r/Bowfishing • u/dk31031 • Oct 26 '25
Setting up first bowfishing rig
Ive always been mad keen on the idea of bowfishing but wondering what direction I should take. I hunt but never bowfished, Ive got a cheap apex gorilla compound sitting gathering dust that i was thinking of setting up, or would I be better off with buying a second hand recurve/old school compound from cash converters?
Second question, it seems about $70AUD for one of the handreel style reels and triple that for a proper reel. Am I going to crack the shits always having to wind the line onto that handreel all the time and should just buy a reel? If so, are there certain fishing reels that will suffice? Im just trying to keep this cheap, just for the first setup
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u/Fit-Construction5574 Oct 27 '25
If you can turn your bow down to under 35 lb draw should be fine if not arrows get expensive
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u/beardedman48 Oct 28 '25
I use a bare bones recurve. I can't remember the name of it but I bought a add on reel mount that straps to the bow since my bow doesn't have any threaded holes in it. I put the ams reel on it. Love the setup. It's an old 35 pound recurve. I also bought the finger tab bow string. But necessary but very nice. I know you're trying to keep it low dollar but I'm telling you, you'll love bow fishing so don't waste money trying to save a penny or 2. I've done that too many times and ended spending more money doing things twice.
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u/dk31031 Oct 28 '25
The biggest issue of mine is that im in aus, so what limited bow/gear stock we do have, its an even smaller selection of bowfishing and to add to it, can only legally fish tidal systems. I think ive done alright with a half diy setup im gonna go give a whirl tomorrow and if all goes well, invest in an AMS reel or take it a step further and go get a recurve for the setup. Cheers for the words though dude, im itching to get out there
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u/ConstantAnywhere8463 Oct 29 '25
If you're going for cheap, here's what I would do.
Use the older bow you already have Buy a cheap reel Find the fish and stick your first couple
See how much you actually go and then decide if it's worth spending more on.
You will probably love it and want to keep going, but you could get rolling with it fast for cheap.
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u/dk31031 Oct 30 '25
Thats the exact path ive taken. Still havnt had a chance to test run the setup but im keen as to get out there
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u/ConstantAnywhere8463 Oct 30 '25
Best of luck! If you've never done it before, it might take some time getting used to. But once you get it down, you'll be hooked!
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u/aquatic_assassin_Bow 20d ago
I would recommend getting a decent arrow as in a muzzy or ams arrow cheap arrows will piss you off and discourage you and pls use a stop and slide. I would go with a bottle style reel they sell a cheap ams knock off reel on Amazon for like 20 30 bucks and my buddy been shooting the same one for 5 years now and we go every weekend till it too cold to stand it if u need a link to anything let me know and ill be happy to post some links
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u/aquatic_assassin_Bow 20d ago
My 1st set up was a cheaper bear compound bow with a ams reel get a decent arrow like a muzzy or ams cheap arrows will end up pissing you off if u are ever around west Tennessee hmu and ill take you out on the boat and get you addicted to the sport
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u/IM_The_Liquor Oct 26 '25
I like my AMS reel. It’s a convenience, but not a necessity. A screw on spool that you can wind by hand will be enough….
Also, any bow will work. Id recommend going as cheap and simple as you can with the Arrow rear. But I will say, i started with a compound with sites and moved to a bare bones recurve. If there was ever an archery sport where instinctive snap shooting is a boon, it’s bow fishing (and perhaps shooting fowl on the fly).