A bit of free bowfishing advice that may save you some pain

1. Do not, no matter what you do, DO NOT trust the weather man! That is the only job that I know of where you continue to get a pay check even when you are consistently wrong. I'm probably too hard on these guys. They actually do a good job but seems like when ever I really need an accurate weather report things tend to be opposite of what was predicted. Just hope for the best yet prepare for the worst.

2. Don't sink the boat! This is an easy one to avoid yet it still happens on occasion. REMEMBER TO PUT THE PLUGS IN THE BOAT. Last year we were preparing for a show. As I backed the boat off of the trailer and pulled it over to the dock, I got out of the boat and stepped on to the dock. Thank God I just happened to look back at the boat only to notice water coming over the back of the boat. I immediately jumped in the boat and managed to find the plugs in the bottom of the boat and install them before the boat went under. If I had not looked back at the boat and instead walked away to lock the truck the boat would have went under. Believe me when I say that I count my blessings!

3. When you arrow a large fish with one or more arrows be VERY careful when you get the fish on board. Fish are solid muscle. When you have one or more arrows in a large fish and you do not have the fish under control you will have a flurry of solid fiberglass arrows slapping around, very similar to nunchakas coming at you! Just recently a customer managed to arrow a 58 lb. grass carp. It took a couple of more arrows and a gaff to board the fish. As I was attempting to contain the fish I had one hand on the gaff and went for the arrows so that no one would get whipped or stuck by a nock. Well I let my guard down just for a second about the same time that the fish decided to show his muscle. The result was a bowfishing scar to remember and a nice sting!

4. To date no one has fallen out of the Bowfishing Madness boat. Yet it is advisable to bring a change of clothes just in case. I have had to step out of the boat to untangle bowfishing line from the prop, or to push us out of a bind. I have heard numerous stories about people falling out of their boat due to excitement, slipping or just losing their balance. A spare change of clothes will make the trip home more comfortable in case you get wet.

5. If you manage to arrow a large fish it would be advisable to get at least one more arrow in the fish before attempting to bring the fish on board. A large fish can tare just about any arrow out of him. Simply let him run with slack in the string as you ease the boat closer for another shot. The 'pain' portion of this piece of advice occurs when you lose a nice fish that could have been brought on board. This can cause one to say words that are not normally part of their vocabulary.