast array of brands and types. Instead of going through each and everyone individually I will comment on the rests I have used personally or have known someone to use. I prefer the Whisker Biscuit rest due to its ability to be shot without the bow in not so perfect positions. Keep in mind not any Whisker Biscuit will work, there is one available with more bristles (or) whiskers made for the heavy fiberglass or composite bowfishing arrows. Also I have used the F&D Dream Rest and several different types of roller rests. These all work great. Other rests include the Muzzy Fish Hook, AMS Channel Rest, AMS Wave rest, and the Bighead Bowfishing Rest to name a few. They are all recently introduced rests made of either tough plastics or stainless steel.

    

   Bows used for bowfishing can be about anything. Normally in most cases a 35 lb draw weight it sufficient to send a fiberglass arrow after pesky water vermin. I don’t advise breaking down your hunting set up to try bowfishing unless that’s the only option. Visit a local pawn shop, rummage sales, or browse EBay for a used older hunting bow that can be purchased cheap if you are at the entry level. Over the years I have shot fish with about every type of bow made from longbows, recurves, older compounds to the newer state of the art bows made for bowfishing. These bows usually sport blue water camouflage, have all stainless steel hardware, and are ergonomically forgiving due to the hand grip design and overall weight. There are a lot of options available for bows, Oneida is usually the manufacturer that first comes to mind when speaking of bowfishing bows. They produce the Osprey, some of its features allow the shooter to be able to hold the bow drawn back for an extended amount of time waiting for the perfect shot angle, or snap a quick shot off at a fleeing fish without coming to full draw and not compromising power. It also comes in a variety of fancy color patterns and is held together by all stainless steel hardware. Another great bow that is on the market is the Innerloc Hydro Strike manufactured by Pearson. It has options of no let off and 75% let off. Easily adjusted in the field for changing conditions, parallel limb design and all stainless hardware. Browning Makes a Barracuda that is probably the lightest and shortest axle to axle bowfishing bow on the market. When I picked one up the first time to shoot it I thought for sure I was holding a kids bow. Upon releasing the string from my fingers I realized even though small, it packed a good punch and power was not compromised. AMS has a new bow this year called the Fire Eagle, although I have not shot one at this time I am sure quality and accuracy were not compromised. These by far are not the only new bows available; I could ramble on all day with all the options on the market. I just wanted to let the reader know what kinds of options are available if one decided to take the plunge with a new bow.

   

   

 

 

 

    A few other items a person may want to consider to purchase would be a set of No Gluvs to fit on your bow string. These are round rubber pieces that fit on your string at your knock point. These allow shooting with out a leather glove, tab or release. They are worth every penny they cost. Fast and furious shooting will literally make uncovered fingers bleed. Polarized sunglasses are a must when shooting fish during the day; they allow a person to see into the water much better than without. The polarized lens’ cut down on the glare on the water’s surface. I prefer the cheaper Renegade brand and carry several different shades in my boat to adapt to sunny days vs. cloudy days. The cheaper brands don’t ruin your day as bad if they are dropped overboard accidentally. Line pullers are nice when shooting into clay bottom lakes or roots and brush. They can be installed on your bow in the end of the reel seat or in the stabilizer hole. When an arrow is stuck a few wraps of the line around the puller allows more leverage to pull the arrow free. It also saves on the fingers.

 

   Although there are many other products on the market, the list is endless, I hope I touched on enough to get one started. In a nutshell, a good USED bow, an AMS Retriever Reel with 200 lb line, a good quality solid arrow rest, a couple fiberglass arrows with Muzzy points and AMS Safety slides installed, you can be shooting fish.