Podcast by a Panhandle Surf Angler for all anglers of any level. We will talk weekly to guests that are anglers and also industry professionals. I want you to walk away from this podcast with some knowledge either refreshed or new for you to become a better angler. Though it will start in the Panhandle of Florida, it will be around the entire United States so we can all learn something about fishing in different regions.
Speaker 1 (00:00:00):
This episode of Finding Demo Most surf Fishing is being brought to you by Ninja Tackle. Ninja tackle va.com. Go take a look at the website and get yourself completely immersed in the amount of great gear that Matt has. Rods covered. Seven footer up to 13. Super great. I absolutely love my daggers. They are wonderful rods. They do so many great things for me. Uh, when it's either it's inshore surf, offshore kayak, it's got one covered rigs, reels, all there. Any other kind of supporting equipment. Yeah, he's got that hooked up in there too. Real quick shipping and also phenomenal customer service. Matt's that guy who's gonna make sure he takes care of you if you're into firearm and firearm accessories. The Ninja Tactical got you covered. Glock parts optics, whole bunch of things on there you should take a look at. Great stuff. So ninja tackle va.com. Go take a look. Get your order in today. You won't be sorry.
Speaker 1 (00:01:20):
What is up? Happy people. Hope you're doing well. Wherever you are in the world and things have been going great for you this fishing season. Things are warm in Florida. Uh, the summer is summering, that's for sure. And the fishing is very summering too. 'cause Summer fishing's a whole different ball game. If, uh, you're not from Florida. It's, it surf plays an interesting game. Uh, offshore does inshore the whole thing. But this week, uh, I'm very excited to talk to you about something new. 'cause I have zero knowledge about this. Um, and ever since Vincent reached out to me, I have been YouTubing toing, Instagramming, reeling, anything about the word bow fishing. And it's a whole different world. I, I I I was just enthused, like I, enthused is the best word. 'cause enthralled is a pro, probably a better one. But I don't want to get into my addiction words yet.
Speaker 1 (00:02:19):
Uh, really cool stuff. So we're gonna be talking with the Finn Reaper. Vincent Williams. He's out of South Florida in Orlando. I call that South Central. I guess that's probably the better one. Uh, and we're gonna be going all through the whole gambit. And he does a lot of really cool things with this. And all his links are gonna be back on finding demo most surf phishing.com. It's gonna be on the website, or I'm sorry, on the links where you get this podcast. You can go back, you can pull that up and you can read all about the stuff that he does. And you can follow 'em on these adventures. 'cause they're, it's gonna be really fun. Alright, done Flapping my jibs. Let's get 'em on the show. Vincent, welcome, man.
Speaker 2 (00:02:58):
Yes. Thank you for having me. Yep. Good morning. Good morning. It's nice to be here.
Speaker 1 (00:03:03):
Bow fishing.
Speaker 2 (00:03:04):
Oh, man.
Speaker 1 (00:03:05):
Bow fishing.
Speaker 2 (00:03:07):
. Are you ready for this, man? ? Well, yeah, it whole different world, just like you said. Whole different world.
Speaker 1 (00:03:13):
It's a, it's, I I mean, I, I've always said with surf fishing, surf fishing's a niche. It is because it's a smaller community. They're the bass fishermen. They've got, they own the market. Anything of the saltwater lakes that they completely dominate the market. Mm-Hmm. And bow fishing is a niche, niche. Niche. Y'all, you go anywhere. Um, there are some crazy regulations with it. Not nothing out of the box. Right. Uh, there's a lot of there. I've found that there's a lot of planning, especially when it comes to your equipment and how to do things. And the learning curve is steep
Speaker 2 (00:03:50):
. Yes. I mean, you're shooting an arrow, you know, , it's archery, ,
Speaker 1 (00:03:56):
I mean, and into water. I mean, if anyone, if anybody's a shooter with weapons or anything like that, you, you know, if you shoot into water, water is very quick to stop the round. Um, a bow is not, an arrow is not much different. It's high velocity. Getting in and getting slowed down. There is so many different facets that you have had to pick up with this man. That is, it is impressive. Oh, yes.
Speaker 2 (00:04:19):
Oh yes. I mean, even, even down to math. Right. Simple math. And you know, how low the fish is from the water. You know, you have to count the reflections, ripples, you know, the all trajectories, all of it. Like you're a sniper, you know?
Speaker 1 (00:04:32):
Yeah. Yeah. Uh, it's, dude, I, I think it's so cool that you found this. And I mean, I am super thankful that you found me, and let me share your story and your knowledge on this. 'cause I think this is, uh, I, I don't wanna say untapped, but I think this is going to be a fun resource for if people get into it's gonna be a quick addiction.
Speaker 2 (00:04:53):
Yes. Oh yeah. It, it was for me. I can tell you that it was for me, you know, and that's why I like doing this to share and say, Hey, this is out here. You know, this is, and anybody can do it. That's, you know, that, that loves to be outdoors.
Speaker 1 (00:05:06):
Yeah. Okay. Well, let's start at the very beginning, man. Let's run the tape all the way back here. Tell us your story and what got you into fishing.
Speaker 2 (00:05:13):
Uh, you know, so to be honest, like, I'll be a hundred percent honest. Um, I was never really a good fisher. Right. I was never a good fisherman. , uh, with, you know, my dad got me started fishing when I was, I don't know, maybe about seven, uh, seven or eight. You know, we go fishing, you know, here and there. Uh, but it wasn't like an everyday thing. We weren't out all the time, but enough for me to know how to beta hook and, uh, get a fish. Uh, and then when I got into my adult years, I fished here and there. Uh, and then I tell you, maybe three months ago, , I picked up a bow and said, Hey, I wanna shoot a fish with this. Right? So basically what happened was I was fishing, right? I was never really successful. I, I, I'd see fish and say, man, you know, I can see the fish right here.
