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Welcome to The Bowfishing Podcast — the ultimate destination for bowfishing enthusiasts of all levels. This show dives deep into the fast-paced, adrenaline-fueled world of bowfishing.
Hosted by Industry Professional Chuck Belmore and joined by top bowfishers, gear makers, and conservationists. Tune in for real stories, expert tips, tournament recaps, and everything you need to hit the water with confidence.
00;00;00;00 - 00;00;18;45
Unknown
All right. We got our great friend here from Louisiana. Allen Captain Allen Gator from Southern Salvo Fishing. Chuck and I both had so many great times coming down, getting to know Allen and shooting with him in Louisiana and also at all these tournaments. Allen has just been a staple. He's competed for a long time and been very competitive.
00;00;18;45 - 00;00;35;17
Unknown
World champion. And it's just always fun to be around him and rib him a little bit. And we've had a lot of great times. So I'm super fired up for him. To just tell us a little bit about southern Louisiana fishing. What it's all about and why we love it, and why we need to come see him down in Southern style.
00;00;35;21 - 00;01;05;03
Unknown
Take it away, Allen. I'm I'm going to jump. I'm not going to jump in yet. I'm already start off here. Tell us about it. I get off. Yes, sir. That's you. I'm Allen Yetter, horn selling star bow fishing, boat fishing. 44 years we've been in business for 30, 32 years now. And we like to chase the big alligator gar.
00;01;05;07 - 00;01;09;53
Unknown
You know, we shoot redfish Shepherd, like, drove flounder.
00;01;09;53 - 00;01;29;21
Unknown
So we've been fortunate enough to be able to do this for quite a few quite a few years. And we love coming out here to be a bass pro US open events and music events and all our events as well.
00;01;29;21 - 00;02;02;38
Unknown
World Championship. And we just love Ovation, Bonefish and it's fun. Alan So you both fished all over the country and tell us what's special about right at home. Why do you love it in Louisiana so much? Well, we get we have a we have a variety. Legally, we just shoot alligator, gar, redfish, flounder, sheepshead, black drum, you know, all the carp species.
00;02;02;43 - 00;02;22;11
Unknown
And so it just depends on, you know, what we want to go for that particular night. You know, we got options. And that's what's fun. You know, we come down there over the years, you mix it up one night, we go shoot groceries, you get redfish, you know, shoo catfish. The next night we go after trophy alligator gar.
00;02;22;15 - 00;02;39;35
Unknown
And, you know, one of my fun things about going down there, favorite things. We've run into crazy stuff. We've seen water buffalo. When we've been out there about fish, you're seeing dolphin, you know, you see all kinds of stuff. And while going with you, us, it's a big place and it's unforgiving. We got the Mississippi River. You got it's a huge marsh.
00;02;39;40 - 00;03;08;17
Unknown
And how long have you been both fishing down there? And you know that place like the back of your hand? Well, but now banana all my life and of course, things have changed you. we have hurricanes. And, you know, it's kind of shifting things around and shifts the river around the sediment or the marsh. You know, we're losing some marsh there in motions of trying to build it back up.
00;03;08;21 - 00;03;38;39
Unknown
You know, it's like any time you come down there and if you have pleasant weather, you're going to do you're going to do good. We're on a tide system down here. So ideally, you would like to try to fish for the fall and tide if you can, because it kind of cleans up the water a little bit as it, you know, as it's going out and just have its on limited amount, you know, territory and what.
00;03;38;42 - 00;03;58;26
Unknown
Well, we can fish. I mean, it's unbelievable. There's not a place in this country that's that's better than Louisiana when it comes about fish. Well, that's something I've always said. The people that that reach out to us, you know, they they've seen our shows and seen the videos that we get. And they say, man, you know, they want to take that next level.
00;03;58;33 - 00;04;14;47
Unknown
They say, I want to go chase alligator gar, but I don't know where to go and on who to call, you know, what state do I need to go to? And you're the first person that I, I give them. I'm want look here, call Allen. He's going to take care of me. Now. I can't guarantee you going to go shoot eight footer like JP did.
00;04;14;49 - 00;04;33;26
Unknown
You know, I can't tell you you're going to go shoot a seven and a half footer, but I can just about bet you my truck you're going to see a six footer plus fish, which is a trophy in anybody's box. Question If they never had one and I don't know anybody else that's put more people on that bigger fish in the last five years than you guys have.
00;04;33;31 - 00;04;55;18
Unknown
And I'm not trying to make your head big, but I'm just telling the truth. And JP nailed it and you did as well. That place is an ever changing ecological system that if you're from Georgia or you're from Missouri, we go down there. This weekend is a totally different animal than it was the week before, and it could just be because of a 25 mile an hour wind for two days.
00;04;55;23 - 00;05;16;23
Unknown
Or it could be because we got water coming down the Mississippi or some kind of crazy storm, you know, or supermoon. No. And that's why I tell folks like, look, you go down there with someone that knows the marsh, knows what to look for, and that's something I'll put you on the back, even when we've been down there before getting our butts kicked, I call you up and you say, Hey, damn, this is where you need to go.
