Has anyone Tried BOWFISHING?

I have a boaw fishing setup that is quite outdated, so i dropped by bass pro last night, and the cheapest one i could find was $500.  

Mike

You don't need one that high tech. Bow fishing is low tech. No sights, no quiver, no camo. You only need a heavy duty bow fishing arrow rest ~ $20. Shots are 3 to 20 yards, most are about 10 yards. The old compound bow you see at garage sales and the used rack the the archery store work best, unless you are in it for competition. The older bows are longer tip to tip (42"+) , so you can shoot it with fingers rather than a release. I shoot an old Fred Bear Whitetail II ( 20 years old +) or my old Oneida Screamin' Eagle (15 years old+) for carp.


My new Bowtech is only about 30" tip to tip and pinch your fingers like a visegrip. It will never see carp guts in it's lifetime.


Check out CL.

http://sacramento.craigslist.org/spo/1479365588.html

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/spo/1484689934.html

Troutnut, you are freakin awesome bro!! Thanks for all the input now I am getting ready, I know most asian eat carp, back home common carp and grass carp are quite a catch, I guess in third world country like mine they are good eating I caught one a few years back cooked it as soup not the same as I had back home but sure is edible beside I have quite some bunch of asian buds that are willing to take part on the catch. again thanks bro!!

I certainly think we should get more people into the sport

I would love to do this on a stand up paddle board 

I would love to do this on a stand up paddle board 

That would totally be the way to do it, hunker down to sneak up, stand up to spot and shoot.

I used to bowhunt carp in Montana and Northern Utah before moving here.  I did it from shore or in boats, I must admit I never thought of it from a kayak. 

I have used a recurve and a 45 lb compound.  When shooting over deep water the compound was perhaps not the best choice.  If the retrieve line even hung up for a split second second, the line would break, and the arrow lost.  I have always used a very simple large diameter spool (about 8 inches in diameter).  Mine had arms on it that could be tapped to the limbs of the bow.  I mounted it below the arrow in front of my bow (left) hand, mine was not the shoot through type.  I felt most comfortable shooting in shallow water with muddy bottoms, usually in the cattails. 

As others above have noted the arrow tip with the two heavy wire barbs absolutely suck when having to pull back an arrow if you miss in heavy cover.   These tips even suck when you have to remove a fish because to reverse or remove the barbs you have to completely unscrew the tip.  The toggle tip arrows are easier to remove from fish but still hard to pull back from a miss in cover.  On removing fish I arrowed,  I usually just used a big knife and cut the fish in half to get it off the arrow.  Yes it is messy, but its fast.  And then I would gently release the fish.  As a bowfisher for carp I was into the catch and release method. 

On removing fish I arrowed,  I usually just used a big knife and cut the fish in half to get it off the arrow.  Yes it is messy, but its fast.  And then I would gently release the fish.  As a bowfisher for carp I was into the catch and release method.