Speaker 2 (00:05:56):
Like, if I could just go in there and grab 'em, or just like, I, they're not biting, right? Like I said, I was never doing all the fancy schmancy things these guys do, and all the fancy. So I said, man, if I can maybe shoot 'em some kind of way. Right? And I had no idea about bow fishing, right. I didn't even know yet. Right. And this, when I say, this is like four months ago, right? And then, um, I said, man, what if I shoot a, a a, an arrow in act? Right? And then I googled, uh, shooting an arrow at Phish, and then boom, both fishing came up and I said, wow, look at this. I can do this because I don't want, I'm tired. Like I'm I patient. But I'm very impatient when it comes to phish. Right? I want to, if I cast it, I want it to come, you know?
Speaker 2 (00:06:37):
But now with bow fishing, I'm able, I don't have to guess. I can see where my, where my meal's gonna come from, right? I can see which fish, uh, I wanna shoot and which fish I don't wanna shoot. Right? So, um, you know, that really, that's kind of what, that's what opened me up. And then, you know, just like how you Googled, uh, just get in a rabbit hole of finding all these things. And I said, wow, I can do this. Right? Picked up a bow and, and started going out there, right. Started going to the spots where I would fish before and say, Hey, there's a fish. I can see it. Boom. And I just found so much success, uh, in the beginning, like I said, four, like four months ago, I've killed dozens and dozens of, of dozens of fish. Right. And within a short time period. Right. So that's kinda where, you know, it started just being impatient, not wanting to wait to reel something in, you know, in the, in, in the, in the long run.
Speaker 1 (00:07:34):
. Well, that's one way to get things done. I mean, yeah. Yeah. It's, uh, you've definitely turned it from fishing to catching, which Yeah,
Speaker 2 (00:07:43):
It's, yeah. It's, it's hunting.
Speaker 1 (00:07:44):
It is. It sounds like it.
Speaker 2 (00:07:46):
Mm-Hmm. .
Speaker 1 (00:07:47):
Yeah. Um, with that one, what's your favorite thing about fishing?
Speaker 2 (00:07:52):
So, you know, you know, just like I said, I like the hunt. Um, the thrill of the hunt, because with bow fishing, it's, it's fishing. Yes. Right? You have your own fishing license, but it's also hunting. Right. And with the style that I do it, right, because a lot of traditional bow fishing is on a boat, right? At nighttime, you put the lights on, you see the fish, you smoke 'em. Right? Um, but the way I do it is so unique is where I'm on land and the fish feel the vibrations. Right? So you, you can't just walk up to the water. Right. You know, I have to approach the water a certain way. I hide behind trees, I hide in bushes, right. So they can't see me. I'm very still for long periods of time, kind of just blending in with the, you know, environment and 'cause that's a big thing. If the fish see you, you know, they're skittish. Right? So, you know, the thing that I really love about it is the, the, like, the thrill of the hunt to catch and, and, and kill this fish, you know? 'cause I hunt fish like you would hunt, uh, a deer, you know, like you would hunt, uh, a coyote, you know, or something. So it's, it's just, uh, you know, the, the actual, the aspect of being able to fish. But I have a weapon that I can use to fish.
Speaker 1 (00:09:00):
Very nice slice of put, uh, fun fire alarm in the back. That's not your building, is it?
Speaker 2 (00:09:04):
Yeah, no, it's, it's of course. And it just happens to go off. Right?
Speaker 1 (00:09:07):
Of course. That, that's, that's Mr. Murphy. And that it's a requirement to have Mr. Murphy.
Speaker 2 (00:09:13):
Yes. I know. Oh, I guess, is that gonna, is that gonna, is it loud there?
Speaker 1 (00:09:17):
It's not bad. It's fine. Yeah. I just, as long as it wasn't your building, you didn't have to evacuate. We're all good. That was the important part.
Speaker 2 (00:09:22):
No, no, no, no, no, no.
Speaker 1 (00:09:24):
I'm good. Okay. So we, uh, what is a bucket list fish that you want to catch sometime?
Speaker 2 (00:09:30):
Oh, yeah. Um, you know, so I like big fish, right? The biggest fish was probably some big tilapia that I've killed. But, uh, eventually I want to get down to Louisiana, Texas and, uh, get a buffalo. You know, I heard those were really, uh, you know, really good fish to get. Um, uh, I heard somebody else say that, you know, if he could just get one fish for the rest of his life and be a buffalo, and I see guys killing them. And I said, man, you know, I don't think we have them. Do we have them here in Florida?
Speaker 1 (00:09:55):
I don't think so. I, yeah, I don't, I really feel like that's more of a, no, I don't think we do
Speaker 2 (00:10:02):
, right? Yeah. Yeah. I don't think so either. So that's why I said Texas, Louisiana, you know, that. Um, and, and gator guard too. So those are kind of the two that I'm looking, you know, I look at, uh, I would love to be able to shoot a gator guard, right. You know, nice headshot, you know, aim it right, and, and reel it in, pick, you know, pick that bad way up. You see how big those things are.
Speaker 1 (00:10:20):
Yeah. Freaking ridiculous.
