Some bowfishing questions

[buckeyebowhunter]

Hey guys i have been interested in trying to do some bowfishing this summer but i was wondering about a few things before i bought some equipment and was hopeing you guys could point me in the right direction. Sorry if these questions seem dumb.

1. If I buy a full length arrow (32") and a sting-a-ree fish point, do i just cut it down like a wood arrow to my regular arrow length? And how do i go about attaching the point?

2. Would a 40-45# bow be ok to bowfish with?

3. Has anyone used the great northern strap on reel adapter from three rivers? Are they good?

4. How do i go about attaching the line to the arrow?

[bowmaster12]

ive never bowfished with my trad equip but i always leave arrow full length you need the extra wieght so the arrow flies/swims better through the water longer most of yoru shots are going to be like 5 yrds adn under should no prob with that bow and your arrow should have safety slide the line attatches to that slide.  theres a special knot you can find online how to tie but any knot that allows a loop in the line will work you want the loop to be large enough that it doesnt interfer with the nock end of the arrow if that makes sense. good luck enjoy the shooting

[Stone Knife]

1. I never cut my arrows down unless the point breaks and I need to replace it, they fly good enough to kill carp.

2. 40-45 is plenty of bow i use 45#'s and have great success with it.

3. I use a strap on adt. that I bought from 3rivers it works good with my AMS retriever reel.

4. Make sure your arrow has a safety slide system on it, better to be safe than sorry.

[poison arrow]

You can leave the arrow full length or cut it down. A 40 to 45 pound bow is all you need. I have not used the great northern tape on. I have used a Bear tape on. They are all basicly the same. If you have a stablizer insert bushing on your bow I would use that to mount a spool. If you do not then use the tape on, but put some kind of buffer between the aluminum and the bow before you tape it on. You do not want to scratch your bow limbs so put something between the two. There are these saftey slides that allow the string to spin freely to a certain degree and offer some safety. I recomend using one to attach the string to the arrow. There are other ways of tieing the string to the back and then to the front to keep the string away from the rest and hand so it does not get caught up but it would require a diagram. I bet it is posted on the net somewhere.
  I am going out right now to bowfish. I use a spool mounted to my stabilizer insert and a full length arrow with a simple quick release tip along with the safety slide system.

[Running Buck]

Buckeye,
I shoot a GMII 50# and I don't cut my arrows. I have used the stingaree points and they work ok but if you shoot in a river or lake that has a lot of rocky bottom, I would go with the muzzy heads. They have replaceable tips and can take a lot more punishment. 40 to 45 lb will work fine unless you try to shoot deep then you might want to go with a few more pounds. I have a few of the great northern strap on adapters. They work real well with the AMS reels ( this is my prefered setup for using a longbow). As far as attachment of line to your arrow a word of caution, if you have limited experience bow fishing you must always be careful of your line before you shoot. The nylon line used for bow fishing has a lot of stretch and as a result if you shoot and your line hangs up you could get your arrow snapping back at you at close to the same speed as when it left the bow!. This has claimed a few fishermens lives. I am partial to the AMS safety slide system which allows the line to slide up and down the arrow shaft. The system keeps the line ahead of the bow making for a safer shot. This system also makes for a very accurate shot because at release, the line is moved to the back of the arrow giving enough drag to stablize the arrow. Good luck

[COOCH]

All good info above.when you do get a chance to shoot remember to aim low, when you think your aiming low enough aim a bit lower.It's all a feel after a few shots you'll get the hang of it.Now go out and have some fun.

[finkm1]

Does your bow have a threaded insert in the front for a screw in reel? If it does ,I would buy a Cajun bow fishing package. I agree with the Muzzy points they are better. If you go with the package it will come with a Sting-a-ree point. shoot that till it is all bent then buy a Muzzy point. Leave the arrow long, then you have room to cut the head off and put a Muzzy on. I have a strap on unit that I have a Ams retriever on. I use it on my Bob Lee. It just seems easier for what I do, to screw in a simple reel on my Kodiak Mag and go bow fishing.

