Bow Fishing in Mississippi

Almost any freshwater body of water in the Magnolia State is home to fish that can be harvested with a bow. It's one of the fastest growing sports in the country and is a heck of a lot of fun. Besides keeping your archery skills sharp outside of the fall bow seasons, it's challenging and rewarding.

Regulations

The MDWFP allows the taking of bigmouth buffalo, common carp, gar, catfish, shad, and bowfin year round by bowfishermen in fresh water. They allow any type of bow to be used, including crossbow, traditional recurves, and compound bows. Remember to keep your creel limits for gar (two or less) and your local WMA lake limits for channel catfish in mind as well. When using one of the 19 state-operated fishing lakes in Mississippi, be sure to have your permits for using the lake in addition to your state freshwater license or waiver.

Equipment

Starting with your bow of choice, you will need to add a bowfishing reel to your rig. These can range from $20-$300 from PSE, AMS and others. With carp reaching up to 60-pounds in state ponds and lakes and gar being as stout as 200, a good strong line is recommended. Don't just tie your fishing line to the end of a regular shaft and let it fly, this can cause snap back which is dangerous besides being a royal pain in the behind if it gets tangled with your bow. There are several techniques to attach the line as well as dedicated shafts and points marketed by Muzzy, Cajun Archery, and others made just for bowfishing that are not that expensive. Also don't bring your 70-80 pound Hoyts out there or you will find yourself blowing right through your fish and having the madness of trying to reel in a fighting buffalo or gar with your arrow shot out into the mud past him. Typical draw weights that bring success are in the 30-50 pound region.

Tips and Tricks

Watch out for refraction. This is the phenomena where a fish is not actually where it appears to be in the water below you. For fish even a few feet away refraction can spoil your shot. A good rule of thumb is the 10-4 rule to help eliminate this optical illusion. Basically explained, the 10-4 rule states that if the fish is 10 feet away from you and in one foot of water, aim four inches low. Double this or halve this as needed for fish 20 feet away or five feet away respectively, but you get the general idea. Sometimes you can get right on top of large gar chilling out along the bottom and in these instances get reliable shots through 2-3 feet of water, but taking an angled shot at fish deeper than this is always a gamble. Always aim for the front third of the fish and be pretty sure of what you are aiming at due to logs.

Bowfishing at night, as long as its allowed in your lake of choice, is a lot of fun and a strong Q-beam will help spot those big rough fish hanging out on the bottom.

Bambow

The Bowfishing Association of Mississippi was established in 2007 to "promote the sport of bowfishing by providing a forum for communication, to provide structural means of support for annual and semi-annual bowfishing tournaments, and to facilitate fellowship among likeminded outdoorsman." They now have more than 70 active members throughout the state and sponsor several events each year. In 2012, they sponsored no less than nine events from March to August at Pickwick, Eagle Lake, Chotard, Lake Ferguson, Yucatan Lake, and others. One of the biggest benefits of the association is in the tribal knowledge of these bowanglers.

Bow fishing can be a blast, but remember, there is no catch and release in this sport so be ready with your buckets to take home what you harvest.