Speaker 2 (00:10:21):
Those, those things are ridiculous, you know? So that's, I guess that, that, that'd be on the bucket list too. So, um, yeah, the buffalo, the Gator guard.
Speaker 1 (00:10:29):
So I'm gonna do a little side here. 'cause you said something that caught my attention when you talk about, uh, a headshot. So I've done episodes where I've talked about EKG May and how important it's to hit the brain spike. It's an almost, it's an instantaneous death. Um, when you're doing headshot with Phish, is that kind of, I mean, almost the same thing you're doing going through the brainstem? Or is it kind of like, Hey, I got the eye. Either way, it's still a holder.
Speaker 2 (00:10:52):
Yeah, I mean, you kind of aim, I mean, fish, fish heads are, are weirdly shaped, you know, so you kind of, you know, when, when you, when you, uh, when you're shooting at a fish anyway, uh, it's a certain way, you don't, you never aim at the fish, right? You aim at the fish, you'll, you'll miss every time you'll hit high. What I do is I aim a lot lower, right? And then I aim, you know, where the head's gonna be or where the head's. 'cause once the arrow pierces, the water fish is gonna move. So you kind of wanna, you know, plan ahead where he is gonna be. Right? So, you know, it hits the head. And I, I try to, you know, you know, head, neck area, um, and then they're, you know, most of the time they're gone before I even reel them in. Uh, you know, so that's, you know, that's, that's a pretty good, you know, pretty good positive thing to it. It doesn't all, all the time happen, but if you look at my page, you know, I have a lot of, a lot of headshot, uh, with a lot of these fish. So
Speaker 1 (00:11:41):
You do. And that's why it made me wonder, because a quite a few of them, I'd say a pretty large amount of them actually after your hit, they was just reel in and, and wasn't Mm-Hmm. , there wasn't anything else. And I was like, this seems very EKG mayish. Yeah. Um, and it was pretty cool to see that. So I was like, I, I had to ask about that. Alright, last one in this category, and we'll get you out onto the next one. What, is there any kind of memorable phishing stories, including unexpected, like, oh, wow, okay. I didn't expect that it looked different. Yeah. Or, uh, challenging situations that you got yourself into, like, huh. That was a win.
Speaker 2 (00:12:14):
Yeah. I, I tell you what, the, the first time I pull, I drawed back my string and aimed at a fish, uh, and hi, it, which was the first day I went out there, the first day I went out there within 20 minutes, blew my mind and said, wow, I can do this. Right? 20 minutes later, I did it again. This is the first day. So I said, wow, I, I can, I can do this. And completely, um, unexpected, but still expected because I said, Hey, I know that I can do it. So I expected to do it. But once I saw the reality of, Hey, I just eliminated this fish. It's huge. And we're, I'm gonna cook this, it, it unexpected blew my mind. I, and then it, it opened up, uh, it, it opened up my mind in a way saying, wow, this is, now I'm doing what I'm seeing these people doing, and I'm having great success starting off, you know?
Speaker 2 (00:13:07):
So yeah, I, I'd say, I'd say initially, here's another one for you too. Uh, I do a lot of night hunting, right night shooting. And, uh, a lot of times I don't use lights, so I get my eyes adjusted to the dark. You know, I just stare at the water for a long time. I don't, I'm not on my phone. And I stare at the water and I see movements, right? I see shadows and everything. And one time it was on my pitch too, I hit a gar, right? And gars are, it wasn't the hugest gar, but it wasn't the small, but gars are long, right? They're skinny. And at nighttime to be able to hit that in the dark, barely seeing it, you're shooting off a shadow, right? So I'm aiming everything off a shadow, and I shot it, hit that bad boy, flopped around, pulled it in dead, dead, you know, before, before it even got out the water. So I said, wow, that completely blew my mind, you know? And that was like the first, second week I was doing it too, you know? So I said, man, that's unexpected to say the least.
Speaker 1 (00:14:01):
And was that the target species for the night?
Speaker 2 (00:14:04):
That was, was swimming close to me at the time. Oh. Where I could see ? Oh, no, no. Yeah, I was, was that your, I
Speaker 1 (00:14:10):
Was targeting was Oh, you were targeting them? Oh, I wasn't,
Speaker 2 (00:14:14):
I, I was targeting at catfish, but it happened to swim by and they're invasive species, so we took it out.
Speaker 1 (00:14:20):
Oh, by all means.
Speaker 2 (00:14:22):
Oh,
Speaker 1 (00:14:22):
Yes. Yeah. I didn't know if you were fishing for Gar that night or something different. Okay, cool. So it's still a win. So e either way,
Speaker 2 (00:14:29):
Win. Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (00:14:31):
Now we've, so this is a little bit of a game in a, in its sense. And you've already talked about this too, with the earlier part. You approach it as hunting. Um, you have a plan, you're gonna do stuff there. So let's talk about the planning phase. How do you plan your fishing trip?
Speaker 2 (00:14:46):
So it's a lot of, a lot of different, uh, aspects. You know, when I plan it first, I have to make sure the location where I'm gonna go is gonna be good. Um, it's either, if I haven't been there before, the, the, the sun needs to be out and I need to be able to see. So I gotta check the weather. That's the first thing. I can't go when it's very cloudy. Uh, it makes it harder. I mean, there's times where I've gone cloudy and been successful, but I try not to. Um, but to, you know, to plan it out. Make sure my, my, my bow is an op. Um, there's times where I, I get out there, I draw back, and then I feel something weird in my bow, or I have to adjust, and then it's like, Hey, I'm ready for a shot, but now I can't shoot it because something will happen.
