Archery fishing hunting, more commonly known as bowfishing is just one of many fun sports used in the bow hunting world. This normally starts in early spring and continues through out the summer months. Some of your best times are during the warm spring days when the rough fish (carp, dogfish, gar and alligator gar fish or any fish not considered to be game fish) are starting to spawn. But even after the spawn during the hot summer months can also be very fun. Since all my archery fishing hunting has been done in Michigan, I will talk mainly on the experiences I’ve had. Most achery fishing hunting is very close in being the same in any region in any part of the world.
The first thing that you must do is, get all the rules and regulations from your local Department of Natural Resources (DNR) or your local sporting good store. These rules and regulations vary greatly from state to state in the U.S.A. In the state of Michigan the season starts at different times for different bodies of water. Inland lakes and different rivers also vary for the times or seasons. Your archery fishing hunting regulations will give all differences and seasons and what type of licenses are required. Most rules are very simple and self explanatory.
There are basically two different times of the day to go bowfishing or archery hunting fishing: 1) during the warm part of the day light hours 2) during the night time hours
Both are very fun and some special equipment is required in order to help you be successful. First, while bowfishing during the daylight hours either wear chest waders for moving around in the water, or use a boat to navigate much larger bodies of water. While using chest waders I am usually archery fishing hunting small back waters on a river or a small inland lake. You need a good pair of sunglasses that will penetrate the suns glare on the water. You can find all equipment online with usually good savings. If not, just go to your local sporting good store and purchase these items. The same equipment will be used while archery fishing hunting from a boat. I use a simple 16 foot flat bottom boat with a platform built out of ½ inch treated plywood covering the front two seats. This allows you to see much better down into the shallow waters.
Next will be the night time archery fishing hunting. A few more items will be necessary for bowfishing at night. If you are bow fishing by walking around using waders once again, you will need some sort of light source. I’ve found that by using a light like a minors hat light works very well. Where ever you turn your head the light will follow allowing you to pull your bow back without any interference.
When using a boat the same aspect of the minors light works well along with having lights mounted to the front of the boat, usually a couple of feet above the water, aiming downward so the light will penetrate. The lights that many use are halogen lights, varying in watt sizes ( 200 - 500 watts) which are generated by a small generator placed near the back of the boat. Many serious bow fishermen use electric motors to propel them through the waters while hunting and air boats to get to and from different locations. I’m a little old fashioned and still motor around with a small 6 horse power outboard motor and do a lot of rowing. My dad and both of my sons have done it this way for a long time. In fact my dad and I used gas lanterns mounted on the front of the boat for many years before we started using the generator and a dusk till dawn light mounted on a short pole which was attached to the front of the boat.
My father, while he was Governor of District 7 of the Michigan Bow Hunters Association, held a tournament every year at the Kalamazoo river, near South Haven, MI. This tournament is still being held today and keeps growing in numbers of archery fishing hunting people every year. There are times after the tournament is over, two semi-trailers are filled to the max with carp and other rough fish. The DNR actually hopes the bow fishermen come every year to keep these rough fish from taking control of this very beautiful river. The fish that have been taken are transported to cat and dog food making companies or fertilizer companies, and in this process nothing is being wasted. Many of the carp get up to 30 pounds plus. Dad shot a carp once that weighed 56 lbs. and my biggest was 38 lbs. Sometimes, dad and I had a contest with each other to see who could shoot the most doubles. This happened quite often because of the fact that while spawning the carp would travel in pairs or even sometimes in threes and we would be lucky enough to connect on two at the same time. Talk about having fun! We would also shoot some very large goldfish, which are in the same category as the carp. Some weighing as much as 10 lbs.
Some of the equipment needed for archery fishing hunting can be easily purchased through the internet. I’ve even seen some starter kits for the beginner, starting at as little as $150. This includes the bow (which normally is less pull weight) and all the accessories to accommodate it, such as, the bow reel, 100-200 lb. test line, the solid fiberglass arrow, and the special fishing point used. Also for the more avid bowfishing hunter, the finer much more professional used items, such as the reels, cost as much as $150. This is the equipment used mostly by the professional, who enters contests for the big money. Some of these contests are shooting alligator gar fish that weigh hundreds of pounds a piece or shark bow fishing and many times for shooting in contest just like I do for carp, only they are put into a different category for the Pros. You can, as an average bow fishermen, learn many good secrets from the professionals. They also have new equipment they try out every year.
KEEP IT SAFE!
Good Hunting!
Ted Lake
About Archery and Archery Hunting. In depth information about archery target shooting and archery hunting for the beginner to the most avid archer. Tips on maintaining all your archery equipment. Also many valuable tips to help you get the most out of your hunting experiences, whether it’s small game hunting or large game hunting.