I know in IL, bowfishing is regulated as a form of spearfishing and gigging.
Only rough fish can be taken. Most of what we have here is carp, gar, and buffalo.

I prefer an instinct-shot recurve myself, but Oniedas are also very popular with bowfishermen. Some tournament guys use compounds so they can hit really long shots and hold a long time for that really big one, but for all around, I think simple is best. You will do very well if you learn to snapshoot.

You'll want to use a cabled arrow or AMS safety slides instead of just tying the line to the rear of the arrow. The line can get tangled in your string or cables and send the arrow right back at your face. It's called snapback.

http://www.amsbowfishing.com/bowfishwarning.php?osCsid=2adc362bbe15b32745c63984 bbb2872f