deer bow to fish bow

[deerslayer706]

Sup guys...i bought my first bow this pass year and its all setup for deer hunting...and been reading about bow fishing...What all do i need to make my deer bow to a fish bow..and whats a random guess price on everything it would cost

[barrelslime]

It can be done but unless you are good at setting up your bow, rest and sights, I would buy a seperate bow to bowfish with. You will need a bowfishing rest, and a reel of some kind. If you go with a retriever reel you are good. If you go with a Zebco 808 like reel, you will need a reel seat to attach the reel to the bow, and line for the reel. I would go with the retriever. You can find cheap compounds on ebay all day long. Find an old golden eagle, they will work great. Just look for sometheng in your draw length, MINUS a release. Shoot fingers. Dont worry about the poundage. Ideally you will somethin in the 40-60 lb range.

[bigcountryok]

Honestly I would not recommend doing that. You could go to a pawn shop and get you a recurve pretty cheap. I would stick with something 40-50lbs for a recruve.

Your hunting bow is going to be way to heavy. You will kill your shoulder, be digging arrows out of mud and stumps all day, and not be able to make the quick snap shots. (assuming its a compound) Mos people I know that shoot modern bows for bowfishing shoot 30-40lbs.

Then you will get your nice hunting bow covered in slime, blood, and mud.

You can do it in a pinch, but will have to go though reconfiguring your bow each time you change.

As far as equipment there are two types of reels generally used. Spinner and Retriever. Both have their pros and cons google it and decide for yourself. The retriever mounts to the side where your sights and quiver mount and will cost you about $60-$80 depending on the model. You can get a spinner in Zebco 808 or Shakespear T20 with reel seat that mounts in your stabilizer seat. The Zebco will run around $35 and the Shakespear around $20. The reel seats can be found around $10 and then you will need to buy the line.

Arrows vary. Make sure you get the ones with the saftey slides. Average will be about $15/ arrow. Get at least two. I like the Gene Davis style tips.

Like I said, my recommendation would be to get an old recurve and just shoot it off the shelf when you're just starting out. Once you get addicted (and you will) you'll probably wind up getting a bow designed for bowfishing such as the AMS Fishawk or Onieda Osprey.

Good luck, be safe.

[deerslayer706]

thx guys...yea its a compound..and does seem easier to just buy another bow just for fishing..

[fishpoint]

You can never have too many bows!

My favorite bowfishing bow is a 36 yr old recurve by Ben Pearson. Welcome to the addiction.