JSad

I made my own to start with....that was nearly 40 years ago. My first reel was a turned wooden block (turned on a lathe to get the right shape to hold the line and let it slip off with little drag) It was tied on because my bow didn't have a place to screw it in and I didn't want to add one to my Grove's Spitfire. It actually worked better than the aluminum block reels available at the time. I then made a seat for an 808 but had to reshape the anti reverse on the 808 because they had just switched from metal to graphite and it wouldn't always catch firmly enough. This allowed the reel to wind backwards enough to trip the pin and would sometimes cause the arrow to come back at you. I solved that by reshaping the catch. Shortly after I bought a reel seat because the pole on the one I made was longer than convenient. Then I got a bottle reel and promptly got married. Haven't bowfished much since but plan to take my daughter (Missouri State NASP Winner) this year. I made a few arrows but had a problem getting a material springy enough for the barbs. Too hard and it tears a big hole they can slip off of. Too soft and the barbs bend flat and do not hold. Worth the money to buy a good arrow.

As for tying off to the end of the arrow.....that can actually be a lifesaver. Tied that way and no slack in the line....if you draw back and haven't hit the button....the arrow pulls off the string. I also recommend dropping to about 45 lb test. You may lose an arrow or two, but in case of line entanglement....the line tends to break instead of the arrow coming back at you. Of course this will depend on the poundage of your bow as well, and the ideal weight for this may go up or down accordingly.

EDIT ADDITION BTW You can get fish arrows for $11 from wal mart