Being an avid bow hunter and just hving picked up Kayak recently I cant find specific info. in the Tx. game book on the legality of crossbows on rouge fish??? Little help here folks.

Im amazed how I can literally role up on these bad boys. They seem completely unintimidated as long as I'm not making too much noise.

Thanks in advance.

I'll move this up to Open Freshwater where you will get more replies. JP, the admin/owner, has asked that Bowfishing topics not be posted in the Rough Fish section, as it's specifically about Angling methods for rough fish.

hunting from a boat requires special licenses and permits. i read it in texas fish and game probably two issues ago. they classified anything besides fishing poles or the like as hunting equipment

It does not require a "special license and permit". It only requires a standard fishing and/or hunting permit, depending on what you are going after.

Zen,
Look again under "Legal Freshwater and Saltwater Devices and Restrictions for Fish".

"Lawful Archery Equipment
(includes longbow, recurved bow, compound bow and CROSSBOW):
May be used to take NONGAME fish, channel catfish, blue catfish, and flathead catfish only."

Note that Catfish will no longer be legal after Sept. 1st. Be careful how you rig a crossbow for bowfishing considering the extra power. You don't want that arrow slapping back into you.

YEs, a crossbow is legal for taking non-game fish as staetd by JvT above. Just requires a fishing license, not a hunting license.

Hawaiian sling!

i guess i was mistaken i retract my previous comment

Well to give you some credit. There are some lake controlling authorities that do not allow bowfishing. And there are waterbodies within some city limits where those cities have ordinances that consider a crossbow an illegal weapon. Etc. Etc. So one does still need to be aware of the rules where they are bowfishing.

As an example. TheColorado River Authority. No crossbows allowed and bowfishing is limited to certain places and rules.
http://www.lcra.org/library/media/public/docs/bowfishing_regulations.pdf

JvT is correct wiht reagrd to needing to be aware of the local governing boday for each body of water...ex. the Colorado River Authority controls Fayette County Lake and they do not allow bowfishing.

The kayak/crossbow idea may have a few problems. You will be sitting down I would assume and be very close to the water. Most crossbows are at least 100lb pull and would be pretty hard to [censored] in a kayak. I had a 10 foot skinny jon boat when I was a kid that I used for bowfishing. I had similar problems just using a recurve. I ended up getting a speargun at a dive shop and it worked nicely. TP&W code speargun regulations are the same as bowfishing except for catfish which expires August 31 anyway. You wont be able to shoot as far as with the crossbow but I believe you will be very successful on close fish and have a better time. If you try it, educate yourself about spearguns and safety as some are designed to only be fired while fully submerged.

censored huh. I guess discussions about crossbow operation and male chickens are out.

lol. the filter sucks.

Thanks for the move Capt. Moderator

I'm sticking with my short bladerunner bow. Everyone I talked to said that a crossbow would be way over powered. I already got an AMS retriever and am headed to Texoma today. Will post results and pics if any....

Thanks for all the good discussion.

The crossbow is not overpowered due to the short draw length. The average is 150lbs of draw weight but the energy does not get transferred to the arrow due to the short 16-18 inch draw length. That is why crossbows are very loud compared to other bows. Any short bow should work for you and I have made shots with the tip of the arrow already in the water. You may have to do this if sitting down in a kayak. Refraction is magnified the closer you are to the water so aim LOW. Good luck and be careful.

FYI - I have a bowfishing friend who has rigged up a crossbow for his Dad to shoot with due to his problems with drawing a recurve bow...he is loving it and doing pretty good with his accuracy.

So I converted my uber short axel to axel bow (26") to be my fishing rig instead of a "cross bow." After installing my AMS reel here was the first day's outing results:

http://photos-g.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v257/82/31/533931077/n533931077_842430_908.jpg
Fell victim to my very "first attempt" at launching a log pole at him. The problem was he was literally infront of my kayak had to wait for him to clear starboard side before i launched the arrow less then 5 feet from my sitting position. This wasn't a big one but holy cow i was amazed at its fighting power and weight....

http://photos-h.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v257/82/31/533931077/n533931077_842431_2820.jpg
I paddled out of the cove onto the main lake (Texoma) and ran into a group of ducks, geese and their babies. Another reason I love Kayak's if you're quiet you get uber close.

http://photos-a.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v257/82/31/533931077/n533931077_842432_4704.jpg
Victim #2 after loosing 2 fish in a row. I didn't realize you had to reset the stupid fish barb. Lesson learned. This guy took it in the back and landed on my dinner plate. So for my first 4 shots I had a "fish on" just didn't land two of them.

http://photos-b.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v257/82/31/533931077/n533931077_842433_6529.jpg
I pulled into another cove and chased a gar almost as long as my kayak. I was too freaked out to pull the trigger thinking this guy can turn me over. This guy fell victim after missing high on another one.

http://photos-c.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v257/82/31/533931077/n533931077_842434_8057.jpg
I missed another one. Landed a smaller one. Then ended up with my biggest fish of the day. This sucker was literally dragging me across the lake.

So ten shots later 8 fish on, 6 landed, missed 2.

If you've got a kayak and a small bow, get a reel, arrow and enjoy the excitement. I'm headed out next week. I ate half of one of the carp last week. Yea, cleaned right these suckers are just as good as any other fish... plus they are fun to shoot. My friend this morning called me a modern day harpoonist....

Dude, that is really cool. I would love to get a kayak, and do some shooting.

You know it!

I have the ultimate thrill for you to try. Big Gator Gar from the kayak. It might resemble water skiing but would prove memorable.