Technical Manager For Faradyne Outdoors Discusses Physics, Boat Design & Mindset On SEOPA Excursion In Tampa Bay, Florida
Heading out into a bay with clear flats, the wind is about to pick up. In the hunter’s hand, he grasps a bow then he looks down to the water. He opens the drag, pulls back the arrow and releases at full speed as it sails into the water nailing a nearby stingray before locking it in as the creature takes off creating an ensuing fight. This is bowfishing…an interesting twist on the fishing and hunting angle and one definitely more physically active. On the tail end of SEOPA with Hurricane Matthew approaching the opposite coast of Florida, Mark Land, Technical Support Manager, Bowfishing Promotion & Pro Staff Director for Faradyne Outdoors, led a Muzzy Bowfishing expedition on the far edge of Tampa Bay to show the intention, discuss the engineering and display the lifestyle that make bowfishing, for all ages, an engaging sport.
The Buzz: Bowfishing is an unusual fusion of sports. What is the key?
Mark Land: I guess with bowfishing because we are limited to the species that we can actually shoot…it is just like deer hunting. You need to learn your species… learn what their habits are…where they live…where they prefer to stay at…and where they eat. That will help you key in on them.
The Buzz: Are there certain geographic areas that are more conducive to bowfishing?
ML: Well where we are [on the edge of Tampa Bay] is whole different kind of environment because we are shooting in saltwater and it is not what most people do. When you think bowfishing, you are usually thinking carp or gar. This is kind of a unique situation here but then again we are mainly targeting stingrays. Stingrays like to hang out on the flats and the grass beds…especially in the openings between the grass beds or shelves that are really shallow and drop off into the deeper channels. There again it is just the species that we are targeting so you learn where you want to be at.
The Buzz: Can you talk about the physics of bowfishing?
ML: The shooting isn’t any different no matter what species you’re shooting at but you have to learn about light refraction. Most people don’t put a lot of emphasis into tuning their bows. I am very anal about that because your arrow has to enter that water perfectly straight. If it doesn’t hit straight, it will veer off one way or another. And since we aren’t shooting with sights, we are shooting instinctively. Our brain is trying to adjust for each shot. So if your arrow is doing something different every time, you are never going to get consistent with it. Once you get good consistent arrow fire then you start concentrating on your hold-under because the fish you see in the water is not actually where it appears to be. It is much lower in the water column due to the light refraction. It changes at different distances…and it changes at different water depths so there is a constant variable that you have to learn how to overcome. It takes a lot of practice and a lot of shooting but it can be done.
The Buzz: Where did your interest in this sport begin?
ML: I started as a kid shooting fish and walking around on the bank. I’m from Georgia. I’ve pretty much been in Georgia all my life. That is where I grew up. But I didn’t really seriously get into bowfishing until I was grown. And then I ran into some boys who were into it and we actually built a deck with lights. We all pitched in on a generator and basically we had a et up that we could move from boat to boat to boat just depending on whose boat we were going out in. None of us could afford a boat at the time. That is basically how we were able to bowfish.
The Buzz: Can you talk about how this custom boat we are out on today was outfitted?
ML: I actually built this boat several years ago but this is the 5th bowfishing boat I have built. Every time you build one…you add to it…make changes to it…things that you didn’t like on your other boat or you wanted to change. It has kind of progressed but I pretty much got it done on this boat.
The Buzz: What was the biggest upgrade to this version?