[wv lungbuster]

I just use the hand wind type reels, because I don't have the need for quick arrow retrieval. Most shots are taken at a single fish. Will you be shooting out of a boat or from the bank?

[buckeyebowhunter]

My bow does not have a stabilizer insert therefore i was going to buy the great norther strap adapter and strap it onto my lower limb. Then probably buy the cajun archery package with screw in reel. Then probably buy the ams safety system and a back up arrow and point from three rivers. Does this sound about right to you guys?

[Running Buck]

The only reason I prefer the AMS reel is when you do get into big fish, there are a lot of times that your first shot doesn't spook the fish. Having a fast setup helps get the line and arrow back quicker for that follow up shot.

[wv lungbuster]

You can also get a tape on model, then ya won't have to buy an adapter.

[Stone Knife]

I like the AMS because there is less resistance when the line pays out than there is with the tape on kind.

[finkm1]

If you buy the package, it will come with the safety slide on the arrow. The package will include the drum and line.Gander Mnt stores in michigan carry the Bohning package also. I have one of them too, but I like the drum reel.They also sell arrows with sting-a-ree and Muzzy points with safty slides on them . I don't know if you have a Gander Mnt. store near you.

[Chris Shelton]

If you end up going the zebco route, ditch the saftey slide.  That will prevent you from shooting when the button is not pushed in.  When you have a saftey slide system and the fishing reel malfunctions or you just simply forget to push the button you can still draw the bow, but without the saftey slide the arrow will fall off.  Which is better than having the line snap sending your arrow into the abyss, lol.  

Muzzy definatly makes the best fish point, the others work, dont get me wrong, but replacing that tip is a whole lot better than replacing the entire point.

I use the strap on mount with the aluminum reel seat and it is great, absolutely no problems, and it has had its fair share of days in the creek.  

I killed my first fish with a 40# recurve, it was a 25 pound fish too, so that is plenty of bow, but now I use my 55# curve, just because I shoot it better!

Good luck and dont forget to post pics of your success this summer!

[bofish-IL]

I have shot fish for over 15 years.

One of the most important things to remember, if you get stuck by one of your points while a fish is flopping around even if it just brings one drop of blood. You need to flush it with some medication.

I had a fish flop in the air and when it come down the tip went through my boot side and just broke the skin. Two days later I had a red line going up my foot and starting up my leg. Many doctor visits later the doctor told me the slime on fish is full of bacteria and I was lucky they caught it early.

The following is some of the things I have learned.

First no matter what reel you use make sure the line doesn't get behind the reel on windy days.

Whatever string that comes on the reel you buy, shooting gars will cut the line after 5 to a dozen hits. Result lost arrow. I shoot the Brownell fast flight it stands up for years.

You will have less trouble with hand reels- No parts to break, but slower to retrieve line on missed shots.  

AMS is what I use fast retrieval of line. Don't have to push release button before shooting. However if you shoot a lot, the line gets twisted and kinked after one season of use. Again the Brownell 400 pound works best in the AMS and last longer than all others I have used.

I have never shot the push button reels but have shot with a half dozen people that have. They work well but I have witnessed each one forget to push the button resulting in broken strings, busted reels and arrow fly back.

Arrow tips I have used the Muzzy carp point, Sting-a-ree, Muzzy Stingray and Warhead.  

Muzzy carp point and Stingray have replaceable tips for fast repair of damaged tip. Warheads are good unless shooting in rocky areas, tip gets damaged then needs filed.

Muzzy Carp point
Positive: Easy pass through for barbs to hold.
Negative: Trying to unscrew tip by hand to reverse barbs while fighting a Large fish that is flopping and thrashing around.

Muzzy Stingray
Positive: Easy arrow removal just turn arrow to reverse the barbs and pull arrow to remove. Negative: Large fish in weeds spin while arrow is wrapped up in weeds or brush unscrewing arrow and reversing the barbs. Fish slide off arrow.

Shoot full length arrow more weight more penetration. Also like stated above when you break a tip off you can still use the arrow after installing another tip.

Hope this helps someone.