TexasKayakFisherman.com

Hey everyone, I'm new to the site as well as the sport. I have been out in a Kayk a few times in the past. And I loved it. I was on a recent hog hunting trip with my buddy and we got to talking about bow fishing. He said that it is a blast and hasn't been in a while. Is there anyone here that bowfishes? I bought me a used Kayak from a flyfishing buddy who said I was nuts. I'm trying to get some ideas, do's, and don't for outfitting my yak. If anyone has any advice or pics of what they are running, give me a holler. I plan on rod and reel fishing out of it as well, and have had no problem finding an abundance of info on that! Thanks in advance!!!!

Jarrett

No body on here bow fishes off a Yak? Maybe my wife is right and I have lost my mind!!!!!!

Just go for it!
Please,please,please.....get someone to video.

Oh yeah, you might want to use a leash on the bow.

I've thought about bow fishing from my kayak but never done it but I will eventually. Definitely leash your bow to the boat I don't know about you but I don't want to lose my $400+ investment in the water

Give it a try. You need to practice shooting from your ASSumed position in the cockpit of your yak and good luck.

Hopefully I'm not too late to answer, but I started bowfishing from a yak this May and it's a blast. I've been out a few times on Toledo Bend and off the Trinity in Cove, TX. I've got my gear down pretty well:

Kayak (I currently have a borrowed Native Watercraft Ultimate 14.5, which is perfect for it. When I buy my own it will either be the Ultimate 12 or a Nucanoe.)
My trusty Osage longbow
A fiberglass arrow with a reel mounted to a small scrap of Osage so I can hold it in my bow hand when I shoot
Small ice chest for water
Water tight box for phone (gotta take those scenery pictures!)
My "carp bopper", a small piece of elm sapling for whacking the still-flopping fish in the head when I haul them in
Paddle
Polarized sunglasses

One thing to avoid is leaving your fish remains where they'll bother others (e.g. Rotting at the ramp). Supposedly there is a stigma against bowfisherman because of this that I personally don't want to reinforce.

I'm actually heading out to Lake Texana tomorrow to try to nail some gar among the gators. I'll have to report back if anything interesting happens!

Bullfrog12314 wrote:I've thought about bow fishing from my kayak but never done it but I will eventually. Definitely leash your bow to the boat I don't know about you but I don't want to lose my $400+ investment in the water

Without a doubt, I will definitely be leashing my bow. I'm looking for an older beater recurve that I don't mind dunking in saltwater and getting knocked around in the eventual turtle incident.

LOOKN4REDS wrote:Give it a try. You need to practice shooting from your ASSumed position in the cockpit of your yak and good luck.

Ideally, I will have my DIY outriggers set up and I can stand and shoot.

Thanks guys!!! Keep the suggestions coming!!!!!

I have a bow sling that I bought online from Chief AJ. You can google his site. This is much more compact than bringing a bow on the kayak.

I've done it in salt water but instead of shooting from the kayaks we paddled to a shallow area and then waded around to find fish after dark. One of us would paint the target with the flashlight while the other would shoot. It's fun just be sure you know which fish are legal to shoot before you go.

Actually , I have shot carp from my yak . Sitting of course. But I used my target arrows and never found most of them or the fish I stuck. Forgot how much I enjoyed that.