00;05;16;28 - 00;05;32;17
Unknown
And we go over there and there's fish and clean water. Well, and that gets us to the next point a lot of times down there and with you guys, it's not fun. And the fish, it's finding water you could see. I mean. Yeah, because it's so beat up either from the water, you know, high water from the wind there.
00;05;32;18 - 00;06;06;01
Unknown
Once you can find that clean water, the fish are there. Yeah. It's like anything. I mean, the weather plays a factor in everything you do. And if you have a it well, it doesn't have to be perfect in Louisiana just halfway person and because of all the territory and you know different places it's just if you picked the right area you know to do what you have to do that's that's where we at with that and animator you're a wealth of knowledge not only about bonefish in Louisiana but you know, around the tournament scene.
00;06;06;01 - 00;06;22;21
Unknown
Like I said, you've won world championships, you've won a lot of tournaments, you've competed a lot of places. I know you haven't won the U.S. Open yet and you still got that competitive fire burning deep and you still want it back. And I love it. And I got to shoot the world's with you for numbers. And, you know, I picked up some tips from you when I was out there.
00;06;22;35 - 00;06;36;59
Unknown
And I think there's a lot of people that will be watching this or I see people back here behind us shooting billfish and targets. Right. And they're trying to get a leg up on the competition, doing a little bit better. And one of the tips you gave me when we shoot numbers is your shoot little tiny yard. You don't need to draw a bow all the way back or you know, you don't need many pounds.
00;06;37;04 - 00;06;49;57
Unknown
But you said, hey, quit half drawn that thing. You hit a lot more fish and it wasn't shoot bad. And after that I shot a lot better when I pulled that thing all the way back. And so it's something I've kept. I put in a memory bank and now whether it's big fish or gar or anything, you know, I'm like, I'm gonna hit my anchor point.
00;06;49;57 - 00;07;03;52
Unknown
I will take my time and make a good shot every time you know, someone picked up from you. So what are some tips? You know, you don't to give away a secret spot, but what are things that you think about when you're shooting a tournament that you think help you be competitive or try to get a leg up without giving anything secret?
00;07;03;52 - 00;07;31;31
Unknown
Like what can these teams be doing to level their game up? Well, of course, you know, you have to spend a lot of time on the water. If you don't have a lot of time, then you have to try to figure out what looks better, you know, on your Google Maps or, you know, nature's like that. But anything that's I like it.
00;07;31;42 - 00;07;59;36
Unknown
I don't like little small areas. I like bigger areas where you have bigger water flowing. But of course, big areas, I mean, windier, you know, things like that. So before I'm shooting in a tournament or, you know, shooting, you know what clients I look the weather up, I looked at tied up, you know, I'm trying to put ourselves in the best possible position.
00;07;59;36 - 00;08;16;12
Unknown
Like that's all going to cover water and you're on it like other teams fish in too fast and they're button up their whole or they're driving over fish that they're not having a chance to put in the boat. And so that was something else I picked up about not only like which bank to pick because the south wind, but how do you go about hunting a whole how do you go about attacking it?
00;08;16;12 - 00;08;34;06
Unknown
You will go in there, guns blazing, run up to you, and then it's done with for the night where you go in there, pick them, pick through it and take your time. No, no, we're going to we're going to pick through it. And a lot of times what people don't realize is that those ga, especially if you're in a grassy area, goes ga underneath that.
00;08;34;11 - 00;09;09;49
Unknown
Okay? And when you come in, buying that boat is sucking them out. You know, it's just sucking them out. So, you know, you can make a couple of laps in there and you want to try not to dirty to water as much as possible, but you can kind of pick through it and you can tell after you've been through it the first time, basically how many fish is in there if you have to make another lap or not, if you're seeing them consistently, then you know, they're they're they're so, you know, you might want to come back and, you know, just kind of zigzag around in it and, you know, back and forth, back and
00;09;09;49 - 00;09;35;40
Unknown
forth, you know, so what what is one of the things that you would tell, you know, 20 year Old Island, if you could go back, if you were looking at because I'm just going to jump into the competition scene like we are. You're here to compete the day like you always have been. And in you're one of the reasons you and Butch, you know, me and Shorty got into both fishing tournaments.
00;09;35;45 - 00;09;53;51
Unknown
We went the musi, I think 99 or 2000, whatever. When we got beat, they'll beat us like a drum, you know, had that awesome airboat that you had. And then the next year you had the counter rotator, you know, and, and like, you know, we were young, it's sport and stupid and didn't know what we were doing and just watched.
00;09;53;51 - 00;10;11;20
Unknown
And we see new guys bringing in just these big massive fish and just absolutely just beat the brakes off everybody. And I'm like, these dudes just rolled in here in my home lake. Then I thought I knew something about and they just kicked our teeth in and we had never seen a fish this big all year. And I was like, Come hell or high water.
00;10;11;20 - 00;10;30;27
Unknown
We're going to figure this out. Like, if they could do it, we could do sooner or later. And so we just started trying to figure it out. But what would what would you say to a 20 year old, you or some of these young guys that are getting excited about maybe traveling around the United States and trying some of these different tournaments and just kind of getting their wings under them to jump out and try some new water.