Speaker 2 (00:15:24):
So I wanna make sure my equipment's good. That's a very, very important part of the planning, is making sure my, my arrows are good. My arrow heads are straight. Uh, my, my knot on my arrow is good , because I've lost, in the beginning, I've lost eight or nine $20 arrows, $20 each arrows , right by shooting them. And then the arrow, I didn't tie a good enough knot on the slide 'cause it's a certain knot, right? And the arrow just takes off and it's arrows in the water. And I said, man, learn, you know, learn. So make sure, uh, my knots are good. Um, that's, that's another, they make sure you have my spare arrows, uh, water, uh, cooler. Uh, but, uh, basic, basically I like to go, uh, like on little hikes, right? So I like to go to my destination. So I'll park somewhere, and then I'll have everything that I need, you know, all my equipment, you know, my arrows, my, my, you know, my, my backpack, you know, my sunflower seeds I like to have, right?
Speaker 2 (00:16:18):
Um, all of that. Uh, and then, you know, map out where I'm gonna go. And literally, I treat it like, like a, like a mission, you know? Like I was in the army, right? I treat it like a mission. Like I'm in Afghanistan, right? I, I, I plan it out and then, um, you know, you know, make sure everything's good to go. You know, I go to my, to my site, um, figure out where I'm going to be at the time. 'cause sometimes you might wanna set up in a certain spot, but it might not be the best spot, uh, 'cause of the lighting. And, um, um, so I find where I'm gonna be set at my camp, and then, uh, and then, and then, and then we start to play. And then we go, and I normally do this all by myself. It's very hard to find people that are, that are able to, to do this and have this patience and not talk so much while you're out there and be loud and running around, you know? Unless I, unless I, uh, give 'em a little class, you know, which we're, which we're working on
Speaker 1 (00:17:03):
. Okay. So you brought up spot. Let's talk about spot. Um, and you mentioned a few different pieces there. You know, sunlight, weather, temp, you know, shades, all that. Let's talk about those. So what is it a spot that is ideal for you?
Speaker 2 (00:17:19):
A spot that's ideal? Um, it, you know what? To tell you the truth, it really depends how I feel that day. Because I might want something where it's a lot clearer water and I can see them and it's a little easier, right? So something open, maybe not a lot of trees, uh, maybe a river bank, uh, you know, somewhere, uh, you know, that, that would be good. Uh, but there's some times where I like to get in the, you know, the, the, the woods and the, the jungle ish, you know, the jungle and, uh, and, and, and kind of fight the clouds, right? Kind of fight the fish. 'cause you can still, if you look good enough, you can still see them. Um, and sometimes they, they swim topside, you know? So it, it kind of really depends on, I feel I might, I might want a, a little harder challenge, uh, or sometimes, you know, I might, you know, just want clear waters and, and, uh, bridges, you know, wherever I've been before, where I know the water is a little clearer. I mean, it's not, you know, we're not in Clearwater, but, you know, it's something like that.
Speaker 1 (00:18:13):
Yeah. Okay, man. Yeah. I love you brought up Clearwater. . . Yeah. So when it comes to, 'cause we're, we're playing in a different game here. You're in the backwater, you're walking around you, you're, you know, creek bed, Riverside, all those pieces. Uh, what kind of conditions, uh, get you to look at and identify and be like, oh, hey, this is gonna be a good spot. Or, all right, where am I gonna find this school? Where am I gonna find this, this trail of fish coming in for me to be successful?
Speaker 2 (00:18:47):
So one of my rules, and I'm very strict to this rule, is my scouting report. So before I just walk up to a bank, I'll set up where my camp, where, where I think my camp is gonna be, and then I'll kind of just walk the river line. I'll walk the bank. And what I need to do is I need to identify one fish. Right? That's how, because sometimes you can see 'em, even if their heads pop up out the water for a second, right? Then I say, okay, so if I see one fish somewhere in my vicinity, then that's where I'm gonna set up, right? And then, 'cause like I said, sometimes it's just a waiting game, right? So that's, you know, so that's kind of where my, my area of operation is gonna be. If I see one fish, and, uh, if I see two, obviously, you know that, that's good.
Speaker 2 (00:19:30):
But if I don't see any fish and within maybe 20, 25 minutes during my scouting report, we're going to another place, right? Because, um, that's, you know, that's kind of like my, my rule of thumb that I stick to. 'cause if I don't see anything within 20 minutes, or I can't spot anything, it's gonna be dead. And I'm just gonna be sitting there hiding for no reason. Uh, but if I see any activity, uh, school really, and, and it's not really schools of fish that I see, it's, it's, you know, tilapia, you know, you know, different, um, uh, fish swimming alone, you know, where I see them and you find little, the fish beds, right? That's a big thing. And if I see a lot of fish beds around too, uh, that's another thing that might keep me around if I don't see them just yet. Uh, so if I can kind of see, hey, fish live here, they, you know, this is a habitat and I can see this is kind of where they set up their shop, then I'll put my, I'll put myself in a position where I can watch that without being so close. But if they pop their head back home, I'm gonna take their head away from them.
Speaker 1 (00:20:30):
, I like, yes.