ML: A big change I made on my last boat was that I did a deck over-boat. Typically most boats are open hull designs. I like to shoot off of an elevated deck so I am a little higher than the normal gunnels on a boat. When you are shooting fish or handling things, you have to climb in and out of the bottom of the boat constantly. I like a deck over-boat because I can step off the deck and I can run all the way around the boat. I am not climbing in and out of it. I can access things. I can chase fish down. I can also get them over the side easier to the deck over. That was a big consideration. I also like the fish tub that I have set because it keeps all the fish and all the goo and everything in one area…and it actually has a drain that runs out the back so no fish slime goes in the boat. You can clean it out easy. Also I got away from flat bottom boats…even though a flat bottom boat is your best choice for shallow water because they typically will float shallower…a flat bottom boat absolutely beats you to death if there is any chop in the water. And I have had three of those. My last two have had a V hull but this one is actually a Mod V and will handle either rough water or smooth water but floats extremely shallow just because it is such a wide boat. The hull displacement is what you are looking for to get to float shallow. Even though this is a very big boat it still floats in 10 inches of water so it will go extremely shallow…plus the fact that we typically shoot in shallow water all the time. I have a tunnel hull as well in it which allows me to run my outboard very high. I can actually run this boat wide open on a plane in less than a foot of water. If I can get into a spot, I can run across a flat or whatever and I don’t have to shut it down. You can do it in fresh or salt water. The boat has 32 inch sides so it can also handle rough water. I have been as far as 25 miles off shore in this boat. You have to watch the weather conditions of course. When the wind picks up, you go in.
The Buzz: Can you talk about the actual catching of the fish with the bow in bowfishing?
ML: We use spin cast. That is what we are known for. That is what our Muzzy reels are. We prefer those types of reels because they actually have a drag system on it. You can actually fight the fish in without having to let go of it or pull your line in. You just hang on to the boat handle and reel it in like you are holding a rod. So you can actually fight your fish into the boat. But depending on the size of the fish, that would depend on why type of technique you use on your handling. If it is just a normal sized fish, you can just reel them in. If it is a big fish, you are going to pump them just like if you would with any big game rod.
The Buzz: Did that reel design evolve over the years for you at Muzzy?
ML: It did. I have always shot spin cast reels but I got frustrated with the thought that they would not last longer. Spin cast reels are designed to be used with 20 pound line…not 150 to 200 pound line. The ones we’re using right now are 150 pound spectra line. But what happened basically is that I ran into a reel manufacturer at one of the archery trade shows. He was looking at our equipment that we were displaying there. He said “I had no idea you all do that stuff with those reels. I am a reel manufacturer and I would be really interested”. And I said “You’re the man I need to talk to!” So he and I actually spent 3 years designing this reel. We started with a basic spin cast reel and then I took them out and destroyed them. [From there] I said “We need to fix this and fix this. We need to change this.” And we came up with a Muzzy reel which is by the far the most popular bowfishing reel available.
The Buzz: What was the biggest obstacle to overcome in constructing this current form?
ML: Actually [that would be] the strength of the drag system because the drag isn’t designed for that much pressure. Neither were the gears inside the reel because they have to be very robust. There is a lot of shock laid on these lines. Spectra line doesn’t give…there isn’t any stretch to it…so we had to cushion the take up on the reel and any reverse we had to rebuild. We did a whole new drag system for the reel. It is actually a very unique drag system. It is a disc type drag instead of an expanded disc drag that a lot of reel manufacturers use. You can put well over 40 pounds of drag pressure on these.
The Buzz: Can anyone do bowfishing?
ML: This, probably next to squirrel hunting and dove shooting, is probably the easiest sport for anyone to get into. And we always promote it for families and kids…as well as getting non-hunters involved in the sport. I like to use the analogy…like with kids…yes… they want to go do what dad does but some kids are more sensitive than others. You don’t know how they are going to react to actually killing an animal. If they are holding a bleeding, flipping, wiggling bird in their hands, it could traumatize them…but most people don’t have that effect with fish so it is a really good way to introduce kids into hunting as a sport.
Tim Wassberg
A graduate of New York University's Tisch School Of The Arts with degrees in Film/TV Production & Film Criticism, Tim has written for magazines such as Moviemaker, Moving Pictures, Conde Nast Traveler UK and Casino Player. He enjoys traveling and distinct craft beers among other things.
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