Speargun Spear

Bowfishing

Equipment

Bows

Bows are usually very simple. Most do not have any sights and aiming is by line-of-sight judgment down the arrow. There are a couple of types of rests including the hook and roller rest. Most bows have little to no let off and not much draw weight. This differs with what one has available and personal preference. There are two main types of bows. Traditional bows are like long bows and recurve bows. In more modern times compound bows came into use. They use a system of pulleys to help the archer. Modern bows can have as much as 120 pounds (50 kg) draw weight.

The crossbow is also sometimes used in this manner and has its own advantages including the use of a reel. See Recreational fishing.

Arrows

Arrow with three prongs carrying three barbed points. For catching fish in rivers. From Guyana. Photographed at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter, Devon.

Bowfishing arrows are considerably heavier and stronger than arrows used in other types of archery and are most commonly constructed of five-sixteenth inch fiberglass, but solid aluminum, carbon fiber, and carbon fiber reinforced fiberglass are also used. Bowfishing arrows generally lack fletching, as it can cause the arrow to flare to one side or another underwater and they are not required at the relatively short ranges associated with bowfishing. Line is attached to the arrow by tying to a hole in the arrow shaft or through the use of a slide system.

Line

Bowfishing line is often made from braided nylon, Dacron, or Spectra. Commonly used line weights range from eighty to four-hundred pound test, with six-hundred being used when bowhunting for alligators. Line color is normally either lime green, white, or neon orange.

Reels

Three types of reels are commonly used in bowfishing: Hand-wrap, spincast, and retriever. Hand-wrap reels are the simplest reels; they consist of a circular spool that line is wrapped onto by hand and then secured in a line holding slot. When the arrow is shot the line comes free from the line holder and feeds off the spool. Fish are fought by pulling the line in hand over hand; hand-wrap reels are the least effective at fighting arrowed fish, but they can be used in conjunction with a float system to shoot and fight large trophy fish. Retriever reels have a "bottle" which holds the line in place. When shot the line comes out either until the shot goes too far and the line runs out or the hunter pushes down a stopping device which can be used to keep a fish from traveling out too far. Some retriever reels have slots cut in them and are known as slotted retriever reels. They are more commonly used for alligator, alligator gar, shark and other big game that will take more time to chase down than smaller game fish.

Glasses

One of the keys to bowfishing is having a good visual of the target. In order to see the fish in the water on a sunny day, polarized sun glasses are helpful. They cut the glare on top of the water so it makes it easier to see what is below the waters surface. Different tints and lens color make a difference in the color of water the hunter is fishing in from darker brown to clearer blue and green. At night glasses are unnecessary in that a light is used to see through the water.

Boats

Although bowfishing can be done from the shore, bowfishers most often shoot from boats. Flat bottom "john boats" and canoes are used in areas of low water, as they have less draw, but are unsuitable for open water. Larger boats can accommodate multiple hunters. Many of these boats are highly customized specifically for bowfishing, with raised shooting platforms, and generators to provide electrical power to multiple lights for bowfishing at night. Many also incorporate some type of fan propulsion for operating in very shallow waters. The fan and motor are generally mounted on a raised platform at the stern.

Techniques

Along with fishing from boats and off the shore, wading and shooting is also effective as long as the hunter doesn't mind getting soaked. Wading in rivers allows the shooter to get up close to the fish if the hunter is skillful. When keeping fish while wading, the hunter may utilize a stringer tied to a belt loop.

Standing on large rocks in shallower parts of a river is another technique. This provides a better view higher out of the water. Going from rock to rock in a river with two hunters gets the fish moving if they are inactive. It is similar to herding the fish to the another hunter; while one hunter is wading the other is stationary on a rock.

Shooting from a tree stand close to a river's edge is a technique that allows the hunter to get a better visual of the whole river and a better view of the fish.

All of these river techniques typically work best for carp or catfish, depending on the location.

Aiming

Knowing where to aim on a fish can be one of the most difficult skills to master in bowfishing. Due to the refraction of the water and how it optically distorts the location of objects in the water, aiming straight at the target usually results in a miss. Aiming well below the target compensates for the optical illusion. Depth and distance of the target also impact how far below the fish to aim. Aiming four inches (102 mm) low for every ten feet of water is a good rule to follow.

