Hi! Welcome to the forums!

Use whatever bow you have, recurves are light and fast.. but anything that flings an arrow works. I was using a regular old heavy compound but this year I've switched to an Oneida. It's an older one and still heavy but I like it alot better than the regular compound.

I use the AMS Retriever reel and am a big fan of it. Many people also use a big closed-face reel too. (A Zebco 808 or a Synergy reel) They both have thier advantages and disadvantages.

Whisker biscuit makes a biscuit just for bowfishing. (heavy duty whiskers to hold heavy fish arrows) I just use a plain brass roller rest. Some people just make a rest using epoxy.

I do recommend you take that plastic fletch off your fish arrows, it serves no purpose and just gets in the way.

I use Muzzy points, but the Penetrator tips look good too.

When I know it's a carp making a V-line, I'll sometimes shoot. (those are cool when you get them)
If I have any question about what kind of fish it is swimming away, I'll pass on the shot. Better safe than sorry.

My river sounds a lot like where you bowfish. Too muddy to see the carp unless they are sticking out of the water. I have tossed corn right at the shoreline in order to get the carp up where I can see them. It works great, but the carp (and many other critters) make short work of the corn. So the action doesn't last more than a day or so. I just used regular feed corn. I wouldn't worry about 'cheatin' when it comes to bowfishing. These are carp.. not elk or something... heh heh



Good luck!