North Australian FISH FINDER TM forums

Hi All,

Does any one bow fish up here?
Is it legal?
Ive got a couple of spare bows id like to thow in the boat and have a go with.
Any help appreciated.

Cheers
Mick

dont know about legal?
but have seen bow fishing from the wharf in gove years ago.
nice clear water with a high vantage ponit seems to be the go from what i saw.

Have a chat with the blokes at the bow hunting shop in winnellie, they have all the gear.

dont know if its legal but it looks like a lot of fun..

It is not illegal as far as I can tell. The only problem is finding the water that is clear enough to actually have a go at a fish. Apparently spotlighting works on the neaps with an electric motor. I reckon it would be heaps of fun.

I fish alot where i "attempt" to sight cast fish. thinking it might be a bit of fun to give it ago and a kit is around $100 i have the bows. I spose it would not be allowed at corroborie or shady. once the bow is set up its only realy able to be used for fishing so maybe it would be ok.

I used to do lots of spear fishing with a spot light in the harbour. I wasnt sure if it was legal so asked the tinny boys. Turns out that spearing is allowed if it is not powered in any way ie a bow. I use a 14ft peice of bamboo with 6mm stainless spear points with 3mm barbs made from weldalls. Works good if ya hit the fish it stays hit. Neap tides are the go, has to be no wind at all or you cant see the fish. Great fun.

well went to the archery shop today picked out the kit i wanted. have been told it is fully legal as long as its not on national park.

Bow-fishing is perfectly legal in the NT and is covered under the same equipment description as spear guns in the NT fisheries act. though its been a few years since my last bowfishing escapade. Night time around the harbor poling the shallows with a spot light will see you have a great time. keep your shots to a range of 5-10m as any further and you will find out quick about snap-back! snap-back is when the arrow runs out of cord and comes back at the same speed as it leaves the bow and the risk is increased as the distances increases. I prefer to use a recurve or longbow due to the simplicity and poundage is personal but 40# is heaps for bow-fishing!

ah thanx BEAR time to try and wind down the old 70# i have.

how did ya go with the bow fishing? keen as mustard to give it a go when i get back up there

Theres a guy at work here who loves it. He is still fine tuning his skills but has quite a few kills to his name.

yeah 70lb is a bit much... cracked a good threadie with my 70lb Martin and it took over an hour to coax the arrow out of the mud/ sand. As Bear said, 40lb and short ranges are ideal, polarised sunnies during daylight help heaps too.

Shooting barra in the nt is illegal

However sharks. stingray and other legal sized scaled fish are all ok...... sawfish are also a no go

Show me the legislation Goldfish!! Where is it written that it is illegal?