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Concept
Bowfishing
Summary
Bowfishing is a fishing technique that uses specialized archery equipment to impale and retrieve fish. A bowfisher will use a bow or crossbow to shoot fish through the water surface with a barbed arrow tethered to a line, and then manually retrieve the line and arrow back, in modern times usually with a reel mounted on the bow. Unlike other popular forms of fishing where baiting and exploiting the fish's instinctual behaviors are important (e.g. angling, netting, trapping, and hand fishing such as noodling), bowfishing is similar to spearfishing and relies purely on the fisherman's own visual perception and marksmanship, and usually do not involve using other tools such as hand net.
Historically, bowfishing was practiced for subsistence, but in the 21st century it has increasingly become an outdoor sport, practiced across the United States. Sport bowfishing is mostly unregulated as of 2023, but the practice is increasingly gaining attention and study across disciplines. Due to the lethality of arrows, catch and release is not possible with bowfishing.
Traditionally, bows were usually very simple. Most did not have sights, and aiming was executed by line-of-sight judgment down the arrow. Modern sport bowfishing mostly uses sophisticated compound or lever-action bows, some of which are fitted with laser sights. There are a couple of types of rests including the hook-and-roller rest, and the full-containment rest (with Whisker Biscuit being the best-known brand of the latter). Most bowfishing bows have little to no let-off and are typically designed for 40–50 pounds (18–23 kg) of draw weight. Some other bows can have as much as draw weight.
The crossbow is also sometimes used in this manner and has its own advantages, including the use of a reel. See Recreational fishing.
Bowfishing arrows are considerably heavier and stronger than arrows used in other types of archery and are most commonly constructed of fiberglass, but solid aluminum, carbon fiber, and carbon fiber reinforced fiberglass are also used.
Official source
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