I've never been bowfishing, and have never seen anyone do it before, except on TV. While I am fishing though, I see several carp and buffalo that swim around on the surface so I thought I might give it a try this summer.

I have a few questions...This may seem kind of stupid, but do I have to buy a special bow for this, or is there something that can mount on my current bow. Alsoare there any other good tipsthat a newbie should know?

i havent really been bowfishing to long but i would say you dont have to buy a special bow. you just dont want a 70# bow. somethina little bit lighter. whatever bow you have you should be able to mount a reel on it.
if anyone here disagree's with me correct me, like i said im fairly new and thats what i think.

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)

Get an old piece of muck bow. It will, I repeat, WILL, get water, mud, blood, and slime on it if you're doing it right. Some companies do make bows specifically for bowfishing, but I prefer to save a few hundred dollars and buy cheap 50# recurves. An old compound works as well. Some people prefer compounds for the extra punch, I prefer recurves so my arms don't get tired holding it all day. Depending on what reel you get will determine how you'll mount it.

yea as mentioned above illionos is probly has the most bowfisherman around..
but you can look for my as weell as hnichristine on www.bowfishingsociety.com we will help you out alot theres alot of experts on there.
or www.sullysbowfishing.com will sell you stuff
by the way i have a damon howatt recurve its at #45 pounds i could sell you in good condition
http://www.hunt101.com/showphoto.php?photo=370963
i could trhow in an arrow/with slide and a hand reel but i dont think im going to sell the reel you see pictured

Thanks Allseason, but my dad actually has an old 45# recurve that he doesn't use anymore. I've never shot one before so I think I'll start practicing with ita little to see how I do.

If you are going for soft fleshed fishsuch as carp and tilapiaI recommend the WAR HEAD,
the war head has 2 barbs on it that are spiraled, these barbs are retracted in flight for added stability andsuper penetration of the water and the fish, they then open after it passes through the fishand lay flat on the outside of the fish so they dont cut the flesh during the fight.

On the other hand if you are going for gar I would recommend the garpoon. The gar has an almost shell like
skin which is very tough. the garpoon is an extremely rugged point with a collar. when target is hit the collar
slides back and the barbs are engaged in a switch blade like fasion.

Anyway the answer to your question no. You dont need any special bow I use the same bow that i hunt hogs with. The only thing you have to do is get a bracket and add a bowfishing reel. i took the sites off my bow and i shoot instinctive.I use the same restand everything. If you want you can even crank down the lbs on your bow,
you dont need to shoot 60 or 70 lbs for this division of archery. A girl member of our staff shoots a 35lb bow
and brings home some big gar.

We use a slotted retriever reel only because we use it to hunt gators as wel as fish. the slotted one is better for big game so you can get the line away from the bow quickly and start fighting the fish with the line in your hands
instead of trying to reel in. If you try to reel a gator or any big game you have a good chance of the bow being pulled in the water. anyway if you have anymore questions please dont hesitate to e-mail me at
[email protected] good luck out there and welcome aboard. careful it adicting

Any bow will work, but it's way more convenient to have a dedicated bow, regardless of whatkind you choose.

For deer, I like the holding time and power of a compound, but for fish, I prefer a recurve. My current fishbow is a45# fiberglass P.O.S., and it does fine. Very light, which is good, because I will rarely set it down in hours of fishing. I'll replace it eventually since I had to rig it for a reel mount since it doesn't have predrilled holes for anything, and no place to drill new holes.

I also have an old 50# compound for fish, but it's just my backup/loaner.

In bowfishing, the situations where compounds really seem to have an advantage are on very deep fish where you need extra penetration, and in very murky water where the carp are swirling up the mud so bad that you'll only see a part of the fish for a second or two at time so you will want to be holding your draw and waiting until he shows himself.