go hoyt, dont get a cheap bowfishing reel you pay for what you get, i suggest a no drag reel system thats what I use. I also like muzzy bowfishing arrows for carp cause they hold up much better than the cheaper arrows. as for the poundage go lightwieght you dont need much weight to punch an arrow into a carp and too much power will break arrows, nocks, and tips and can get expensive. I recommend going about 50-60 lbs for carp. Good luck

It flies it dies

I live to hunt and work to pay for it

John what are you looking to spend on a bow?...

just getting into this sport do yourself a favor and KISS... keep it simple stupid... not saying your stupid, thats just the way the saying goes...

stick with a recurve, shoot it off the shelf... either a retriever or a front mounted spincast reel... equip your arrows with AMS safety slides, it'll save the possibility of your line getting wrapped up in your string and adding extra holes in your face... get a set of NO-Gloves put on your string, to eliminate the need for a tab or shooting glove...

there are a hundred different points out there... you only need to know about 2 of them, the first will cover 98% of your shooting, it's a Shure-Shot... you can release the barbs on the point with a flick of your wrist... the other is the Muzzy, this one you need to have the point through the fish to unscrew the tip to release the barbs... unless you just want to rip the point out, but that's hard on the equipment...

this boy here can hook you up with anything you'll need...
[link]http://www.sullysbowfishing.com/default.asp[/link]

last but not least, I have a takedown recurve 50# that already has an epoxy rest on it... if your interested e-mail me... maybe we can work something out...