ORIGINAL: Safety Off
I guess youshoot the fish then fight him as usual using the Zebco?
yes, thats howa reelsetup like that works, theres several retrieval systems around,I've own and used them all, and IMO the best by farfor general bowfishing is the closed faced reel with the "stubby" rod, I have 888 zebcos on all of my setups
out of all the lines I've also tried I've found that braded nylon seems to work the best and last the longest
ORIGINAL: Safety Off
What do you do, free spool the reel?
yes, and you have to make damn sure that the release is clicked, I've had countless times where things didnt release quite as planned, and it can get a little dramatic sometimes...
depending on what rigging you use on the arrow you also have to make sure that the line is clear throughout the arrows travel in the bowwhen released, its easy for the line to get snagged on the rest, or any number of other things, upon release, which can also get a little exciting sometimes...
you also have to watch your fingers... my brother got a nasty cut one time by unknowingly having the string wrapped around his finger when he shot, and yes, the string played out wrapped around his finger until the arrow impacted and it cut him very bad...
ORIGINAL: Safety Off
How do you get the line on the arrow?
again, theres several ways to rig an arrow, actual fishing arrows are solid fiberglass with a tapered end for the string nockwith a holeat each endfor tying on a string, pinning on the point, running a cable system, or rigging up whateverway you chose to rig them
I have some with lightweight cable rigs(that I made myselffrom bulk cable and the bodies of almin rivets for crimps) and like them alot but I also have a bunch that I use that are setup to have the string tied through thre rear hole, you just have to be sure you pin the head good, one hard impact into a rock can(and will) shatter the end of the arrow and you'll loose your tip(which is why running a cable system is a big plus in rocky terrain)
I've tried various other arrow types over the years too, and any number of ways for attaching the line and points, including alumin. carbon, fiberglass, and various combos of them together and in the end ended up running just the basic fiberglass fish arrow, in the type of terrain I bowfish in they just work the best
like I said though, I've never tried bowfishingwith a crossbow, and I'm not sure what works best for a setup...