pike through the ice with bow-fishing equipment.
There are a handful of excep-tions, as certain lakes contain sustainable populations of Muskellunge. These lakes are closed to spearing and bowfishing for pike for the simple reason that the two species could easily be misidentified.
Be sure to check the state regulations for any lake you’re planning to visit.
Hearing that this new law was taking effect, I started making plans to go as the opening date grew near. I cut my teeth on a small lake near my home with a good population of pike and as luck would have it, I was success-ful my very first time out. I knew right away that my bowfishing addiction could now be sustained year-round.
Bowfishing has always been a part of my life thanks to my dad who raised me on the sport. With every passing year I learn new things from my experiences and I’m lucky to still have my dad at my side from time to time.
Bowfishing through the ice for pike requires nothing special from your current bowfishing equip-ment. However, when shooting in the tight quarters of a dark house it’s nice to have a short bow.
Recurve bows can be difficult to maneuver in these settings, so we like to use AMS compound bows. My bow of choice is the
Fish hawk set at a 40lb draw weight.
One thing to keep in mind is that pike are a soft-skinned fish and using a fish point with good holding capabilities is a key to successfully landing them.
This season I am using the new Ankor points from AMS Bowfish-ing. The Ankor’s barbs lay flat against the point, punching a relatively small entry hole in the fish. As the arrow passes through, three barbs open up to provide over 2.5” of holding area on the FX (Full Extension) version, or 2” with the QT (Quick Turn) version.
My suggestions for bowfishing equipment are based on what I feel gives me an advantage. I expect to see fish of many varieties and sizes and I would never use anything other than
what I think is the best of the
best.
A few other items are needed before bowfishing through the ice can begin: a decoy, a dark house, an auger and/or ice saw, a push bar, or ice tongs, and a mesh net to scoop out ice shavings.
Pike bowfishing is a stationary sport and fish decoys are com-monly used. These come in end-less shapes, colors, and sizes. Decoys are made from wood, or plastic can be bought commer-cially in a store/bait shop, or they can be hand-carved by the savvy do-it-yourselfer. They all seem to work.
Live decoys are also legal. For example, a live sucker can be lowered below the ice attached to a harness, or pin. Decoys, live or artificial, do not contain hooks. They are only used to attract and draw a pike close enough to provide a shot. In some instan-ces, the pike are quicker than the shooter and may attack the decoys!
I attach my decoy to a small fishing rod and periodically jig it to attract a pike’s attention. If I get a pike that’s really interested I will try to reel the decoy up closer to the hole to make the
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Obscure Adventures Magazine
Ty looks for areas with weed growth in depths 10 feet or less. Sunken trees also indicate structure that may hold pike.
Jigging a decoy lures the pike in. Sitting in near darkness allows the natural light coming through the ice to illuminate the water.