Anyone ever make their own Bowfishing reel?

[Hog Wild]

Anyone ever make their own Bowfishing reel? If so How & where can I get plans? Thanks.  

[Budog56]

I havent yet but my dad made one by drilling a hole in the bottom of round tuna can just big enough to put the appropriate screw into the stabilizer hole on his kodiak magnum. He then just wrapped the line around that.

[Hog Wild]

My Bows are Home Brewed without a stabilizer hole though. Looking for a Home made tape on type. Thanks though.

[GEREP]

Hog Wild:

Try this...works great and you can make one in about 3 minutes.

All you need is a plastic pop bottle (MT. DEW works the best because of the hourglass shape) a bolt and a washer.

   

Drill a hole in the cap large enough to get the bolt through.  Simply attach the cap as shown, screw the bottle back on the cap, wrap on your fishing line and go fishing.  Make a few in case you shoot a biggun and he breaks it.  If your bow doesn't have a stabilizer bushing, it would be a piece of cake to make a little tape on bracket and mount the cap to the bracket.

Have fun and ALWAYS USE A SAFETY SLIDE on your arrow.

   

KPC

[GEREP]

Here is a quick drawing of a bracket that you could make very easily out of a strip of metal bent into the correct shape.  Attach the cap to the bracket with a nut and bolt and simply tape the bracket to your upper and lower limb by wrapping tape around your bow and the top and bottom "flange."  You might want to put a piece of felt between the bracket and your bow to avoid scratching.

I know, the drawing sucks, but I think you can get the idea.

KPC

[Hog Wild]

Thanks GEREP.    That's what I'm talking about.      

[woodchucker]

A few years back there was an artical in TBM about bowfishing for stingrays. They took a rubber walking cane tip (approx 1") and bolted it to the stabilizer hole.Then they took a soda bottle and filled it full of "spray foam" and screw the cap on. Insert the bottle cap end into the rubber "cane bumper" and wrap the line around it. After the shot you can pull the bottle loose and use it like a "hand line" without having to "work around" your bow. You can also set up several "rigs" in case you need to shoot something more than once.

[VTer]

If you've ever seen the picture of Fred Bear bowfishing in Saginaw Bay. He had a homemade tape-on reel that I copied for my boy when he was starting out. I lent it out to another kid to start with so I can't take a pic of it. It's real simple to make. Just a piece of pine slightly tapered on all 4 sides connected to a flat thin piece of wood that gets taped to your riser.

[joel smith]

Great Northen makes a "traditional" gadget mount that wraps onto your bow just like their excellent quivers. it'll mount most of the reel setups out there, including some the "homebrews" mentioned here

[TRADITIONAL ONLY]

are you that much of a cheap skank? buy one from 3 rivers for 15 bucks...

and even better, get a AMS retriever reel, because youll be hooked! and i haveone of the trad adapters, work GREAT!!!

[Jeff Strubberg]

Top of a five gallon bucket, couple of 'L' brackets, two pop rivets and a little electrical tape to hold it on.

Works great and retrieval is faster than just about any reel out there.

[John Nail]

When I was a kid, I made one out of the botom of an old coffee pot. Cut it off about 3 inches up, drilled a couple holes in the botom and screwed a strip of aluminum from an old door on it to tape it on. Used a bent paperclip to hole the line(an old worn out flyline) it worked fine.

[GEREP]

TRADITIONAL ONLY:

For some people, it's not about the money it's about crafting something for themselves.  The question that Hog Wild asked had nothing to do with what is best, he just wanted ideas on how to make one that is functional.

If it was all about money, I'd be buying Orange Roughy filets instead of shooting trash fish that I'm going to bury anyway.

I happen to use a Zebco 808...works flawlessly.

You might want to switch to decaf.

 

   

KPC

[Weekend Warrior]

I have a book that tells how to make a bowfishing reel out of PVC ...

 I can email directions if you want??

[Hog Wild]

GEREP is right on the money. It's not a money thing for me. I enjoy making and using equipment I make more than when I BUY it. Plus there's more of a sense of accomplishment when you harvest something with stuff you made.

[SOS]

Weekend Warrior, Don't email the directions, describe them here.  We want to know, too!

[philil]

Made this "reel" out of a piece of pvc tubing.
Drilled two holes into the tubing and put some scrab cord through it.
When shooting, I held the cord-handle with my bow hand, pressing it on the bow handle.

Didn't hear any complains from the carp   :D

btw. never launch an arrow when the line is caught  in your index finger, or you might have to ductape it...learned that the hard way