Targeted species

Freshwater

Common carp

Bighead carp

Silver carp

Grass carp

River Carpsucker

Longnose gar

Shortnose gar

Spotted Gar

Alligator gar

Paddlefish

Threadfin Shad

Frog

Freshwater

Bigmouth buffalo

Smallmouth buffalo

Freshwater drum

Catfish

American alligator

Tilapia

Bowfin

Asian snakehead

Saltwater

Southern stingray

Cownose ray

Bull shark

Barracuda

Redfish

Flounder

Sheepshead

Notes

^ March, Alden (1899) The history and conquest of the Philippines and our other island possessions; embracing our war with the Filipinos in 1899 Page 39.

References

Bear, Fred (1980). "Underwater Bowhunting". The Archer's Bible (revised edition). Doubleday; New York.. pp. 123129. ISBN 0-385-15155-1. 

External links

BowfishingCountry.com Leading Bowfishing Community

Archery Fishing Reel Fishing Reports

Bow Fishing California Fishing Guide

Official bowhunting safety course for Michigan bowhunters Today's Bowhunter

Bow Fishing Tucson Archery

v  d  e

Archery

Overview

Archer's paradox  Archery  Bow  Bow draw  Bow shape  History of archery  History of crossbows  Mounted archery  Paralympic archery

Bows

Cable-backed bow  Composite bow  Compound bow  Crossbow  English longbow  Flatbow  Laminated bow  Longbow  Recurve bow  Self bow

Equipment

Arrow  Arrowhead  Bow string  Bracer  Finger tab  Fletching  Flu-Flu Arrow  Quarrel  Quiver  Thumb ring

Archery activities

Archery games  Bowfishing  Bowhunting  Clout archery  Field archery  Popinjay  Target archery  Target World Championship  Archery at the Summer Olympics

Glossary of archery terms

v  d  e

Fishing techniques

Gathering

Gathering seafood by hand  Clam digging  Pearl diving  Ama divers  Abalone  Scallops  Noodling  Trout tickling  Trout binning  Flounder tramping

Spears

Spearfishing  Speargun  Polespear  Bowfishing  Harpoon  Gigging  Trident  Hawaiian sling

Lines

Hand-line fishing  Longline fishing  Trolling  Dropline  Trotline  Jigging  Jiggerpole  Category:Fishing knots

Nets

Fishing net  Hand net  Cast net  Lave net  Gill net  Drift net  Surrounding net  Seine net  Trawl net  Chinese fishing net  Lampuki net  Glass floats  Ghost nets  Turtle excluder device

Traps

Fishing traps  Fish wheel  Fishing weir  Fishing basket  Eel buck  Putcher fishing  Corf  Lobster trap  Almadraba  Double-Heart of Stacked Stones

Other

Fishfinder  Fishing light attractor  Fish aggregating device  Payaos  Basnig  Flossing  Ice fishing  Cormorant fishing  Electrofishing  Shrimp baiting  Dredging  Muroami  Explosives  Cyanide fishing  Fish toxins

Categories: Archery | Recreational fishing | Fishing techniques and methods

About the Author

I am China Toys Suppliers writer, reports some information about nikon rangefinder camera , childrens video camera.

hawaiian sling or Speargun. What to use in Hawaii?

When spearfishing, I prefer to use the sling and not the gun. It is more artistic, rustic, less invasive, eco friendly. By the way I only spear what I will eat. In some places, like Fiji, there is almost no way to use a sling without a string because the fish is around the reef cliffs (vertical 300ft plus cliffs): missing a shot means loosing the spear in the deeps of the ocean. Is it the same in Hawaii? Can I easily use the sling instead of the speargun?

It depends on where you are fishing. There are some places that may have a vertical drop off but most of the Hawaiian islands have a fringing reef that may extend out to a mile. In most cases the depth is usually only 20 or 30 feet. Either sling or gun will work depend on the size of fish you are taking.

Speargun spear shaft drilling jig demonstration