Bow fishing

Ive done a lot of hunting and fishing in my life time. Ive hunted in almost every conceivable way. I fished with my bare hands and any thing I could put a string on. the one thing I have never done is gone fishing with a bow. the idea never really occurred to me till I was pricing new sites for my newest garage sale bow and came across a bow fishing kit.

Has any body done this and if so how was it? is it worth investing the $100.00 for the kit?

Ive never made it a secret I am a city slicker, so no I have never done this. It does make sense to me, as a survival method. Think of the size of the fish you could bring in.

Couldn't you just alter a old Arrow and use a old real to build your own. $100.00 seems pretty steep.

reply to post by angryamerican

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Haven't done it, but if you want to see some of this in action, I just did a quick search at youtube and there were several "bowfishing" vids that popped up.

It is certainly always a good idea to have the way in case you find the means... or vice-versa... lol. Good fishing to ya'!

*I sem to be having trouble typing today*



[edit on 4/6/2008 by RabbitChaser]

Should be fairly simple to adapt your existing arrows for fishing and would be more fun too as you get to experiment with making your own gear, although it would require a fair amount of practice to get the hang of compensating for the refraction of the water...if you are looking straight at the fish in clear water from the bank, aim a good few degrees below it to stand a chance of a hit

Also, the fishing bow could be adapted to 'long-cast' for sea fishing from the beach...if you used a baited fish-hooked arrow head and added a high-vis float to the tail of the arrow so it floated nose-down in the water when it landed and tethered it to a good length of line, you could get a decent 100+ metre cast into the sea for a better chance of a bite

reply to post by quantum wind

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I had thought of doing DIY on this as well. got tons of old fishing reels laying around. the good old zebco 202 would probably be best. just remember to push the button LOL. old arrows are not a problem to many to name. I am pretty sure I am going to do this.


reply to post by RabbitChaser

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Thanks for the links RabbitChaser. I will check them out. this could be very chalenging

reply to post by citizen smith

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You and I think alike. I could never get a cast that far by hand. I did some surf fishing in California and got some good distance with those poles but never like the distance you are talking.

This is gonna be fun.

I have hunted fish with a bow and arrow. Cheap open faced spinning reels and 20lb test line is the ticket for large carp. Cross bows also make a great rig for hunting carp with the reel mounted underneath the stock.

Carp, not just for breakfast anymore!!!

The only thing I've heard of people bowfishing for is carp. I think it's the only thing you can legally use it for in my area, and I've never seen or heard of anyone actually doing it. But people around here don't seem to like the idea of eating carp/catfish anyway.

I think the biggest obstacle you'll have to overcome is the refraction of the water. What you see from above isn't actually where the fish is (look at a straw or spoon in a glass of water and you'll notice some pretty funky angles going on). Once you overcome that, you should be landing monster carp in no time though.

If you've ever spearfished, I imagine it's just like that, but easier since the arrow probably moves faster through the air than your arms ever could.

I've done plenty of spearfishing and have been out bowfishing for perch before. We basically just tied heavy test dacron line to the arrow, tossed bait, and when the water bubbled with a dense mass of perch, fire just short of where they break the surface.

I just don't want to have to carry an bow to fish with, a frog gig or similar spear on a long lightweight pole will get you dinner if you just walk along the water's edge, and you're not stuck shooting huge carp or schools of fish. A frog gig used right can get you a good sized bag of panfish like bluegill, bream, tilapia, or whatever else is around. Bass can be had when you find them hovering in the shallows and if there's frogs around you can take them too. Slide the spear into the water very slowly in a spot where fish are, wait still till one swims in front of it and then just thrust from a few inches away. Wait for a good shot, you'll get one if you stay still. Bait the water with a handful of insects or anything that appears to be food long enough to distract the fish, bring them to a good location for spearing, and harvest. Imagine holding the spear through the grasses and bank growth, and using it like a pool cue. That's an effective technique and you can make a spear out of anything straight and strong enough not to break.

What I did to compensate for this is put a stick in the water and use it as a guide. I drew little colored lines on the stick and tied plastic worms(for bait) to it to have a general idea of the fishes depth. I got a couple bluegill and managed to get a rock bass.

Bow fishing is fun. You can get pretty creative too. I ended up sitting up in a large oak tree that hung over the creek.

reply to post by angryamerican

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fishing reels for your bow are nice but not totally necessary. The most important thing to have for bowfishing is a fiberglass arrow with a barb on the end and rubber fletching. if you use aluminum arrows you'll most likely bend them beyond repair. run some high test fishing line -- I've used twine even. if you're fishing from a bank the line could be problematic -- but it floats on the water if you're wading. I would guess that it is incredibly difficult to bowfish for most gamefish. Carp are all I've ever taken with a bow. And who wants to eat carp? you'd be better off digging worms and using a cane pole truthfully if you want something half-way decent to eat. Maybe in your area it is different? It is fun -- I used an old American compound at 52lbs. that only shot 170fps and it did a good job.

My dream is open shotgun season on flying carp. But that's for another thread....

As for bowfishing, sounds interesting. Might indeed be useful in a survival situation.

have you ever gone fishing in a manner referred to in these parts as noodling? if you know what that si then im going to assume you possibly have


But for those who do not know what it is: its a very cheap and affordable way to fish, especially if your ever in a survival situation ( its free), but its usually only good for catfish depending on whats living in said area.
All it consists of is sticking your arm in a rock hole under water( i know, what about snakes and other carniverous creatures)and waiting for said fish to nibble your finger. Well i know it sounds completely silly and assinine but from what ive seen people doing it it seems very effective

Its something ive seen many a drunken person do before

P.S. I really hope this is the last post on page one so that everyone who reads this thread gets to the bottom and reads this post and says "the hell is that guy talking about!?!?!" and decides to keep reading. Long live the post! lol

Just my dos pesos

[edit on 6-4-2008 by Secret Shadow]

[edit on 6-4-2008 by Secret Shadow]

I hunt, and I fish. I have never been bad enough at fishing to combine the two. I have used a suppressed .22 for frogs and catfish close to the surface............With trout I have made a net in the neck of a creek and caught more than I could handle....No wonder thats a no no...Trick was to find a narrow part of a swift creek and net it off with a couple throw nets. use ots of rocks....Next start tossing salmon eggs right in front of net....lol...it is like a fish magnet

It's fun and challenging but not the easiest way to get fish. Trotlines, nets and weirs will give you the best results for your physical effort. However,it works really well for fishing in shallow narrow streams or swampy areas.

reply to post by model B

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Yep, modelB got that right... useless are reels on a fishing bow unless you are aiming and or shooting at fish that are far beyond normal depth and distance. I'm not even sure what is normal in that category, but a reel would be handy if you were trying to pull in something that was fighting and had some weight behind it.

I had pretty simple outfit for canal carp many years ago, something I picked up at a yard sale... it was basically a open spool or capstan that you could clamp to the front a recurve bow, a fiberglass arrow with a removable trindent style point and rubber fletching... the cordage spiraled up the shaft of the arrow and was tied off near the nock, it's kinda hard to describe, but it worked for carp. It was a bear to use, and reeling in a 10lb carp was no fun on the hands if you actually got one... stinking nylon burns. Wear gloves, they put up a fight.

Later I adapted it to a smaller recurve bow, and replaced the capstan spool with a front-loading open faced reel. I had to pull out a length of line before taking a shot on fish, but the reel was small enough to not hinder using normal arrows for ground game.
Not very successful, but a very interesting idea nonetheless. I'm gonna have to dig it out and knock the dust off of it... maybe get some pics in the process.


Brilliant post!

Cheers,
T