Speaker 2 (00:20:34):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (00:20:35):
Okay. Wow. So mean. You've got some pretty cool, you've identified a lot of things and yeah. Very hunting, a very, very solid hunting mentality there. Yes. Um, with identifying key factors and pieces to set yourself up for success. Well done and great share, man. Really, very great share. Um, it's been 20 minutes, so we're gonna go ahead and knock out a paycheck. 'cause we're gonna get really in depth here. Uh, the next set of questions, we, we've got a, we we're gonna, that
Speaker 2 (00:21:00):
One, let's do it.
Speaker 1 (00:21:09):
It has been 20 minutes
Speaker 2 (00:21:12):
That you are on
Speaker 1 (00:21:13):
Your first paycheck, everybody. Yeah. If you haven't caught anything yet, you should check your bait. I mean, you know this, you know how to do this. We don't change it up any show. This paycheck's being brought to you by Ds custom tackle ds custom tackle.com. The team outta Delaware has got rigs floats and supporting pieces for you completely all in one location. If you wanna make your own rigs, they can get you supplied. You just go ahead and go onto the website, ds custom tackle.com, order your stuff, get it in, and start building your own. If you want rigs that are prettied, they've got you there, whether it's for Pompano Whiting, uh, blue fish striper, big toothy critters, he's got you set up. So Ds custom dac ds custom tackle.com. Man, I don't know where I was going with that one. I'll take a look at that site and get your order in quickly.
Speaker 1 (00:22:03):
Alright, so now let's talk gear. 'cause this is the part where I think people that aren't in the game really have a a view. Because, you know, you get into surf fishing. Oh yeah. They always tell you the simple thing. Hey, get a rod, get a reel, get the good equipment. All right, you're good to go. Get out there and sling bo bow man. I mean, compound bows, different poundage, different draw length, different pieces to grab arrows, different types of carbon, wood, plastics, steel. You can go nuts into that world. Oh, man. So talk to me. Let's start, let's start at the ball.
Speaker 2 (00:22:38):
start. Let's start with all the equipment. I, I do like how recurve bows shoot, but I'm a compound bow guy. I like to set my 50 pound, my 30 to 50 pound, and I like to draw that sucker back. I like, I like how it rotates and spins, and then I love the feel of how it snaps, right? So the thing is, you can have $150 bow, or you can have a $550 bow, and they're both going to kill the fish, right? So that's a big thing within, you know, the bow fishing community. Say what kind of bow? It doesn't, it doesn't matter. I have my, I think my bow is like maybe 300, right? And I, you know, I, I could literally use anything that's, that's good. Um, arrows, you have, you know, there's, there's different heads. So the arrows that I use, I wish I would've brought 'em, right?
Speaker 2 (00:23:25):
Uh, when you shoot into a fish, do you know how, I don't know if you know how it works. It's, it's two little hooks that hook back, and when you shoot into 'em, um, it sticks, you know, just, you know, just like a regular arrow. And then the head screws off, right? So the head screws off, and then you take the air out, you know, you put the fish in. Um, but I have really, I don't need to spend thousands of dollars on my gear. I, because I can, I don't need, I don't, you know, I have a bait, I have a braided line, which is good. Um, I have a, I I, I actually have an, uh, upgraded, um, reel right? To, to reel in. And then, you know, really that's it. You know, I don't need lures, right? I don't need bait, you know, none of that.
Speaker 2 (00:24:04):
It's completely a completely different ball game, right? And then I can have, listen, I had my $20 arrows. Listen, I had my $20 arrows, like seven of them I shot that are in lakes I'll never see again in my life. So I only shoot now with like, the five, $10 arrows. And I've been killing them by the dozen. , , you know? So, you know, it's, they're gonna do the same thing. You know, they're straight. And so check it out. The arrows in their equipment, right? When you're doing archery, you're shooting a deer. The arrows are very light, right? They're light. You can very light. Um, I don't, you know, how much they weigh, but with bow fishing, right? These arrows are a lot heavier. They're more, they're, they're, they're metal, you know, or, or, or, uh, what, you know, whatever material. But they're a lot heavier because they have to be able to penetrate the water, penetrate the fish, keep it in, and then pull it back.
Speaker 2 (00:24:53):
If you use a regular arrow, it'll snap, right? You can shoot through the heart of a deer, boom, he's down. But you can't shoot through a fish and think you're gonna pull it back because that fish is flopping all over the place. So those arrows are made to be able to withstand that. So even the $5 arrows can, you know, at, at, uh, you know, any of these places, you know, uh, will, you know, can, can get the job done, right? So, but I make sure I have a lot of them. 'cause normally when you go out there, you need one arrow. And that'll last you the whole fishing trip, right? If you have it tied on, right? One arrow will last. You know, I had one arrow I used for a whole month, didn't even need to change it out, right? Just made sure it was straight, did everything, and didn't have to take it off the line or anything. Have to re just perfect. Right? Um, you know, that's a good one. So literally, the bow, uh, the arrow, uh, and that's, that's what the equipment is, right? Anything else you bring is, is something I guess just to upgrade. So check it out. Um, sites, right? A lot of guys, when they're hunting, they have optics, they have scopes. I use zero sites when I'm shooting, when I aim. What?
Speaker 1 (00:25:58):
You don't have PIs?
Speaker 2 (00:25:59):
No, no. It's all, no. All instinctive shooting. Right? And that's, I make pride in that. If you look at all of my videos, there are no sight on my bows. I'm pulling back and I'm aiming where I think this fish is gonna be. And that's what makes it so, you know, so more instinctive, you know, like, like I'm an Indian back, you know, during those times where they had to, you know, be hunter galleries and all that, right? And that's, you know, makes it, when I say deadly accuracy, I'm not looking through a pee, you know, with, you know, long archery, you know, I'm pulling it up and I'm, and I'm smoking these things from Kentucky. Windage, you know, .
