how do you?

[QTompkins2005]

I bow hunt, and i fish, but i've never bow fished. How do you bow fish? i'd like to try it

[thlhnd1]

Start out buy buying you a good fishing arrow.After that you can go several ways.Either buy you a good reel and attachment(they screw into where you would put your stabilizer)or many varieties of wheels that you would tape on or attach to the front of your bow.It matters what kind of bow you use(i.e compound or long or recurve).If you get the reel type get a good reel for it.A good ol zebco works great.I use a zebco 404 with braided line,like you would use for hooks on a trotline.Put enough line on where you you will have plenty to work with and still flow free,like a 100 yards or so.At the end put a double swivel the kind that spins on the top and bottom.Then Use some of line that you have left from your reel and put 15 to 24 inches of that on the bottom of the swivel.Then attach to your arrow at the top there should be a hole in the arrow for this.Make sure it is real secure.Then you are ready to go find fish.Carp are a good fish to start with.Make sure you read your regs to find out what can and cannot be taken legally.The carp are great to find in lakes in coves and backwaters in spring and summer spawining or feeding.Look around cattails or beaches.They are fun to shoot and will give a great fight if hit in the correct spot.It might take a few to get use to shooting before you get the hang of it.Aim lower than you think because of the refraction on the water.Be sure you always push the button on you reel before you shoot or you will not like what happens.Just shoot and reel in the fish like reeling in a pole.Hope this helps you get started.Cotact me if you have anymore ?Good luck.Itwill help stay in practice for deer season.

[Allseasonhunter7]

try www.bowfishingsociety.com theyll hook you up with any ?'s

[HNI_Christine]

A fish arrow, some sort of holder for the line and some carp are all you need to go out bowfishing.

You can start with just a basic hand-wrap reel. It's slow and your range is limited.. but it works and it's cheap.

I use a retriever reel. Faster than a hand-wrap and sturdier (in my opinion) than a closed-face reel. The closed-faced reels give you the greatest shot distances and fastest retrieves.

I use fiberglass arrows with muzzy carp points.

Check out http://www.keystonecountrystore.com/ they have a decent selection of bowfishing stuff... and they are a HuntingNet.Com sponsor.

I highly recommend using a 'Safety Slide' or 'cabled' arrows. While I know people who still tie to the back of the arrow, that can be dangerous.

Oh and just a warning... but bowfishing is highly addictive

Yesterday's outing..

[Bulzeye]

Nice catch AV.
I see your pooch is getting big pretty quick.

[Fishhunter]

Make sure you have lots of money. First you'll buy a couple arrows and a reel. Then you'll buy some more arrows with different tips and another reel. Then you'll want a different bow just for bowfishing. Then you'll need a boat. A bigger boat set up just for bowfishing. Then a new trolling motor. Then a fan. Then a generator. then.....

It doesn't stop.

[Allseasonhunter7]

www.bowfishingsociety.com

[Hunter06FlKy]

just wondering. what do you do with the fish. i didn't know that that many people at carp and gar. i was just wondering. i have an old hunting bow thats like 35 # so i think i might use it.

[HNI_Christine]

35# is a good weight.

There are many things you can do with the fish. Eating them is always an option. I just made some stir-fried gar with curry powder. (yummy... really!) Gar are good, worth the effort of cleaning them. Bighead and Silver are supposed to be very good too. I'm not a big fan of common carp unless they are smoked. Smoked cold water carp are excellent. (carp out of warmed-up water start to taste kind of muddy)

Sometimes you'll find bank fishermen that will take your extra fish. If you know of a mink or turtle farmer, they are usually happy for the free fish. Then, there's always the fertilizer aspect. It's indirect consumption. Plant a carp, plant a tomato plant over it.... then eat the tomatoes. (your friends and neighbors will wonder how you grow such big veggies)

Farmers will also often take the fish and put them in their fields for fertilizer.

[Red Hawk]

Actually since this topic has been brought up. Is there a certain type of weight line to use? For example, for Carp or Catfish