John's Journal...


What I’ve Learned from 27 Years of Bowfishing and Competing in Bowfishing Tournaments with Mark Land

Day 4: The Least Expensive Way to Get into Bowfishing with Mark Land

Editor’s Note: Mark Land is the technical support manager for Feradyne Outdoors, LLC (http://www.feradyne.com/) which includes Rage Broadheads (www.ragebroadheads.com), Muzzy (www.muzzy.com), Tru-Fire (www.trufire.com) and Nockturnal (http://nockturnal.com).

He handles the bowfishing promotions and the Feradyne Pro Staff, including Muzzy.

Click for Larger ViewSome bowfishing teams consistently score high in almost every tournament in which they compete. We’ve already discussed the importance of scouting, but two other factors weigh heavily into bowfishing success – being committed and spending more time practicing to win, and having better equipment than the people who don’t do well in tournaments.

Click for Larger ViewShooting a fish with a bow and arrow isn’t very difficult, but locating the fish to shoot and pinpointing the biggest fish in the lake is almost an art and a science combined. If you just want to go bowfishing, you don’t even need a boat. You can wade in shallow water and shoot fish. You can bowfish out of a one-man boat or a flat-bottomed john boat. But if you really want to get serious about bowfishing, there's no limit on the amount of money you can spend to get an airboat, all the electronics, lights and generators that you need. Specialized steering and many other items can make your bowfishing more efficient. I've seen some bowfishing boats worth $100,000 that can accommodate four or five bowfishermen at a time. They have high horsepower engines, and they're designed specifically for bowfishing and nothing else.

Click for Larger ViewWith the growth of bowfishing, and the increase in the size, the number and the costs of the bowfishing boats, some of the best tournament bowfishermen also guide for bowfishing on their home lakes. Because bowfishing is being promoted more and more, people are learning about the sport. The least-expensive way to learn how to bowfish and be successful while you're learning is to go with a bowfishing guide. A bowfishing guide usually supplies all the equipment. He has a well-equipped boat, and he knows where the fish are. A party of three or four people may go bowfishing and shoot 100 times each at fish. I have to insert a caution here - bowfishing is one of the most addictive sports ever. I've never taken a person who hasn’t bowfished before - who hasn’t wanted to go again. Usually within 2-3 months, they’ll have all the things they need to bowfish on their own. A night or a day of bowfishing with everything furnished, including the boat, the guide, the lights, the bows, the fish arrows and the fish points generally costs about $100 per person.

Click for Larger ViewYou can get some information on bowfishing on http://www.muzzy.com, or on our Muzzy Bowfishing Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Muzzy-Bowfishing-115477487783/?fref=ts. Also, there are numbers of bowfishing groups that you can join on the internet and get information from about good lakes to bowfish and how to bowfish better.

Chancy Crowell - “My Greatest Bowfishing Trip:” https://youtu.be/mHYRa2iqYug

To get John’s book, “The Bowfishing Bible,” go to http://amzn.to/22zX7Zz. To learn more about hunting and fishing from John E. Phillips’ print and eBooks, go to www.amazon.com/author/johnephillips and www.barnesandnoble.com.

Check out our new website at www.johninthewild.com.

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About the Author

John Phillips, winner of the 2012 Homer Circle Fishing Award for outstanding fishing writer by the American Sportfishing Association (ASA) and the Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA), the 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the year and the 2007 Legendary Communicator chosen for induction into the National Fresh Water Hall of Fame, is a freelance writer (over 6,000 magazine articles for about 100 magazines and several thousand newspaper columns published), magazine editor, photographer for print media as well as industry catalogues (over 25,000 photos published), lecturer, outdoor consultant, marketing consultant, book author and daily internet content provider with an overview of the outdoors. Click here for more information and a list of all the books available from John E. Phillips.

Tomorrow: Equipping the Bowfisherman with Mark Land


Check back each day this week for more about What I’ve Learned from 27 Years of Bowfishing and Competing in Bowfishing Tournaments with Mark Land

Day 1: Mark Land Loves To Shoot Carp Tournaments with His Bow
Day 2: Mark Land on the History and the Growth of Bowfishing.
Day 3: Mark Land Explains How to Win a Bowfishing Tournament
Day 4: The Least Expensive Way to Get into Bowfishing with Mark Land
Day 5: Equipping the Bowfisherman with Mark Land

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Entry 874, Day 4