My preferred reel system is the ams reel. It is about $125 in a kit. They are worth there weight in gold. I have used several different reel styles and nothing beats the ams reel in my book. I'll try to get a picture of one up.
As for bows I just go to yard sales and pick up cheap old compound bows. I may average $5-30 for them. My current one is a browning. I also use a lot of Fred bears. The ideal poundage for bow fishing is 50-65#. Any less and you don't get good penetrating hits. Any more and you get to many pass throughs. Nothing worse then trying to feed the arrow back through the fish. In those cases I find it is easier to remove the arrow and pull the line back through.
Arrows
I attach the ams arrows with sliders to my line with loop knots. That way they are easy to change out in case of pass through or broken knocks. I'll post pictures of how we have them rigged soon.
Line
I recommend using 200# test line. Nothing is worse then lost arrows do to line breaking. The 80# test line snaps on shots if it is hooked up on anything. On the other hand the 200# send the arrow back at you so you must pay attention.
Most of all AIM LOW. When you think your low enough drop a little more then shoot. One way I practice is to shoot milk jugs that I have sunk. Also find small suckers, leaves and any other small things in the water. It is all instinct shooting.
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