I agree with Whitecloudhunter, you don't need a special bow. Just about any bow will do. You'll want a poundage that you can shoot all night long.

It is nice to have a dedicated bow for bowfishing, that way you don't need to switch stuff around and you be worrying about getting your nice deer setup covered in mud and fish slime.

I use an older Oneida. I used to use my old deer compound. Lots of folks prefer a recurve because they are fast shooting and light.

Check out the new Illinois Bowfishers Club forum at the top of the Bowfishing forums. We have shoots all over the state, we'd love to have you come out and join us. (we usually have spare bows for people to try too)