Here's a quick glimpse of a couple of the bowfishing products I saw at the Archery Trade Association Show.

Muzzy Reel


This reel really does look like it will be the closed-face to use for bowfishing. Thanks to Mark Land for explaining the features of this reel and modeling it for me.

Specs: Dual bearing support for the spool shaft and dual bearings for the gear shaft. SS and brass gears. Dual, cushioned selective anti-reverse, oversized roller pickup pin (this thing is almost 3/16in.) Automotive type disc drag system, convertible retrieve, high retrieve ratio, large line capacity, over sized line hole in cover, dual pin supported push button, SS polished covers, heavy duty composite frame and of course, a Muzzy logo on reel.http://www.muzzy.com/

The reel



Check out the size of that pick-up pin!


Innards.


Innerloc Broadheadshttp://www.innerloc.com/ came out with a new line of bowfishing heads and shafts.

They have three shafts. The Hybrid Max which is a composite arrow with a fiberglass core bonded to and aluminum wrapped exterior.
The Glass Max, which is a 5/16 dia. orange fiberglass arrow.
The Glow Max... a 5/16 dia. glow in the dark arrow shaft. (it meets my 'coolness' stamp of approval)

They came out with three bowfishing points. The Grapple 2, the Grapple 3 and the Gator Grapple. The barbs have a 2 3/4" open diameter. (I think they'd be perfect for buffalo fish.)

The Grapple2 has two folding barbs. The Grapple3 has three folding barbs and the Gator Grapple is a three barb point that is drilled for a detachable rig set-up. All three points are available in 22/64 or 5/16 dia.

The big tip screws off and can be replaced with a Grapple broadhead point. This provides for fast bleed-out on bowfishing's big game such as sharks and gators.

Another feature is that the tips have a small insert that is supposed to keep the tip from unscrewing on retrieval or vibrating off.

Here are two photos. I'll try to put up some more in a bit.



Head with broadhead attachment screwed on.



This product, called the BowSlingBlindhttp://www.blueskyarchery.com/ is a bow case/sling that with a zippered attachment converts to a blind.

I think it's cool for bowfishers because one model is neoprene. (easy to clean carp slime off of) It would be a great way to protect a bowfishing bow without the bulk of an entire case. Part of the bow is still exposed after being put in the BowSlingBlind. This means you don't have to take off the reel or retriever. The bow is 'disabled' when inside the BowSling, so it works for hunting season too.

BowslingBlind


The downside? I don't think that an Oneida or recurve is going to fit inside it..... But...
The AMS Fishhawk would.

I've heard of the Fishhawks, but this is the first time I saw them up close. Built by Genesis and rigged for bowfishing, these are nice, compact bows. Totally set up with a reel, rest and finger tabs.. it only retails for around 320.00. Not a bad deal at all.
See the AMS website at http://www.amsbowfishing.com/


The Brauns with their AMS Fishhawks.

They had a cool display too. Lots of archers were attracted to it. I overheard several people say. 'I need to get back into bowfishing' or 'I'd love to try that.'

Display


I had the pleasure of meeting Robin and Keith from Aimlow Productions http://www.aimlowproductions.com/and Renegade Archery.
Their video preview looks great. Of course, it's that monstrous gar that was really grabbing people's attention.

New DVD (coming soon)