Hey Gang

I'm looking to try my hand at bowfishing.  I've researched quite a bit and see there are many ways to part with one's money to buy the latest and greatest gear for fishing with a bow.  

Since I'm a traditional shooter, I'm more interested in doing things in a more traditional manner.  Anyone out there that constructed their own bowfishing gear?  Any alternatives to the pricey gear found on the seasonal endcaps of our shoppes?

I hear ya. . . Do some searches,  There are a lot of ways you can make your own stuff, especially in the area of bow reels or maybe  better said, "things that hold the string". Many of these have already been discussed here.

I am pretty certain that you can order bulk fiberglass and graphite (solid) shafts)  in fact. .  Hmm, we have nearly 40,000 singned up members. .  that sounds like a buying club to me. . . .  

Points. .  well, watch and wait till they get cleared out and buy a sack full.  

You don't need to use a big rigged out boat,  you don't need a boat at all.

I really want to hear what "youse guys" do with the fish after you harvest them.


ChuckC

friends call me pac has the best home made bowfishing gear I've ever used.Real cheap to make to

http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=072591

Cool homemade reel from a tradganger!

I just shoot them with broadheads in shallow water.  They don't swim far.

I might try that 5 gallon pail deal though.

Haven't made one in years, but used to use a homemade "reel". It would require a stabilizer bushing though. Take an appropriately sized piece of all thread, put on nut and large washer, then a piece of round / flat  plastic (can be cut from bottom of 5 gallon bucket), then a metal coffee can, and top it off with another large washer and nut (inside the can). The piece of plastic should be 1.5 - 2" larger than the diameter of the can. Drill a couple of small holes through the plastic to secure your line and then evenly wrap the line around the can. We didn't use any of the fancy line designed specifically for bowfishing, just the standard nylon "trot line" stuff. Worked really well for a couple of broke teenagers.

Since Chuck C asked, my family always saved the carp for chum when bow fishing for shark in open water.  We built a meat grinder from an old 6" auger, steel pipe and an 8hp lawn mower engine.  We could throw a whole 25# carp in head first and get coarse chum out the other end.  This thing looked like it belonged in a mafia movie!

For home made shafts, go to a plastics supplier and ask for pultruded fiberglass rod in the diameter you want.  

For shark and big fish shooting, we would fill gallon milk jugs with expanding foam and attach two or three of them to a long line.  A laundry basket is great for holding the jugs and loose line before your shot, and allows it to run free once you connect with that 8' blue shark.

Thanks for the replies. Despite my searches I didn't come across a whole lot. The link above is great, and I didn't not come across that during my searches here. As it turns out I was getting caught up w my TBM issues and there was a nice little article in the "traditional archives" section of the jun/jul issue. Certainly a no frills setup, but just the thing I was looking for. Good deal.