Does Bowhunting Get Easier to Fish in Fresh Water?

Choosing the best scenario to bring out your hunting bow for a fishing trip can be a little tricky as a lot of things have to perfectly align for you to be able to successfully catch some fish using your bow.

Bowhunting can be very difficult under the wrong circumstances, so you have to find the exact right environment to be able to land the right shots. This article is going to tell you all about whether or not fresh water is a good environment for you to be able to fish easier.

1. Depth of the Water

While fishing in freshwater can have a lot of advantages to bow hunters, it’s not always a set rule that should be followed as each body of water is extremely different from others. It is best to fish in shallow freshwater rather than deep freshwater as you won’t be able to spot fish to catch if the water is too deep.

It’s also extremely impractical to fire an arrow into deeper parts of the water as the arrow loses its strength and speed the more it goes down. Apart from all that, it’s almost impossible to retrieve the fish that you’ve shot if the water is too deep unless you’re also interested in taking a quick dive in the water after every shot so fishing in freshwater isn’t always easier if the freshwater also happens to run really deep.

2. Clarity of the Water

Using your bow to fish requires you to have a very clear sight of where the fish is as you prepare to take your shot, however, sometimes the water is too murky for you to be able to see the fish, let alone be able to aim properly.

Fishing in freshwater can be extremely good if you’ve got a clear vision of the fish at all times as they’ll be very easy to spot and catch, but if you’re struggling to see because of the murkiness of the water then you should probably stick with other methods instead. 

3. Shooting Ethical Shots 

It requires a lot of skills to fish using a bow, especially if you want to land a shot that won’t simply injure the fish. It’s extremely unethical to wound an animal in the wild, making the animal suffer for a long amount of time. There are multiple guides that can prevent that from happening as there are websites dedicated to informing you of the best tips you can use while bow fishing.

You can explore different websites regarding this topic and read more about what the easiest ethical shots are and how you can land them consistently. Bowhunting fish can be much more difficult than regular bow hunting, so make sure that you’ve got enough practice before you go ahead and try it.

4. Easier for Beginners

Fresh water can be a very good place for beginner bow fishers to begin their water hunting journey as compared to the fish found in saltwater, it’s much easier to see and aim in fresh water as you’ll have shallower waters that are less likely to be obstructed with things like corals or seaweed.

While even beginner archers need to get a good amount of training before they even begin hunting with a bow, they’re still beginners when they start off and the best place for them to begin their journey is through freshwater.

5. Freshwater Has Bigger Fish During Certain Seasons

Fresh water can be the home of some larger game during specific seasons like summer, where larger fish are attracted to shallower waters for their abundance of food. Provided that fresh water has already been an easier hunting ground when compared to saltwater, having a larger target really helps you land your shots better. This makes freshwater a much easier location to go bow fishing in specific seasons where there are larger fish swimming in the water.

Learning about the best hunting grounds that you can take your bow to be a very important step in successfully catching any game as studying the various types of fish swimming in the water and what type of stealth is required can be very helpful when you’re trying to catch some fish.

This also applies to the type of gear you should carry and the type of camouflage that can help you blend into the environment to increase your chances of landing a good shot. Freshwater fishing might be easier when compared to saltwater fishing, but you should never go unprepared, so make sure you’re ready before you head out on your trip.