What about a bowfishing forum? Separate it from the haters and let this legal sport have a voice.

Bowfishing topics are welcome in the general freshwater and saltwater forums.

since bowfishing is not really fishing why not start your own bowfishing forum with likeminded folks .

All ready in place - http://bowfishingforum.com also http://www.texasbowfishingassociation.com/

WHY KILL JUST FOR THE HELL OF IT.AND LEAVE AT THE BOAT RAMP TO ROT?

Answer to the original question is "NO".

Hmm interesting statment. Wonder why you have to have a fishing license for it then. There are other fishing forums on the web too, so I guess we should just shut this one down and use them.

I don't see a reason you couldn't have a forum for bowfishing, as you said it is a legal means of taking non-game fish. You'll usually get endless comments about how terrible bowfishing is on this forum. I've never done any bowfishing, and while I think it would be fun(I love to bowhunt), I don't eat carp and therefore will not kill them just for fun, so that's why I've never shot one with my bow. Pisses me off every time I pull up to a lake and see mounds of decaying carp that have obviously been shot by a bowfisherman. If you're going to use them in some way or at least dispose of them properly, it's legal so I say go for it. If you're going to pile them up dead on the bank or shoot them and drop them back in the water, that's where I have an issue with bowfishing. It should be illegal to throw them on the bank in my opinion. If you were to go shoot an exotic, say an Axis down by San Antonio where there are some free roaming, and you dump it in a ditch the game warden will be looking for you even though they aren't regulated by tpwd, just like non-game fish. I agree something must be done about the carp numbers in many lakes in Texas, but piling them up on the bank isn't the answer.

I don't think it is a an issue of maturity, but I would swear some folks on this forum must have had pet gar or carp when they were kids. Any attempt to discuss your sport will be met with soap box speeches and generally a bad attitude

It's not maturity it's just the way of the world these days. If someone doesn't do something themselves, then they think no one else should. And then feel it's completely appropriate and necessary to voice that opinion; usually in a hateful manner.
I don't bowfish but I hear it's fun. Start your thread and ignore the haters. They will start to look like idiots eventually.

+1

Agreed on this. Maturity isn't the problem. The main problem is the perception - true or not - that bowfishermen as a group are extremely wasteful with the public resource by shooting large numbers of fish and discarding them rather than putting them to use. There's also a growing number of anglers who recognize that alligator gar in particular need greater conservation efforts - they are a native Texas fish after all, and grow to impressive size if given the chance.



It's been illegal to do this for quite some time now.

I agree

Bowfishing and discarding fish at a boat ramp to me is no different ethically than people keeping undersized fish which I see at fishing docks and off the bank. Some people believe that if it's big enough to get on the hook it's big enough to go in the pot.
I have no problem with bow fishing other than that. It's a great way to fertilize a garden with rough fish.
Just don't waste what you take.