Bowfishing - Combining Two Pastimes into One Sport

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Published: 26 August 2015

(Provided by Michigan DNR)

Bowfishing - combining two pastimes into one sport.Roy Beasley grew up fishing, but when he discovered bowhunting, he changed his technique. He became a bowfisherman.

“I still bass fish at my parents’ cottage or with the guys at work,” he said. “But I like doing this more.”

A research vessel captain with the DNR, Beasley is one of a growing number of sportsmen and women who like to combine hunting and fishing, using bows and arrows to take a wide variety of fish, including many that are generally not targeted by hook-and-line anglers.

Bowfishing is legal for bowfin, bullheads, burbot, carp (including goldfish), catfish, cisco, drum, gizzard shad, longnose gar, smelt, all species of suckers - including buffalo and quillback - and whitefish.

Beasley has taken most of them, including a number of Master Angler fish of six different species. But he particularly likes chasing gar and gizzard shad, because their narrow bodies make them more of a challenge.

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Could This Be the Year for Duck Hunters?

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Published: 17 August 2015

Could this be the year for duck hunters?Will this fall finally deliver waterfowl hunters the banner season they’ve been expecting the past couple of years?

All the components are in place. Once again, nesting conditions have been superb in the North Country. Both ducks and geese populations are up.

But as Hoosier waterfowlers know all too well, it depends on the kind of weather Mother Nature hands us when the season opens Oct 24. She hasn’t been very forgiving the past few seasons.

Indiana’s proposed season and bag limits set up similar to last year. Although the proposals require U.S. Fish and Wildlife approval, that likely won’t be a problem.

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