00;10;30;32 - 00;10;53;41
Unknown
You know, you've been around like I have. We've seen the evolution of, you know, Google Maps, we've seen the evolution of Onyx. We've seen, you know, satellite imagery. We've seen lot scope coming in the scene. Now, what would you say to a 20 year old you that's most important if you want to take that next level and go somewhere else and just draw something out of the void?
00;10;53;46 - 00;11;29;20
Unknown
Yeah, I would I would say that you have to stay focused. I mean, that would be the first, the first starting point going into it. And I know you get excited, you want to do this, you want to do that and go here and go there and do all that. But now I mean, I just come up with a game plan, you know, and we're trying different things.
00;11;29;20 - 00;11;58;04
Unknown
We're moving all around because everybody in the tournament scene is going to move around. They're all going to try different things. They're all going to, you know, see back in a day, there wasn't no electronics. Right. You know, while we was competing in all that, you had to figure this out for yourself. Now, I think people are kind of, you know, relying too much on that kind of on that kind of stuff.
00;11;58;08 - 00;12;27;30
Unknown
But it all has its purpose. But I would say that you got to stay focused and you got to be mentally prepared for, say, a storm comes out, goes through your home, you got to have A, B, C, and D on options. So that would be to the the approach that I would come into. And that's what I do.
00;12;27;35 - 00;12;53;51
Unknown
That's how I approach these tournaments now. And one thing I'd say is I noticed with the top teams, Alan in particular, Tommy and Shorty, you know, these, these guys. D Scanlon And on track the guys that are consistently competing, they're committed, you know, it's like they set down a schedule on the calendar analysis How many weeks can I actually be out on the road going to both fish and tournaments instead of being at home, guiding any circle in the U.S. Open their circle intimacy, their circle in the worlds.
00;12;53;55 - 00;13;07;36
Unknown
They're saying, I got to go get them all for a week. I may not shoot some local tournaments and stuff at home because I'm saving up to go big and I'm going to go put in the homework. And that's one reason I think you guys do consistently in these tournaments is because you have a game plan and you're like committed to it.
00;13;07;50 - 00;13;26;40
Unknown
Sure, if you do the work you put in your homework and it doesn't work every single year, but you look year in and year out of where teams are placing and it's like the guys, it's evident, the ones that do the work at a time, it's all about the work ethic. You're not going to come in. And if if I don't know, I don't believe in luck.
00;13;26;45 - 00;13;59;43
Unknown
But you know, it takes it takes a work ethic to be successful. also it takes really good equipment to be successful. Y'all. You've been good, you know, with the all nighter, you know, program, vision for United. Now, for 32 years, almost since day one. You still ready for that? We're proud to be aligned with you. We appreciate what you're doing with this event.
00;14;01;50 - 00;14;30;05
Unknown
we shoot of musi products, my lights or of the rigors of all the equipment I use is very, very important. And what I believe in to help us be successful, try different things. You know, everybody's got different opinions on their favorite stuff. But I know what works for us and we doing it night after night after night.
00;14;30;10 - 00;14;47;59
Unknown
That's amazing. Yeah. Taking it straight from the source right there for the hold up on guy trends. So the variety of people we have shooting it and hold it for anybody in the beause they put on it. We thank you for for coming to our tournament and for what you do for the sport of bow fishing and what you mean and being an ambassador for the sport and helping to mentor the next generation upcoming boat fishermen.
00;14;48;04 - 00;15;11;54
Unknown
And I had one more question for you. In how many pounds you coming in with tomorrow? Keep that. I'm on the hot seat. I like it. This is going to be on the test. You better get it right. I've just got to put it this way. I'm hoping we don't get skin up. Right. That that's why I'm believe it.
00;15;11;59 - 00;15;33;49
Unknown
What? What? Poundage is not getting skin up. Five, six, seven. What do you think? I mean, I think if you come in with £600, you're not going get skin up, right? Yeah, that's good. That's a good accurate. I think that's going to be pretty good. I think we're going to see some big weights, but I think we're going to see a lot of solid work.
00;15;33;54 - 00;16;06;26
Unknown
A lot of guys are seeing a lot of fish and not seeing a lot of boats with it being open, you know, is what I'm hearing from the crowd. So hopefully it'll be good. I hope you boys are standing up on the stage in the morning, maybe get you a big buckle mic check. Well, I mean, this is basically a in all the years I've been both fishing, we really ever tried to look for a big head car with a flashlight and so old old new tree.
00;16;06;30 - 00;16;30;33
Unknown
Yeah. Yeah, exactly. So but we tried it and I don't know. I don't know. But, you know, it's interesting. It's definitely an arrest. It's just different. It's different. Yeah. Yeah. So we'll see what happens in the morning. Good luck to you. We're rooting for you, buddy. We hope you pull them out tomorrow. All right. Thank you. Thank you.
00;16;30;34 - 00;16;45;25
Unknown
Hard taxi for being here. And listen, guys, y'all keep following along. We're going to have some more good guests coming up here on the podcast. And we're just going to keep on keeping on. But let's carry on the excitement. We'll see you on the next one. Thank you.