I am new to bowfishing and need some advice on a couple of things. I need some input on a bow. the two that i have found that are in my budget are the AMS fishhawk and the browning baracuda,which of these two would you guys recommend, and also should i go with a AMS retriever or get a muzzy bowfishing reel. thanks for the help

Eric

Either bow is a good choice. That's going to be up to you what you want to shoot. Personally, I like recurves, but it's what ever you want to shoot.

Retrievers vs spincasts....there's a week-long discussion there. I have both, and I like both. Again, it's up to you. A reel-seat from Sully's and a Muzzy reel is going to cost less than a Retriever. But if you forget to push that button a few tmes, that spincast isn't going to last long, and you'll be buying another one. If I were to tell you what to get, I'd say geta spincast and the reel-seat. It's up to you tho.

I switched to a retriever reel this year and really like it. Bowfishing reels are great but they don't last very long before you have to replace them.
I wouldn't stress over a nice bow; I shoot a 35-year-old recurve and it works just fine. eBay has a lot of good used bows.

Welcome and good luck this year. I will look past the factyou are colts fan; I'm fromChicago but I went to college in Indiana.

If i were gonna go spincast id go with a zebco 808 it will hold up better than the muzzy reel for sure........

Spincasts are cheaper, but retrievers are very simple, easy to use, and last a long time. Any old bow will work, no need for a brand new one, but the two you mentioned are good. I shoot an old $25 recurve that I don't mind getting muddy, bloody, and slimed. I also have an old compound set up as a backup bow. If you decide to go with an old used bow, don't shoot over 50#. 40# is plenty and won't wear you out.

I'm in favor of recommending older bows myself.
If youdo go with one, consider changing the bowstring, or at least carrying a spare. They get wet all the time, and are abused on every outing. Longer bows will crowd up the deck of a boat pretty quickly, but you can use anylength when you are just wading or stalking from shore.

For reels, I like the AMS Retriever for regular everyday recreational bowfishing because it is so foolproof and reliable, but when you are competing to see who can land the most fish in a given time, I have togive the nodto the spincast for its retrieval speed and fish-fighting advantages.

Most bowfishermen end up with at least one of both setups eventually.
Ther's more than one way tospear a carp.

i checked out a baracuda at a local sporting goods store today and i really didnt care for it because of the short axle to axle length, so i think now i am going to look at the ams fish hawk or possibly just buy a PSE nova

Many bowfishers, myself included, like to release withfingers.
(of course I shoot fingers for everything)
If you do too, get a bow with at least a 36" ATA,longer if you can find one. Finger pinch will ruin a night even faster than a bow with too much draw weight, and it'll mess with your shooting too.

actually this bow is a great bow. my buddy bought 3 of them he loves them so much. they pull back really nice and shoot really good to. there also pretty fast for bein set at like 40-45 pounds(i think). and the short axle to axle is good. if you have a railing on your boat, less likely to hit it, and its just easier to move the bow around really fast.

i shoot a rellease with my hunting bow. and i thought about using a release for shooting carp, but i imagine it will be less of a hassle if i just shoot fingers and i figured with the short ATA of the baracuda it would pinch the crap out of my fingers.. Do any of you guys use a release for shooting carp ?