It was another typical Monday night when I got the call. Dave, a buddy of mine who is an archery coach at the Easton Newberry Sports Complex asked my girlfriend Stacey and I if we would like to go bow fishing. Without hesitation I told him to count us in, instantly I knew the night was about to get a whole lot better.
I had never been bow f
ishing before and up until this point I had no idea what to expect. The excitement was through the roof. As we hustled to get to the Waccasassa boat ramp, we quickly realized that through all of the anticipation we had forgotten the most essential part to the hunt, THE BOWS!! After a short laugh, we raced back to the ho
use and grabbed the bows and soon returned to the water.
Ah at last! We are on the water. After a little coaching, I felt ready to head out. At this point I am itching to let the arrows fly. The conditions couldn’t have been more perfect, the weather was great, bow fishing is at its best at low tide because it makes it easier to spot fish lying on the river bottom. With all that being said, we headed up the river towards Wekiva Springs; to an area Dave has been successful in the past. This section of the river was teaming with fish.
The weapon of choice was nothing special, an old Eagle compound bow, with a draw set somewhere in the 50 lb range. It was outfitted with a rest and fishing setup, nothing else. A fancy sight, stabilizer, and an expensive sticker priced bow were not needed. No need to worry about damaging this rig.
Here we go, Dave is running the trolling motor and the light, I have an arrow nocked, and within seconds we start spotting fish; more specifically long nose Gar. Without hesitation I come to full draw and the next thing I know I’m letting em’ eat. At first I was struggling with landing a fish. What made it even harder was getting used to the refraction on the water surface and the fact that I was shooting bare fingers. Taking all of those factors into account, I had to aim about a foot low. Oh…. and when I say aim, I mean look down the shaft of the arrow. No need for a sight, bow fishing is all about feel. Once you got it, you’re golden! One after another the fish never stopped coming. As fast as I could shoot, another fish would come into range, forcing me to hustle to reel in my arrow and reset. It was a nonstop adrenaline rush.
Dave is guiding the boat, I’m slinging arrows left and right, and my girlfriend Stacey is taking pictures and video. What more could a man ask for? The shot of the night was when I smoked a 30+ pound Gar. This big boy was swimming deep. We were able to troll right on top of him and, “BOOM”! ”Smoke city”! This was definitely a great experience and far exceeded my expectations; hopefully this is a sign of more bow fishing to come. I cannot wait to plan another trip!
Sam, SD Pro Staff
Southern Draw Field Journal 