Redhead, bowfishing is regulated as a form of spear fishing, and as such is only allowed for "rough fish".
The MO fishing regs will answer your questions, and I'm sure Fishhunter is on top of the stuff for your area.

The OLD bow is a good idea. Don't take a pretty one or an expensive one.They get kinda banged up, slimed, and have even been known to go overboard occassionally. Lots of old recurves on Ebay cheap. Check out thesome other threadsfor tips on reels, arrows, line, andplaces to buy them.

One more thing, if MO is like IL, then you cannot bowfish on all bodies of water. Some over here are "2 pole only", and most of the municipalites near large cities do not allow the discharge of a bow within city limits unless it's at a public range.