Speaker 1 (00:26:38):
I am. I mean, yeah, I thought that I was just looking at your bow wrong. I was like, oh, I don't see, I, I honestly thought maybe I was missing. And then I just completely got distracted by everything else going on in the video. And I didn't think twice of it. . Yeah. Firing off, off basic instinct and ba and pro and your, and what, you know, whether arrow's gonna go. 'cause you obviously fired your bow a bunch of times. Mm-Hmm. , you know what your line is, right? That is not an easy game.
Speaker 2 (00:27:06):
No. And remember, I do this at nighttime too. Yeah. , you know, so it's where your eyes are, is where your arrows gonna go if you do it right? So if I can, if I can time it, 'cause timing is so big too. 'cause fish, you see how fast fish move, you know? Um, and so you've just gotta time it, you know, time it right? And, and you know, no, no, Amy, that's why I have it to my cheek here. But I'm not looking through a peak. You know, sometimes both of my eyes are open. I don't know if you see, you know, eventually as more content drops, you'll see, but sometimes both of my eyes are open and I'm kind of just frowning. And then boom, let let it go. And, and we gotta, we got some sushi.
Speaker 1 (00:27:44):
Dude, I'm impressed because we, I I've, I've used bows. Um, I, mm-Hmm, happily. You know, I, I grew up with throwing the old wood bow. Step over one leg, step up the other, flip it back.
Speaker 1 (00:27:57):
Here we go. Um, alright, game down at the target. How far is this? Oh god. You see, it's just nightmare. And then first time with a compound, I remember going, what's this yellow dot, what's this set to? 25 50, huh? Oh, I can go farther . Um, so I'm, I'm really shocked here. I truly am that you're doing it that way. That is very impressive. And yes, seriously well done on that skill. Uh, so we talked about the boat and we talked about the, let's talk about that reel. 'cause this is, I think where a lot of people, I mean, a lot of the reels I've seen, I laugh 'cause I'm like, is that a zco? Um, 'cause it's got the cone, obviously you need to go back to our childhood fun ones with the
Speaker 2 (00:28:33):
Document and stuff like that. The little thumb
Speaker 1 (00:28:35):
. Yeah, yeah, exactly. Yeah, yeah. Uhhuh. So tell us about the reel and how that system works, please.
Speaker 2 (00:28:40):
Alright, so, so the reel, that kind of reel I use in the beginning, hated it, don't like it, right? I, and, and another reason why I don't use that type of reel is because of snapback, right? So it's very dangerous. And a matter of bo bow fishers, uh, dread that. So that's where you shoot. And then the line, some kind of way doesn't catch properly and the arrow swings back and shoots yourself, right? That's, those are, and that's that, that happens with those type of reels. So I don't use that. I use my braided line, right? That's when the side of my bow, it kind of looks like a CO2 cartridge, uh, CO2 holder or something. A lot of people are like, what is that? What is that bottle on the side? Right? And that's what holds my braided line, right? And that's just, I thought that's so much easier.
Speaker 2 (00:29:20):
So I'm left-handed, right? And the way that I have that rigged is I actually tie a little shoestring to the end of the release, and I'm able to pull that down while I'm reeling it in, right? Instead of putting my thumb there and holding the bow. Kind of weird. So it's just kind of like a, like a little military thing I did to make it easier for me, right? Because, you know, being left-handed, the things are, you know, a little weird. Anyway. Um, but, uh, but the thing is, I never reel my fish in. So the reel there is just, I need it for the strength, and I needed to keep my arrow and to, and to bring it back. But after I shoot, I may reel in a little bit, but I'm throwing my bow on the ground and I'm pulling the sucker in because reeling it, I could reel all day.
Speaker 2 (00:30:02):
I'm not, you know, I'm not fishing really, essentially. Like, I'm not throwing it out there. I'm hunting these things, right? So I throw pulling my, I'm pulling it in, pulling it in. It's a lot faster anyway, too. When you reel it, it's, you know, he'll, you know, if it's fighting, it'll, it'll go a little bit. But if I'm pulling it by hand, he's either halfway dead or he's on his way out. So, you know, you know, by the time he gets there, you know, it's, it's a lot better. Then I take it off, then I reel it back while I'm right there. A lot easier, less hassle, and then ready for the next shot. Right? I can do it in seconds. Um, so, you know, the real is, I think that, I personally think that reel, um, with the braided line that I use is, is a lot better, a lot safer, right?
Speaker 2 (00:30:43):
You're not gonna have snap back and it's not gonna come. The arrow's not gonna come back and stab you in the leg, right? That almost happened to me once when I, when I used that type of, you know, you know, old, you know, old style reel or old style, you know, real, um, uh, but you know, like I said, that's, you know, that I don't a lot of, and a lot of guys use it, you know, if you get a good one, you could, you know, there's good ones out there. There's real expensive ones that, you know, they'll never jam up, or, or most of the time they won't. Um, but I just think, you know, having it on the side, um, helps out with my, uh, balance too. Because when you have it on the front sometimes that you'll tend to shoot a little lower.
