A Beginners Guide by Grady McGraw

Bowfishing is a way in which some people choose to go fishing, where they use specialized archeryequipment rather than the traditional fishing pole and fishing line. Fish are both shot and retrievedwith this specialized bow, as it has a line attached to the bow, which the shooter can then reel in.Some of the things that people commonly hunt with this approach include different varieties of carp,alligator gar, paddlefish and in saltwater, sharks and rays are also commonly sought after. Beforeyou get started with this type of hybrid between fishing and hunting, however, there are some basicthings you need to first familiarize yourself with.

Before you set out to go bowfishing, you must make sure that you are a licensed fisherman. Thissport is more fishing than it is hunting, so everything revolves more around that aspect of it thananything else. Nearly every state in the U.S. will require you to have a fishing license before you canlegally go fishing in that state and this specialized form of fishing, even though it uses differentequipment, is no different. Speaking of equipment, the next you need to make sure you have isproper equipment that has been approved for this type of fishing. There are many different types ofequipment and gear that you can purchase, so you should do a little online research to see whatpeople recommend as the best. Also remember that some states will have laws on the books thatstate specific equipment and gear you absolutely must have.

Depending on which state you plan to go bowfishing in, there may or may not be a specialized safetyor beginner's course that you will be required to complete before you can legally go fishing witharchery equipment. These classes should be very brief, usually only lasting for 8 hours on a Saturdayor Sunday. They will give you all of the very basic safety guidelines, precautions, proper fishingmethods to use and rules for fishing in that specific state.

Also keep in mind that in most states, you will not be able to go bowfishing at any time of the year,at least, not legally. It is very likely that the state you are going bowfishing in will only permit you todo so during specified seasons rather than the duration of the whole year. This is simply becausethey want to allow certain types of fish to be able to reproduce and keep the waters populated. Alsocheck to see which types of fish are permitted to be shot.