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I’ve been bowfishing 4 times, before I had a change of heart about it. It doesn’t appeal to me and I do think it’s harmful. As far as limits being a sure thing, every single trip I went on, when it was looking like the customers were terrible at shooting, the deck hands and captains would pick up their own personal bows and easily sticks a few reds to help reach the limit. The reason I had a change of heart was because I realized that when I go fishing, I throw back any fish over 24”. Just a personal preference…can’t do that bowfishing.

With rare exceptions bag limits on fish and game are individual bag limits...not boat bag limits and not me catching and keeping 20 when the limit is 10 and my buddy catching none. When I was a young and stupid man I worked as a duck guide for a lodge in Arkansas. There were 2 things about doing so that was appealing...duck hunting every day of the season and killing a blind limit when the morons who were paying could not hit the broadside of a barn if they had been standing inside it and the doors were closed. I was taught to do this but it did not take much teaching or convincing me it was the way things were done. I would not have lasted long as a guide had I not done it. No matter the reason that is a problem. I have never been on a guided fishing trip where keeping fish was the plan that this was not the way things work...a boat limit. With rare exceptions boat or group limits are not the norm legally but they are always the norm in practice, in my experience. Thats a problem the guiding industry should be taking to task for.

As far as size limits and spearing, gigging and bow shooting most folks starting out can't tell how long a fish is in the water...not down to the level where 1/4" difference means its legal or not. I am sure that ethical folks do not take a fish that is marginal but I am equally certain that newbies and those who ought to know better do it with regularity. When it is done at night the odds of being checked by the man is far lower than it would be in daylight. I am also sure those same people will simply throw a short fish back. I am also certain they will shoot any fish no matter if taking it by bow is legal or not.

It is also not easy to stick a fish with an arrow. When starting out most people miss by a bunch but they get good at barely missing...many of those barely misses result in the fish being injured and dying later.