Speaker 2 (00:31:22):
Um, and you just, you know, you, I mean, you wanna shoot lower, but sometimes you just kind of aim a little lower with that. You know, it's something I found every, every archer is different. Uh, but I like it on the side. It, it feels more tactical for me too, in a way where I kind of feel like, you know, I got my magazine here and then, you know, pulled back. 'cause you don't have that on a regular bow when you're bow hunting. Anything else that's an accessory that bow fishermen have, and it makes the bow heavier. So you gotta actually kind of, you know, be in a little shape to, to be out there. Especially if you're doing a lot of shots, you know, depending on where your, where your jaw, where your, uh, your pound just set at too.
Speaker 1 (00:32:00):
Yeah. I if, no, if you haven't shot a bow before when I love this, because this is one thing I actually do know I can talk about. Um, you, you're holding that thing and you are holding that 30 to 50 pounds. You're in the lock spot, and basically you are up. And if any of you ever shot a rifle, you know, in the standing position, it's the most unstable position possible because your arms are out, you're fighting muscle. You don't have bone on support. You know, you don't, you're not bone on muscle. You bone on bone support. You don't have a good ending pieces. Like, good god, I'm going back into a PMI class here, . Um, but as you're holding that bow, all weight is in that arm. It is in that arm, and that arm is locked and you are holding, and this one is holding the weight. And you, it, that's a lot of muscle tension. It is. So even two ounces of weight on the top or bottom side of a bow makes a tremendous difference. Mm-Hmm.
Speaker 2 (00:32:50):
. Yes.
Speaker 1 (00:32:51):
Um, so yeah, that, that's, and
Speaker 2 (00:32:52):
With moving targets,
Speaker 1 (00:32:54):
Oh dude, oh my God. So that's brilliant though, that you took your gear and you did like, all right, this doesn't work for me. I don't like this. You modified it, but you modified it with the thought process of, okay, I know if I've done this, it makes me shoot lower. Let me adjust this. So I don't do that. Mm-Hmm. , that, that, that mean, that's experience and smarts there. So well done on that thought process, man.
Speaker 2 (00:33:19):
Yeah. Military instinct.
Speaker 1 (00:33:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (00:33:22):
Make your gear, make your gear work for
Speaker 1 (00:33:24):
You. We don't modify our stuff. . What? Whoa, why would I?
Speaker 2 (00:33:28):
No way.
Speaker 1 (00:33:29):
The pouches go here. That pouch ain't going there. That ain't work for me. .
Speaker 2 (00:33:33):
Exactly. Exactly. .
Speaker 1 (00:33:36):
Um, are there any other sub components that we haven't really talked about here, uh, that you think is important that I'm, that we're missing? What else should we talk about when it comes to that? That's gear.
Speaker 2 (00:33:48):
Um, you know, there's a lot of guys that do this. And the main way to bow fish the most popular way is on a boat at night with the lights. You see them, you shoot them. It's a Turkey shoot. Right. That's, that's good. That's fun. I'm actually going on a charter tonight, um, and, uh, to, to do a shoot. Yeah, we're gonna be filming tonight. It's gonna be really cool. Um, and that's, that's, that's the one of the main ways to do it, right. Um, but the way that I bow fish is mostly land, right? I just picked up a little, a little basketball I'm gonna be doing. But it is mostly on land. And a lot of people that have boats that bow fish on boats are not really able to shoot on land and to stalk a fish on land, they're just used to seeing, oh, there it is.
Speaker 2 (00:34:42):
I'm, I'm way up in a boat, I can shoot down. And then it makes it, you know, it's a little, a little easier. Um, not taking anything away from away from that at all. Uh, but I'm just saying, you know, this style is I'm shooting more straight as opposed to shooting kind of straight down. So it's the, the aim is, you know, everything's a lot different. Um, so just bringing, bringing this, you know, into the fishing world, and I mean, there's a lot of guys that, that do it too, but I'm just saying the norm is with boats, right? So the guys that are out there that are like me, that are shooting off land positions and, uh, you know, hiding behind things and, and walking up slowly, you know, to, to different, uh, you know, to different water banks and, and some fish. Some fish are, are, are brave.
Speaker 2 (00:35:25):
You can walk right up to him and smoke 'em right there. And I said, Hey, that, that's your fault, buddy. You know, he, he should have respected me enough to leave when I came up here. You know? So, you know, those ones, those ones leave. Uh, but, you know, just this style, you know, and a lot of fishermen, you'd be surprised, you'd be surprised of the amount of fishermen that really have no idea that both fishing exist, right? Because, I mean, I just, I just found out, you know, a little while, you know, months ago, but career fishermen, it's like, oh yeah, I never knew that. Right? I have people come up to me all the time, right? If I'm in a place where I can be seen, a lot of times I like to, you know, go a little secluded. But if I'm in a place where I can be seen, people are coming up to me, wow, what are you, what is this?
Speaker 2 (00:36:10):
What are you doing? You know? And, and, uh, you know, just educating, right? It's so cool to educate. I tell you one thing, I've had to educate a plethora of police as well, you know, side of the side of the highway. Catch a little river, bang, I'm walking around with a bow. People are going crazy. Who's this guy with the bow? Why Publix, you know, behind pub? What is going on? Right? So, you know, I have my license. Cops come and they know what the deal is. I said, Hey, you know, I'm here. So they just gotta come and make sure, you know, I have all my documentation, you know, they're, they're doing their job. So, you know, that's understandable. I've never had any problems with them. But it's just, you know, people see a guy with the boat walking around and they have no idea what's going on. Yep. You know, . Yeah. So, you know, I, I don't, I can't beat 'em up for that, but it's, it's one, it's legal as you know, it's legal here in Florida to, to bow fish, even with the crossbow, you know, that's gonna be coming soon too. So,
Speaker 1 (00:37:02):
You know, a crossbow, that's a weird one. 'cause I mean, yeah, CrossBoss are beautiful. Don't get me. It's basically shooting. You're just firing the bolt. But the velocity with the bolt catching off the line, holding all the pieces, that, that's gonna be a fun one to see. Uh
Speaker 2 (00:37:16):
Oh. Yeah. Oh, it absolutely is fun.
