bowfishing rigs

[stickman]

This weekend I went bowfishing and got hooked. How many of ya'll have true bowfishing rigs like the barracuda or fishhawk? I was shooting a barracuda and several times the arrow did not pass through partially penetrating the gar or bouncing off the gar, is it better to buy a used compound with a higher poundage pull for more energy or are the 40/50# "bowfishing"bows truly enough to do the job? The gars were 4-5ft in length. I need help, I need to buy a rig soon cause I am already having withdraws!

[DrenalinJunkie]

40 - 50 is more than enough. I am also shooting a Fish Hawk set at 42 lbs.. It is shooting like a 55 lbs recurve. Last time I went out I used a recurve set at about 45 lbs. It went through everything I shot at with it except for one Grenal and that was me not drawing far enough back. I would inspect the tips and be sure they are nice and sharp.

[aggiearcher09]

i have an osprey set to 38 pounds

[Cotton]

I like my Oneida Osprey ...


I agree with DrenalinJunkie, check your points. You really don't want too much of a draw weight considering you will draw the bow 200+ times a night. Shooting into rocks are tough on arrows and if there are not any rocks you have to pull them out of the mud.

[WoJo]

I like my Oneida Osprey ...

Why are the Oneidas so popular for bow fishing???????

[Chunky]

I shoot a 65 lb Quinn recurve that I bought just for bowfishing. I love it. It works really well. I can get shots off very quickly.

When I shot a compound I was forever having to get out and get the arrows free, but I was shooting my hunting bow at a heavier weight as well.

I need to buy (restock) arrows after this last weekends adventure, all the points look about the same in my Scully's catalog...does anyone have any suggestion on which tips/brands are best?

[bowhuntertex]

I shoot a Baracuda and a PSE Kingfisher recurve and they are both good enough to shoot into any fish. Just gotta make sure the points are sharp.

[AgHntr10]

I shoot a 65 lb Quinn recurve that I bought just for bowfishing. I love it. It works really well. I can get shots off very quickly.

When I shot a compound I was forever having to get out and get the arrows free, but I was shooting my hunting bow at a heavier weight as well.

I need to buy (restock) arrows after this last weekends adventure, all the points look about the same in my Scully's catalog...does anyone have any suggestion on which tips/brands are best?

those rocks will do it, we keep some cheaper arrows for fishing there and save the muzzys for our other spots

[bowhuntertex]

Chunky,

I like the muzzy gar points the best. I usually don't have any problems with them.

[texag93]

I got one.

[Chunky]

Texag93 you ever had something on big enough to use that float?

I think I am going to switch back from the slotted real to the standard one.

[Cottonfish]

I shoot a Barracuda, have no trouble with penetration with mine set on 35lbs draw........for larger gar, though, you should bump up the draw to 40lbs or so. And try for quartering away shots that allow the arrow tip to slip between the scales. For broadside shots on the bigger beasties, the closer you can get, the better. Those scales are tough to blow through.

Stu

[SaltwaterSlick]

I have 6 recurves rigged up for bowfishing and one old compound (for bowfishing gators). the Recurves are all 35 to 50 pounds, and are plenty stout enough to penetrate big fish. The point is the key. for normal gar/carp and such, I like the muzzy sting-ray points. They are a rather large head, but are all stainless steel except the trocar point. the point is replaceable and should be kept sharp. If you hit something that rolls the point, just replace it. I keep extra points in the boat JIC. Seldom have to replace a point around here however... not that many rocks. Poor arra flight will also adversely effect penetration. If your arra enters the water straight and smoothly, you will get good penetration. If it more or less slaps the water at a weird angle, it won't penetrate as well. I use the AMS retreiver reels because they are the safest to use especially for beginners. I replace the stock string with 400 # fastflight. I use mostly the standard AMS reels as opposed to the slotted version with the float. Those are only needed for big gar and gators... and maybe the largest of buffalos, but I've landed 40 to 50 # fish with the standard retreivers. Oh and last but very important... USE THE SAFETY SLIDES to prevent very dangerous snap back.

Here's a good link to a site that's all about bowfishing. It is no green screen, but it's a pretty good group of folks who are all about bowfishing, equipment, boats, lights, motors, etc, etc... www.bow.fishingcountry.com and go to the forums... it's run with the same software as this site, so you should have no problem navigating around over there.

[Cotton]

Why are the Oneidas so popular for bow fishing???????

You can sit with it at full draw, rest the limb tip on your leg and keep just enough weight on your string to hold the string on. (If that makes sense?) In other words be ready for the quick shots that are sometimes needed in tournaments. Plus they thump pretty hard too.

My Son using it.

[stickman]

Just saw the hydro-strike. Does anyone have any experience with these bows? A few of the bowfishing forum members in Texas have rated this bow to be the best. I will remeber to keep the points sharp and the shots close. Thank you guys again.