Thread Rating:
  • 0 Vote(s) - 0 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
Any bowfishers?
#1
Hey all fairly new to nevada and was wondering if there was any bowfishers on here?
[signature]
Reply
#2
Hello Bliztline and welcome to BFT. I haven't done any bowfishing yet, but I've been wanting to get into it. I have an old compound bow that I've been meaning to get a reel for. I want to get the AMS retriever pro.

What setup do you use for bowfishing?
[signature]
Reply
#3
I went bowfishing one time years ago down on the river in laughlin. It was pretty fun. I only managed one carp after shooting at least 20 times. I bought a cheap reel attachment for my compound which came with an arrow and everything. The arrow tends to get real loose after it hits the water.
Its tough to catch and release with that method [laugh]
[signature]
Reply
#4
I have a browning buckshot with a muzzy xd spinning reel on it. I used to shoot a retriever but switched to a spinner this year and will never go back. I tie to the back which gives me better arrow flight and easier to get fish off of on pass throughs. The arrows I shoot are Black dog bowfishing arrows since i am a prostaff shooter for the company. Where are you located? Im out of the reno area and have just been shooting lahontan.
[signature]
Reply
#5
I'll have to take a look at the muzzy spinning reel. I don't think I've seen them. What didn't you like about the AMS retriever? Did you have the newest version?

I'm down south in Las Vegas. That's too bad as I'd like to go out with an experienced bowfisher to learn the ropes. What are you shooting, Carp? Trout?
[signature]
Reply
#6
I had the older version. There is nothing wrong with retrievers I just prefer spinners. With a retriever it's hard to play fish with the reel unless they are small. Any decent size fish you have to set the bow down and play the fish by hand. I do all my shooting off a boat so setting the bow down on the deck is hard with 2 other people in the boat. Good way to get it stepped on or kicked into the lake. With a spinner setup you can fight the fish off the bow and have a drag. It cost about the same to do either set up.

With a retriever it's nice to just knock and arrow and shoot and not have to worry about pressing any buttons. The only fish that you can shoot in nv is carp. Not sure about stripers since it is legal to spearfish them.

If you are ever in the Reno area let me know and I'll take you out. Last weekend we shot 156 in 4 hours between my wife and I
[signature]
Reply
#7
Cool, that sound like a lot of fun. Thanks for the info about the different rigs. The carp will still put up a nice fight even with an arrow through them, eh?

What do you do will all those carp anyway?
[signature]
Reply
#8
Yes they do. They will pull my 1648 bass tacker around in the water.

As far as disposing of the fish I called the game warden and he said that he recomends puncturing the air sacs and sinking the fish in the middle of the lake. He also said that digging a big hole and burring them is ok too.

If you have any questions feel free to ask me. I would like to get a bowfishing associaton in nevada started so that we could have to tournaments.

Last word of advice is aim low!!!! most of the time i am not even aiming at the fish I am aiming under the fish. It is hard to do but once you get the hang of it you will be sticking fish left and right.
[signature]
Reply
#9
I did some bowfishing when I was younger. There are canals up in WA (where I grew up) and we would walk along the canal bank and kill carp. It was a lot of fun but it was nearly impossible to hit the carp when the canal was full so there were only a couple months out of the year when we could actually hit the carp.

I imagine you have to be in pretty shallow waters to hit carp or the carp have to be swimming arround pretty shallow? How deep can you shoot a carp effectively with a bow?
[signature]
Reply
#10
Where at in wa did you grow up? That's where I moved from.

We have shot them as deep as 7or 8 feet. Need a higher poundage bow for those deep shots.
[signature]
Reply
#11
Eastern WA, in a small town called Ephrata. About 20 miles north of Moses Lake (also pretty small town but a bit bigger).

I used a friends spare bow, it was an old recurve bow, and it had some kind of light weight nylon rope tied to the arrow. I think it slowed the arrow considerably. It was pretty ghetto but fun. I'd say the deepest I could frequently kill carp was probably 2-3 feet of water. Occasionally I could get them in deeper water... Sometimes I would hit the fish but it didnt have enough momentum and wouldnt puncture them deep enough to pull them in. My dad and one of his buddies still carp hunt pretty regular up there in WA.

If I had a boat I think I would probably get into it, but it seems like it might be pretty difficult to have any success bowfishing lake mead from the shore. I did just get a canoe, but I have never owned one and I'm not sure my balance is good enough to draw a bow whilst standing in a canoe lol.
[signature]
Reply
#12
Very cool. I grew up on the wet side of the state but did a lot of shooting at potholes and the waste ways. Is your dad going to shoot the washington state championship in June?

As for the bow shooting slower if you were shooting a fish arrow out of it they are about 1300 grains where a normal arrow is about 3-500 grains so it is a lot heavier
[signature]
Reply
#13
Hey Blitzline,

Cool to see another bowfisher in Reno. I just moved up here in January. Sounds like you have been ding pretty good over at Lahotan! I, myself, haven't shot on any Nevada waters this years because I have to wait till June to be considered a resident. So only a few more weeks and I can get my license! On the other hand I have a non-res CA license and shot around 20 fish down in the Owens Valley back in April. I'll be headed back down that way next week so hopefully they are still around.

That many fish in one day would make a heck of picture. Have any photos?
[signature]
Reply
#14
I have a few pics I'll post up. None will all the fish at once since its too much weight in the boat. Do you shoot from bank or boat?

I think I'm goin Saturday or Sunday depending on the wind reports if you wanna get a one day license I should be the only one in the boat. Depends if the wife wants to get up early
[signature]
Reply
#15
[Image: 83e203d7.jpg]

[Image: 5d5b0cb5.jpg]

[Image: a8d604e0.jpg]

[Image: c932dfcf.jpg]

Hope this works
[signature]
Reply
#16
Awesome pics. Most of my shooting is from banks on canals. Only shot from a boat twice but didn't have as nice as set up as you do with the platform and everything.


As for the offer, I would definitely want to go if you have room. Saturday would be my best day to go. I'll shoot you a pm with my contact info.
[signature]
Reply
#17
Thanks for the pictures, bliztline. I'm wishing I was in Reno so I could take you up on the offer. I'm glad you connected with a fellow bowfisher in your area. That can be one of the best parts of BFT, meeting fellow anglers.
[signature]
Reply
#18
Hello Kidd2, welcome to BFTNV. Thanks for joining the site. If you do go slay some carp on Saturday, please take some pictures and post a report here.
[signature]
Reply
#19
I'll get some pics posted up if we go out. I gotta get a scale for my boat. Had one fish 2 weeks ago that was in high 20s.
[signature]
Reply
#20
Here are some pics of our trip today. Shooting was slow and water was really murky but we still managed 63.

[Image: 60d85c7c.jpg]

[Image: 6b582e9e.jpg]
[signature]
Reply


Forum Jump:


Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)