How Do I Get Back?

How Do I Get Back?
By Matthew Schillinger
The majority of bowfishing is done under the stars for good reason. There is less boat traffic, you don’t
have the sun burning the flesh off your bones, the wind usually calms down, and of course the hunting
and shooting of rough fish is better. Nothing beats going out on a nice calm night, shooting carp and
buffs under the lights of the boat. You are cruising back and forth in the bays, along the shore lines,
around islands, and before you know it, its 2:00 am and you have to be to work at 7:00am.
Caution must be taken when bowfishing at night and on new bodies of water that you are unfamiliar
with. A broad range of GPS units and chart plotters are available to help you navigate the water ways atnight. Some are hand held’s and others mount to the dash. These are great tools to get you back to the
boat landing, and maneuver up and down water ways during the day, but are especially useful at night.
They will show depth of water, where you are located at, channel markers, hazard buoys, and some will
even display stump fields, and rock bars.
I like the Lowrance iFinder H2Oc. This unit is small, light weight, and I can take it to the back of the
boat when I drive and also to the front so I can keep track of my position. This unit runs on two AA batteries or a cigarette plug. I use re-chargeable batteries as they seem to last longer, and I like to keep two
extra sets on hand at all times because we never turn the unit off once we are on the water. The buttons
are big and easy to remember for night time operations and the zoom in feature is great. I would highly
recommend the purchase of a Navionics Hot map chips or regional lake SD cards. These map chips or
regional SD cards will add a whole new dimension of exceptional graphics.
Lowrance H2O iFinderc
Garmin also makes a wide variety of GPS units and Chart Plotters. The GPS Map 431/431s are great
units for navigating the waterways. These units are dash mounts and feature a
4” color display. The GPS Map comes preloaded with U.S. inland lakes. The
GPS Map 431s will add sonar to clearly illustrate depth contour, fish targets
and structure. Both units have an SD card slot so you can add additional maps
without connecting to a computer. You can
purchase the optional Inland Lakes Vision SD card which will add a whole
new dimension of exceptional features to your chartplotter. Marine Eye view
and Fish Eye view provide you a 3-dimensional perspective of map information, both above and below the waterline.
Garmin GPS Map 431/431s
Whenever I hit a new body of water I always try to get to the lake at least one
hour before total darkness. We launch the boat and the first thing I will do is
mark the boat landing. Now you can hit
the water and make a safe path. When it’s time to start hunting and
shooting fish you can head back into the bays and work the
shorelines for several hours. When it’s time to leave all you have
to do is follow your path right back to the boat landing. Caution
still must be taken when returning to the launch or a different
location at night even if you have plotted the path on your unit.
Just because you have a GPS unit doesn’t mean you can drive at
full throttle. Floating logs and debris can cause serious injury or
death.
Not only are these devices used to get you from point A to B but you can also use them as scouting
tools. Say you are shooting a new body of water. Let’s use Kentucky Lake as an example. Kentucky
Lake stretches over 180 miles with countless bays and inlets. I would have a hard time remembering at
night time what bay, point, or shoreline I found fish especially when you are 15-20 miles from the boat
landing. The days of lining up those trees with that house along with that stump are gone when you’re
fishing at night. With a GPS unit you can mark these spots and find them again the following night.
These spots can be saved and over the course of a couple years you will have a variety of spots to
check and scout for fish.
Bowfishing at night is something I wish I could share with everyone. The sounds of the tree frogs,
seeing birds, snakes, beavers, muskrats, different species of fish that you see, the moon rising above the
trees, and I love the way the lights shine of the water and light up the trees along the shore. Bowfishing
doesn’t get any better than at night, so please be careful and remember not only are you responsible to
be considerate of other boaters, but you are responsible for the people in your boat. Slow down and
be safe.
Until next time aim low, think big, have fun, laugh lots, and fling arrows all night long. Enjoy this great
sport that we all love.
About the Author
Matthew Schillinger
Matthew started at AMS Bowfishing in the spring of 2007. His passion for the sport exploded that summer and before you could say “Look, there’s a Carp!” he had his own boat rigged up for all day and all
night bowfishing. He can describe to you every seasonal change in bowfishing, what to look for in the
spring, summer, or even late fall. His trips with AMS have taken him to most of the southern states,
Louisiana, Texas, Florida and as far east as the coast of Maine. He has shot at Alligator Gar, Stingray,
and every kind of Carp you can name. Matthew has participated in several tournaments with his best
finish being First Place at the DRBA, Down River Bowfishing Association, Ohio River Tournament in
August of 2010. As the current Public Relations Representative for AMS, his job now entails promotion
of the product through archery based dealer shows, bowfishing seminars and tournament participation.