Alligator setup for a trad bow

[Tegr0429]

What’s your total alligator setup look like for those who have hunted them with a trad bow? I have an old bear grizzly I’ll be adding a “reel” to, not sure what arrow setup I’ll run. I should draw a gator tag this year in GA since I won’t be hunting out west in September.

 

[nevadabugle]

I shot a lizard once when I was a kid....

Best of luck if you draw, but being a desert rat I have no idea what you need!

 

[BadEarth]

I’ve never went for gator but I’ve shot gator gar at really low weight, like 25# and it’s punched through the skin fine. And their skin is insanely tough. Fiberglass bowfishing arrow and whatever tip they recommended for gators should work with whatever weight your bear is.

Good luck!! That’s a dream at add to my bowfishing list

 

[Beendare]

Im following to see what you end up with as best.

I shoot a lot of fish. My bet is the AMS bottle reel won’t cut it as you cannot put a lot of tension on those without slipping. The Muzzy reels are better for carp in the 10-20# range…but even then…too much pressure on the line and you will be breaking pickup pins.

It seems to me guys are shooting those big gators with a detachable head or arrow connected to a float….

 

[WoodBow]

Something like this.

EXTREME ALUMINUM GATOR GETTER ARROW WITH RING AND POINT – Bowfishing Extreme

bowfishingextreme.com

 

[Shawn Hultquist]

I used the old white glass arrow on a buoy Turns out I didn’t need the buoy and extra rope. Shot mine at 4-5 yards. Used my trolling motor for final stalk and turned it off and drifted right up to him from behind. Stoned him in the back of the head. He went belly up instantly. Used a bang stick to make sure. 10’2”.


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[Tegr0429]

Im following to see what you end up with as best.

I shoot a lot of fish. My bet is the AMS bottle reel won’t cut it as you cannot put a lot of tension on those without slipping. The Muzzy reels are better for carp in the 10-20# range…but even then…too much pressure on the line and you will be breaking pickup pins.

It seems to me guys are shooting those big gators with a detachable head or arrow connected to a float….

Yeah I’ll run a reel system that runs to a float

 

[FLS]

I used a regular AMS reel on a 50 pound takedown recurve. The head was a 3 prong grapple style on a regular fiberglass fish arrow. No float, and neither took a lot of line. I threw the bow down and grabbed the line, pulled them to the boat and bang sticked them in the head. Honestly, I’ve shot big stingrays that fought harder.

 

[Beendare]

I used a regular AMS reel on a 50 pound takedown recurve. The head was a 3 prong grapple style on a regular fiberglass fish arrow. No float, and neither took a lot of line. I threw the bow down and grabbed the line, pulled them to the boat and bang sticked them in the head. Honestly, I’ve shot big stingrays that fought harder.

Interesting. How big were those gators?

It sure seems like those big gators would roll and put up a good fight…but admittedly I have zero experience with that.

 

[FLS]

8ft and 10 ft. The 8 fter wound himself up ike a mummy in the line. Drug him to the boat and hit him with the stick. The 10 footer went to the bottom and was just of dead weight until we hit him with the bang stick. The guy I hunted with shot a 12 footer the first night of the season in pretty deep water. It took us a while to get him off the bottom, but once we did, he came right to the boat. The smaller gators may be more energetic, but I’ve been in on several gator kills and they were all kind of the same.
Ive shot big rays and had them run and nearly snatch the bow of of my hands. If you want to shoot something with a fish arrow that will give you a fight, Shoot a big ray in about 2 feet of water and hold on!