Bowfishing combines the skill of archery will the thrill of fishing. Bowfishermen use archery equipment (compound bows, traditional bows, and crossbows) with specially designed bowfishing reels and line. A fish is shot with the arrow and then reeled in with the reel. Quite simply, bowfishing is fishing with a bow and arrow.

Bowfishing tournaments are a lot of fun. There are basically two types, numbers (total number of fish) and big fish, like a Big 20 (biggest 20 fish). It's a great way to meet other bow fishermen and get ideas on boats, etc.

This is a matter of personal preference. The retriever reel is probably the most popular reel. It has no drag, no button to push, and rarely tears up. The disadvantage to is that it's slower to get fish in and many times the line falls out and gets tangled in things. These reels use the Muzzy extreme type line or Brownell 400# Fast Flight works extremely well too. Some prefer the push button spincast type reel. It uses the fast flight 200# line on a reel seat.

You can start simple with a trolling motor, Q-beam spotlight, and 12 volt battery. We did that for many years and killed many fish. The next step would be a generator with halogen lights, like the 500 Watt work lights, just make sure you have enough generator to power them. A raised platform is another common addition. Aluminum flat bottom boats are the choice for most. Then you can progress on into fan boats and air boats for the real hardcore.

Yes. The future of our sport depends on having organized numbers of sportsmen band together for a common cause. This is what we use to fight the anti's. It's also a great way to meet people that you have something in common with. A group like the Bowfishing Association of America is a great organization to join and I encourage all bowfishermen to join.

A regular fishing license is required in most states, as is the case in Alabama, but check regulations for specifics, a hunting license may be required in some areas.

Yes. You just have to be able to remove some of your deer hunting accessories and replace them with bowfishing accessories, like your sights, rest, stabilizer, etc.

The carbon bowfishing arrows are a bit lighter and straighter, so they do fly slightly different. With a little practice, you quickly adapt to it though.