well im just starting this year got an old hand spool and a fiberglass arrow. im wandering if theres any advice anyone could give me besides to shoot low.
thanks

Sorry cant help, just wanted to chime in and say I will be watching this thread. I am in the same shoes as you.

Might better get at least another arrow and some extra line. Be ready for quick shots! Get some polarized sun glasses.

Shoot 4 inches lower for every foot of water the fish is.

I second what Doug said. You always should have spare gear.

In the spring look in the shallows. I bet mid may they will be spawning by you, look for weedy shallow areas, they will be splashing and you will get more than you can handle.

chumster
really 4 inches for every foot wow good info ill remember that one i may try this year

Always works, just have to be a good judge of how deep the fish is or have electronics. When spawning and near the surface aim straight. Good luck the time draws near.

Don't shoot snakes in the middle. They tend to want to climb the string and are really mad!

Put a safety slide on your arrow. Make sure the line isn't wrapped around your finger or caught on your bow when you release. Seriously think about getting an AMS retreiver, it is much safer.

If there is one bit of advice I can give, get rid of the old arrow, and buy atleast one new one with a safety slide to prevent you from "Unicorning" yourself.  We would miss you around here.

Safety slides are a must.  You can buy arrows with them or install them your self.

AMS also sells a ring system similar to the slide, but a bit cheaper if that turns ya on.

Make sure you have some polarized sun glasses, the wally world kind work fine.

As mentioned before, have some extra line and an extra arrow. I always have at least one extra of everything and that's no exaggeration. Extra line, points, arrows, slides, nocks, wax, string, etc.

If your fishing points have a screw one tip, wax the threads before you screw it on. That will help it from loosening and loosing the fish.

Have fun! Bowfishing is the MOST fun you can have with a stick and string. That's how I spend my summer.

I agree that an AMS reel will make bowfishing a lot more fun as you can reload a lot quicker and you can keep one hand on the bow instead of having to set it down and doing end over end.

Also, start during the day in the shallows when the water starts getting warm and you can either stalk them by foot or by boat. Once you've had your fill of that bowfishing at night with lights and a boat is so much fun it's stupid!

Move slow and deliberate.  For each carp or gar you see making ripples, there will be 3 laying still that will scare the urine directly out of you because you had your eye on one up ahead that was splashing around. I call these fish 'sleepers'.

I often wear a pack when I bowfish cause if the shooting is hot, you can cover miles of shore or creek...right, Patrick?      

In my pack I carry water, an extra arrow or 2, a multitool, knife, a camera in a waterproof box or bag, tweezers...cause I like going barefoot, and a file to touch up points that contacted Rock Carp.

For most shots, I aim at the bottom of the fish.  Gar will test how good your estimates are!  Long shots require aiming high, yet refraction requires you to aim low.  Luckily My waters are pretty murky so I can't see but 6 inches deep or so.

If you spook spawning fish, you can often get another shot, as they sometimes don't go far. Buffalo just run a circle and offer themselves up again.

The Leviathans...the really big fish, are tough to catch out in the daylight. You can still wade around with a lantern and shoot em at dark tho.

Fish arrows and safety slides can be made for a lot less than buying them. Saves a lot of loot if you bowfish rocky areas!

Good luck!

hey vanilla gorilla, how do you build ur slides and arrows? im lookin at a bunch and if i can save money by building them im all for it.
thanks everyone

Find someone that already bowfishes and offer to steer there boat for them so they can bowfish. You'll learn a bunch and you'll be helping out someone that probably takes new people all the time and is so busy putting them on fish that they never get to fish on there own. I'm just sayin....

Carry a thin leather glove to handle winding/pulling in the string with a fish on to keep from burning/cutting your hand.  Golf or baseball glove works well.  To help handle the big fish, make short gaff with a 2-foot pole and hooked, heavy wire sharpened to a point.

were you see there back thats were the belly is. hope that makes sence.    good luck brother

I make my arrows out of 5/16th fiberglass rods. You can buy em in 48" lenghts. Cut to whatever length, taper the ends and glue a nock and a head to it.

The slides I've made out of copper tubing or nylon wingnuts.

The slides from AMS are the best way to go, but when the bowshop was closed or out of stock, thats when I dabbled with making my own.

Most fun you can have at night with your clothes on!