Senate Bill 53 - The PROHIBITION of bow fishing...
 

Senator Dan Claitor, R- Baton Rouge, has proposed a bill (Senate Bill 53) during the current session that would ban the taking of redfish by bow and arrow OR by skin divers using spearing equipment.

I personally have no feelings on the issue being that I do not bow fish, but I am interested in what the passionate SC community thinks about Senator Claitor and his bill.

You can stay updated on the status of all the current bills that will be affecting Louisiana's "sacred trinity": Conservation, Natural Resources and the environment, at www.lawildlifefed.org

it is NOT to ban bowfishing. Just taking Red fish with a bow.
We are the only state that allows it it think??

You can still take non-game species.
Considering the years and dollars it took to get the red-fish listed as game fish......I can almost (ALMOST) understand the fight.

I say, for every red fish taken, you must show proof of taking five asian carp as well.

There is no research to support it though, frankly on either side.

Im against it on principal.... i dont think they should be limiting our rights like that.... i have not seen a decline in redfish since commercial fishing was banned, i have seen the opposite and bow fishing has been allowed... if it aint broke dont fix it

I agree with Meaux fishin on this. It's been legal and the redfish have been making a good comeback, so leave it alone. I too don't bow fish, but to the guys that do, let them have their fun. Just as with hunting or rod n reel fishing, don't waste a shot red and throw it overboard so you can kill another, get your 5 fish and find some gar or sheep head to go after.

I don't bow fish so I don't really care the outcome but I've got a feeling this will pass no problem.

this is my deal... I've been hearing of guides taking their clients bowfishing overnight and coming home with 2 days worth of limits instead of one since they bowfished through midnight... I think THATS wrong. As far as bowfishing let them go have fun but only come back with one days limit of fish even if you've went through the night. I'm pretty sure if I was nightfishing and caught my 25 trout but then fished until 12:30 AM and caught another 25, then i show up at the dock with 50 trout. I'm pretty sure i'd get a ticket for keeping over my limit.

I think it should be ban......You cant shoot a bass on her nest with a bow so why a redfish? You want to shot a bow in the water shoot Carp or Garfish....There is lots of trash fish out there

thank you.

The word from some in Leeville is many reds are injured or come off the arrow before they make it to the boat. The air boats make a lot of noise coming back in at 2 or 3 in the morning. The duck hunters say the airboats are disturbing the ducks at night. I don't bow fish or duck hunt, it will be interesting to see how this one ends up.

Practicality is usually the most beneficial. If people are abusing current conditions and conservation efforts and habitats are being enhanced, then it's worth losing a small portion of the sport.

Bow fishing takes away the right of the fish to bite or not..........I agree though that five fish a time will not hurt the fishery.

But if we do not support this as sportsmen, then the commercial guys could use this as precedent to fight the game fish status of red fish.

boy what a mess that could cause!!

so bow fishermen give up five reds or the entire rod and reel group give up game fish status??

something to consider.

I think that bow fishing redfish will be over after this as it stands now. Now they may start up other options for it like high license fees or something. but for it to fall under normal fishing license will definitely be over Im sure

There some guys on the other site that are ragging CCA for this...but simplepeddler said it best...whats the big picture here???

Im not gonna rag on it just because I dont do it. I'm sure its prolly a blast and would just be a money pit for me if I ever tried it. but I dont have the money now and thats really why I've never tried it. I have spearfished and it is AWESOME but once again, another money pit that I cant afford to fill right now.

So all in all I know alot of ppl are going to be furious if this ban passes but since I dont do it, I dont really care right now but at a minimum they will put a special license on it or maybe seasons or something. But Im sure the way it falls now will not stay the same

Instead of worrying about bowfishing reds, Senator Claitor should be addressing the law that allows only steel shot to be used on waterfowl.They should be passing something that will legalize lead again. Lost cripples from steel shot account for way more unconservative deaths than lead poisoning. In the years that I've been guiding I have seen more loss birds from that sh***y azz steel shot. I think alot of sportsman would agree with me also. I do take into consideration that some birds will be lost, but I have seen WAY more losses with steel. I see nothing wrong with bowfishing reds, however lets try to make good judges on the shots we take and the equipment being used guys. I can understand the rave of losing the reds from coming off the spear before retrieving them but what about the fish we catch that swallow the hook or what have you??? There is always a downside to something. Thats just my opinion fellas. I look forward to some feedback on the steel shot topic though.

redfish spawn offshore so they are not sitting on their bed...also redfish produce way more eggs... avg Bass 10,000 a spawn avg redfish 1.5 million a spawn

There is a huge difference to shooting bass on beds and shooting reds in the shallows. Reds don't spawn in the shallows. I have never bowfished or shot a bow for that matter but I will not support CCA in the future. As far as setting precedence, CCA brought the matter up, so if they loose this battle, and it does set precedence, then you can blame them for doing so.

What ticks me off is that they are using the gamefish status as the reason for the ban. When they made the arguement of why the status was needed it was never brought up or mentioned that it would mean a ban on bowfishing them. I am going to try to make a comparison. Let's use Red Light cameras as an example. When they were brought in it was supposed to stop people from running red lights. Then once they were installed we realized they also ticket you for speeding...

I know I will catch flack because a lot of you guys are big CCA supporters but that is my opinion

I'm not arguing it either way. Like i said earlier I don't want to see a two day limit come out of one outing you know? I'm pretty sure W knows where redfish spawn, at least I'd hope. He was just using it as a comparison, he's nothing new to fishing i dont think.

Should it be called BowHunting fish... not Bowfishing?

Define fishing: the sport of business of catching fish