I just got a bow recently to start bow hunting for next years season. I never really thought about bow fishing but now thinking I might want to try it out some. Am I able to use the same exact bow that I use for hunting? It's the diamond edge sb-1. If so.. what else would I need to buy so that I'm all ready to go try it out? Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
Yeah you can, most people use a lighter poundage bow so they can shoot easier but you can use your hunting bow, all you need is a reel, string and an arrow. You can find them pretty cheap online or your local sporting goods store. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I would recommend not using your hunting bow unless you don't mind the time it takes to setup each time. I use my old youth bow for bowfishing and it works great. All I bought was the Muzzy Extreme Bowfishing setup and I was good to go.
While you could use your hunting bow there are a few considerations to be made. Bow fishing is messy... here in Kansas the mud and silt get all over everything, slime and scales mixed with blood, everything gets wet, and most hunting bows are a bit over powered. You will know what I mean when you sink a shaft in the mud and can not pull it out because it is buried to the hilt. Jug reels are nice but have used a spool and even a 404 Zebco reel to get it done. Now I have a OMP Sand Shark with a jug reel and it is great. You can get about any cheap 50 lb compound or old recurve and get the job done.
This is how I'm setting up my bow. Mainly as an experiment to see if it can be done. I want it to be multi purpose meaning that I can hunt turkey or deer in the morning, bow fish in the afternoon, and 3d shoot the next day without having to change my bow setup. I turned my draw weight all the way down as far as I could. About 62 pounds is the lowest I can go. I think 55 would be better but it's not an option for me. My Limb driver Pro V will lift the fishing arrow with no problem. It's a very simple and sturdy design, doesn't have a bunch of small moving parts to gum up and the launcher arm is metal so I think it will work just fine for all around use. If not, I have a G5 Expert 2 drop away that I know will fill the bill. I aim using a kisser button and no peep sight. I use a three pin fixed sight for hunting and 3d so I moved all the pins to the bottom half of the sight and set them for my normal distances. This leaves the top half open and clear for shooting at fish. A reel seat that screws into the stabilizer bushing and a zebco reel and I'm ready to go. That's my theory, anyway. Whether it pans out in practice remains to be seen. At any rate, for serious bow fishing, I will probably set up an old bow strictly for that purpose. Sent from my VS500 using Bowhunting.com Forums mobile app
