new to bowfishing

[Gaff]

ive recently been thinking about starting to bow fish. ive got a 45# wing thunderbird from my father in law, and a couple fish arrows from a coworker. im leaning towards an ams reel, but my bow doesn't have any holes in it for mounting. i know there must be a work around?

also, what do you all do with the carp you shoot? i cant imagine there any good to eat?? is it just good to remove some from the fishery?

JG

[black velvet]

you can get a strap on adapter from Kustom King.
Or if you have all the attachments with the retriever if you are not worried about the value of the bow you can attach it with wood screws to the riser. As for the carp I believe most people use them for fertilizer. Never ate them so I can't judge their table fare.

[Keith L]

45lb will work just fine for carp.  If you plan to shoot larger game you might want to switch to a higher draw weight and heavier arrow.  You can't go wrong with the AMS.  Spend the little extra money and get the Retriever Pro Tournament series.  It comes with a longer crank and higher gear ratio. You can drill your own mounting holes in the riser without an issue or AMS makes a strap on mount.  I personally would drill out the riser.

[Keith L]

Carp taste lousy but make great fertilizer.  I put them in the composter and add it to my garden.  They also make great bear bait if you bear hunt where baiting is allowed.  Either way your helping both the environment by getting rid of an invasive destructive species and your also improving your shooting skills in the off season.

[LB_hntr]

You need to get the ams adaptor. It's rubber stamps and a metal bracket that is drilled and taped for the ams reel or any reel that attaches to the sight window holes. The great northern one won't work as it doesn't have the 2 sight window holes.
The tournament reel is awesome. But the original or pro models are still amazing and bullet proof. Can't go wrong with any and you can find the originals for 69 bucks some places and that's almost half off the tournament series. All are awesome.
If you don't want or need the carp many farmers will take them for fertilizer. Put a ad on Craig's list or ask some farmers.
Another option is to dig holes in your yard where you need better soil and bury them. Awesome for fixing places grass doesn't grow good.