[Haywood04]

Hey guys,
New guy from SE Minnesota here. My son and I have just started Bowfishing and we are having a blast. Only two problems at this point.
First is there is not enough time in the day or I should say that this 50 year old guy cant stay out till 2AM and fish. recovery is a Bit.. HA!

Second is I am looking at upgrading, well from nothing to something. I am looking at a Cajun Sucker Punch, a Fin Finder, PSE or whatever you think works well while trying to keep a bit of a budget.
Well OK there is a third - Reels, Cajun Hybrid ( I have heard of issues with this) or AMS... for now I do not think I am looking at the muzzy.
Thanks for any input, It is appreciated!
Haywood

 

[kuger]

Go with a reel,start off on the right foot

 

[TrevorM]

Upgrading is a constant thing in this sport. I'd also go with a reel. I've tried them all and still have at least one of each but the ti20 from shakespeare is what gets used most often. You can grab them on Amazon for $20. Then spool them with some RPM monkeywire and you should be good to go. RPM equipment fills my bags and keeps me shooting all day. If you need any help their pro-staff and owner is pretty good to get you hooked up right.

 

[Kajun]

There's nothing wrong with starting out with an AMS. They are the most dependable, reliable and rugged on the market. It will serve u well they years of abuse and later on when you decide to upgrade to a muzzy, the retriever can be put on a backup bow that you would let guests shoot. You for sure don't want to be handing a slightly intoxicated newbie a spinner. Guaranteed not to make the night w/o a problem.

 

[CarpCowboy]

PSE Discovery is a great bow and can be bought for less than $200.

 

[TrevorM]

I was handed a spinner from day one. I lost one arrow last year when the zebco went goofy after about 35 feet of line had already gone out. Just tie to the back and don't use a slide and its been fine. Granted the retriever is a great fail safe/lender for when you want a buddy to come along.

 

[skyshark186]

You'll find that the ams reels get dogged on for being slow or flight issues or a couple other things.

No one will talk about reliability or durability issues. Ive shot thousands upon thousands of fish with the ams reels. You can hand them to beginners, adults, kids, women........anyone can pick it up and shoot it safely without worrying about breaking equipment or having a problem that ends a trip.

The muzzy/zebco/ti20/others are good reels in their own way. They are faster retrieval, some like fighting fish with the drag, and they do provide better flight. Both can be setup to provide more than necessary accuracy for bowfishing. The spinners tend to break down more frequently, or at very least require more maintenance and familiarity with the inner workings.

Id say if you are just a guy that likes to fish and have a good time you wont go wrong either way, but the AMS reels are hands down simpler and bulletproof.

The cajun in my experience doesnt even deserve to be on the board.

 

[TX_SPEEDPRO]

Start out with the retriever on a PSE discovery 2. Will last for years and anyone can grab it and not have to worry about it breaking.

 

[WILDCARD]

I would suggest a PSE Discovery or Mudd Dawg and the Muzzy Pro XD they are very close in price to a AMS but will preform better also shoot a loop to the back of the arrow and you will love it

 

[GarGuy]

PSE Disco IMO

 

[Payphone Jones]

I like the Cajun bow. Bottle or spinner........That's personal preference. I bought a Cajun last year, and it doesn't take long to adjust the setup so just about anyone can shoot it. Stay far far away from the Cajun hybrid reel.

 

[Haywood04]

Thanks for the great advice! Keep it coming!
I have taken the hybrid off the list!

 

[TrevorM]

Before you buy new stuff you might want to check out your local pawn shops. You can often find good things at them for under what they cost to buy new stuff. My first fishing bow came from a pawn shop