Anyone want to chime in?

[Ralph Wiggum]

From the equipment forum.

[mncarphntr]

Looks like you could try shooting that one from the shelf like a recurve. A longer string might give you more draw length. I would recommend going with the retriever reel. I bought a Zebco 808 to try and can't even get the line to feed out properly. Some people love them but I know the retrievers work. You might have to do some drilling and screwing if your bow isn't drilled for sights but there's pretty good mounting instructions with the retrievers.

[Ralph Wiggum]

There's a threaded hole right below the handle on the front of the bow. I'm assuming that's where it'll mount?

[mncarphntr]

The retrievers mount on the side where the sights generally attatch.

[stellarfisher]

That is where you would put the spool if that was the kind you were using, however, using the AMS retreiver it mounts to the side of the bow. That is why CarpHunter said that would have to drill holes. It mounts like a sight on your bow for hunting.

[HuskerBen]

Ralph-

It looks like a decent bow. 30 to 40# is plenty for carp. You will probably be shooting instinctively, as moving targets don't allow much time to aim, so the round wheels are a plus. They tend to be smoother on the draw, which is what you want.

As for the rest, I am speaking from experience here: keep it simple and tough. I used a glue on rest, and that's not the way to go. It gets hot, the glue gets tacky, and the heavy arrow will pull the rest right off your bow. A roller rest may be good, if it can be installed easily. Just make sure it is securely attached. If you can shoot off the shelf, though, that might be better for shooting truly instinctive.

Check out Sully's bowfishing stuff (I think it's sullysbowfishingstuff.com, but I'm not sure). They have a lot of stuff for the beginner. Some sweet videos, too.

I agree about the no-glove sponges. They're really nice when your fingers get wet. I used to shoot without a glove, tab, or sponges, and my fingers got pretty torn up. Not just from the bowstring, though. When you're pulling in a 20# carp hand-over-hand, and he makes a run, that string will leave marks for months. Trust me.

I used a Zebco 808, and it worked okay. The important (really important, actually) thing to remember is to push the button every time or the arrow will come back at you. In the heat of the moment, sometimes you forget to push the button... Get a safety slide no matter what kind of reel you get. The AMS reel is probably the best reel you can buy, but you can try out a $10 tape-on, shoot-thru reel if you want to see if you'll actually enjoy the sport. No, scratch that... You WILL enjoy it. It's absolutely addictive, and now I'm thinking about strapping an old reel onto my bow again... man, the wife's gonna hate this.

You can spend a whole lot of money getting into this, but you don't have to. Just get out, try it, and you'll see where you need to spend the money. Have a blast.

Ben

[Ralph Wiggum]

Update:

Spent an hour or two at a local "pond" this afternoon to try it out before heading out to the cabin. I shot at about 8 fish and got 2 of them (about 4 and 6 pounds). I'm working on the aiming part It was a lot of fun, especially pulling them in. Do you guys reel them in with your Retriever or by hand. I was doing it by hand.

Thanks again for all the help. I'm going to try to shoot a bunch this weekend, and hopefully some big ones!

[ghotierman]

Ralph...that's a pretty good average, even a major league ballplayer is happy with a .250 average! 4-6 pounders can be tough targets too. Good luck and good shooting!