so ive never tried it before but am thinking about giving it a go. i have a 30ish lb recurve i bought for my wife to play around with during deployments that i am wondering if it would be enough power for bow fishing. nothing crazy, just maybe flounder at night in the shallows and spadefish when i go on boats. not looking to put a lot of money into it otherwise id just buy a good setup, but any thoughts?
If you target Catfish try not to shoot em in the belly, the barb has a good chance of pulling out on the big ones as they try to swim away.
other than that, I know very little about it and the only thing I’ve ever killed with a bow was a baby chick when I was little… by accident.
“Why Bruce?”
The general consensus on bow fishing poundage is 40-45 is the jumping off point. I know guys that shoot higher poundage (60+) but they’re “those guys” if you know what I mean. 30 would be a little too light, in my opinion. At that weight, pass through shots on non-flat fish will be the exception and not the rule and you’ll be limited to very shallow water and very close shots because of the lack of energy.
No matter how much it hurts, how dark it gets, or how far you fall…you are never out of the fight.
I saw a guy once bow shooting spade fish
It’s fun! Some of my family has been doing it a good bit this year. My shoulder won’t let me, but it’s a blast to watch! Here are a couple from this year. Shooting trout in the dock lights is a BLAST!
Wadmalaw native
16’ Bentz-Craft Flats Boat
ive definitely shot my fair share of deer with a bow along with a few squirrels with judo points, but have no intention of setting up a 70lb compound with 75% letoff for shooting flounder up close and maybe an occasional spadefish. i guess i could always give it a go and if it doesnt work too well then im out a $15 arrow. i have tried this bow vs a 1/2 piece of plywood with a junk arrow and it was able to punch through at the 15ish feet i would even take a shot with, leading me to belive it would work fine up close for fish, but havent done it with a barbed arrow vs fish.
I did it for a bit with a compound bow that was set at 60+ but we didn’t bring it back all the way. I always thought a recurve would be better for it. I stopped because I hated putting dead fish back in the water if they were a hair too big.
peeking around online im seeing arrows with a drum reel for maybe $40, which is tempting me to hook it up to my compound anyways so the next time i see schools of spadefish on the surface and dont have jellyballs i can start filling the boat. that being said my compound is an older PSE thats rated for about 295 FPS, but has no problem passing through even a fat northern deer. im aware that a fiberglass arrow will be MUCH heavier and slower than my carbon ones, but will the deer bow be absolutely ridiculous for longer shots at spadefish? i also played around a bit more with the 30# recurve and it penetrated about 3" in a glen del 3D buck target at 7 yards with a junk arrow and mostly round target point.
quote:
Originally posted by OhioNavyNukepeeking around online im seeing arrows with a drum reel for maybe $40, which is tempting me to hook it up to my compound anyways so the next time i see schools of spadefish on the surface and dont have jellyballs i can start filling the boat. that being said my compound is an older PSE thats rated for about 295 FPS, but has no problem passing through even a fat northern deer. im aware that a fiberglass arrow will be MUCH heavier and slower than my carbon ones, but will the deer bow be absolutely ridiculous for longer shots at spadefish? i also played around a bit more with the 30# recurve and it penetrated about 3" in a glen del 3D buck target at 7 yards with a junk arrow and mostly round target point.
You are way over my head on bow talk. I just want to see some pictures when you start sticking them!
“Why Bruce?”
ONN, just started doing some bow fishing at Clarks Hill. Have pair of compounds set at 35 lbs. but would probably crank up another 10 lbs for spades. No way i wanna mess up a $23 arrow shooting a flounder on those oyster shells. I was driving while my son and buddy of his were shooting in pics below.
Had full intentions of busting a Cobia this year, but we know what happen there!
NN
found this while surfing youtube, see a future project in the making;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGm8Mle262I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3n8B79bOJUc
Ya know, it must be nice living in Neverneverland. Remind me to come visit you, when I need a break from reality.