Bowfishing arrow shaft diameter

Pusher

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Hello and stupid question.

are the fiberglass bowfishing arrows a wider diameter than a standard arrow? I just beed to get an arrow rest and my compound bow will be ready to take carp fishing. Can I use something like this, or is it shaft specific? One of the questions was answered that it wouldn't work, which made me wonder what I am looking for.
 

harringtondav

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I haven't bow fished for over 50 yrs. But I remember my fishing arrows were very heavy fiberglass, maybe solid. Intended to penetrate the water surface with minimum deflection. I'll dig out my old archery stuff and check the shaft diameters.....thinking they are the same or maybe even a little smaller than target/field arrows.

Edit: My one fishing arrow is 5/16" dia. Same as my 53 year old cedar shaft target arrows. I have no idea how modern compound bow-capable arrows are built, or their shaft size.
 
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Pusher

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Thanks Dave! I haven't been in archery in 10 years so that does help.

On another note, I replaced the 20 year old string with a 52" one (per factory recommendation) but didn't replace the cables. The new string seemed longer than the original string. Is there any problem if the new string were 1-2"s longer than original. It's recommended to change the cables with the string but they looked intact and safe (not worth $60?).

Any thoughts on any of that is appreciated.
 

harringtondav

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I was only a 40# re-curve archer. I've handled compound bows. So I'm guessing a longer bow string may reduce your release power. But if it allows you to draw beyond that (breakaway?) mechanical advantage point, it may not matter.

Arrow lengths are a function of the archer's reach. The same bow could be used by archers with draw differences of several inches. I recall reading about cam pulley (?) adjustments to tune the bow to your needs.

I'd pay attention to the cable end crimps and where they travel around the pulleys. Those areas would be the first to go. Thinking someone just wants to sell you new ones.
 

Pusher

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The let off on my pulleys is pretty minimal due to the marginal cam action. I did read that twisting the cables will shorten them, but I might have the opposite problem. The string that was on there had 3-4 strands left (super frayed so 52" might be the right length... I just have a hard time imagining it stretching 2 "s.

I'll keep an eye on the ends and buy new ones if I see what you're warning about.

side note... I started with a recurve and love their simplicity. I may just go back someday.

thanks for the suggestions!!!
 

Grub54891

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My 15 year old fishing arrows are 5/16ths also, solid fiberglass. Don't think they changed much over the years. I know the one tip I have with the wire barbs, I'd loose the fish, as the barb would fold back. The metal collapsible tips worked well.
 

Pusher

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Thanks grub. The one arrow I have is the folding kind so hopefully it works out. I'm trying to avoid spending much now in case I don't like it as after all.
 

james__12345

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You can twist the string same as the cables to shorten it some. As far as the rest goes I personally doubt it will work out for you for bow fishing. The arrows are HEAVY!!!! compared to a regular arrow so the bristles will probably flex too much. Also, in my opinion there is a potential for a snag if you tie to the back of the arrow with that rest.
 
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