Speaker 1 (00:37:19):
. Uh, so you opened up earlier. Let's talk about nighttime. Um, 'cause like you said, you, and for those of you, this is gonna sound condescending people, and it's not meant to be, um, for both him and I being military, we know, let your eyes adjust to the darkness and darkness is bright as day. Oh yeah. Um, you get very used to it. Uh, but you, when you're playing out there with the moon phases, that's a big one. 'cause in the moon phases does affect fishing as a whole. Oh. So let's talk about how those moon phases do affect you on night fishing.
Speaker 2 (00:37:50):
, I need a full moon. That's what I need. . I . Now I've done it without it. And like I said, when I'm, when I'm not doing LA flashlights, because sometimes, I'll tell you the truth, a lot of the big reason too, why I don't like using flashlights and just using the moonlight is because, um, people see flashlights and then they see me, they come and investigate, and then it messes up the fish. Like they come running up, or, or they'll come up and mess the fish, or then the police will come. They got the lights, and I gotta deal with the cops. And it's just, you know, let's just be black ops, right? If I'm in the dark, they can't see me and I'm successful. I take a fish home. We, we accomplish the mission, right? So the, the moonlight is, is definitely good because with, with the moonlight, and if I can catch a glimpse of a streetlight or a light from, you know, somewhere, um, I'm able to see them top side, I'm able to see a fish kind of, I can see a ripple on the, I can see a shadow, but that's all it is at nighttime, right?
Speaker 2 (00:38:50):
You're not looking through the bottom of the, of you're not, you're not looking through the water muddy, cloudy water at night, right? So you're only, yeah, no, not at all. Right? So you're only shooting, um, uh, uh, shooting at at shadows, right? And that's what, that's what I'm doing. So the thing is, I have to see the shadow move, right? Because if a shadow doesn't move, it's a log or it supports a turtle or something, and I don't wanna shoot a turtle, you know, so it's, I gotta see the shadow and the moon really affects how well I'm able to see that shadow, right? If it's, if it's cloudy, you know, or, or, or not as, not as, uh, bright, uh, it makes it hard. You gotta go home, right? Or then, you know, or, or if we wanna put lights up. Um, but really it's, it's, it's shadow, shadow shooting, you know, with, with the moonlight and being able to, and depending on where you stand, how the moonlight's hitting. Because if the moon's in front of me, I'm able to see the shadows a lot better. But if I'm with my back, then, you know, it's, it makes it a little, a little more difficult as well. But
Speaker 1 (00:39:56):
Interesting. Yeah. See, I would've thought the opposite. I would've thought with the moon in front of you, you'd have been dealing with more of the reflection and the ripple off whenever you had a movement. I mean, maybe had a backwards, you're in a lot of No.
Speaker 2 (00:40:05):
Maybe had it backwards. Yeah,
Speaker 1 (00:40:06):
You got it better than me, dude. I don't know. I'm, I'm guessing here just, but I've also, yeah, anytime
Speaker 2 (00:40:11):
I, yeah. Move behind me. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (00:40:12):
Okay. Alright. Because I always think you, you're on, a lot of times you're on still water, a little bit of movement here and there. And, you know, that's the other difference. People, I, I don't want you guys to forget is we're not talking about crazy rolling water. You know, we're talking about some where you're staring at like, all right, let me see the movement. Let me see what this does. Um, so yeah, that, that, that makes sense. And I, I like that you put that in there. Uh, well, let's, um, actually let's do a ba check and then let's talk more about nighttime. 'cause there is one big thing that we haven't hit yet that I really, I know we need to get into
Speaker 2 (00:40:44):
Absolutely
Speaker 1 (00:40:45):
Lots of in there.
Speaker 2 (00:40:46):
Let's
Speaker 3 (00:40:46):
Do it.
Speaker 1 (00:40:54):
It's the second paycheck of the episode.
Speaker 2 (00:40:59):
Fish Foundation.
Speaker 1 (00:41:00):
Head over to kids fish net and help them out with the really cool things they're doing with these camps. They take all these kids when the area that they're in and they offer up a camp, whether it's CNET fishing, uh, surf fishing, inshore fishing, river fishing. They get these kids together and then they say, all right, they're gonna teach 'em how to do it. And on top of that, they're gonna send them home with the gear. So they go with a, they get a rod, they get a reel, they get a line, they get everything in one stop shop for these kids. And they learned how to do it for the day. And it doesn't cost them a thing. That all goes through the foundation. So your donations help out with that. Big time with kids can fish. They also have their annual redfish tournament, the big one, the running the bulls outta St. Simon's Island, Georgia this year. There's even more space available. They've got St. Simon's and Jekyll Island open. Lots of money. I think it's a $10,000, uh, going into purses there. There's a lot of money involved. And that is all thanks to you and your donations. So come on out to the tournament if you can support them. It's just doing great things for these kids. And like they always say the unofficial more tackle boxes, less X boxes. Go on out, take a look.
Speaker 4 (00:42:05):
Nighttime, and it's a good time.
Speaker 1 (00:42:09):
You can't, you can't go with that one. No. So we talked about the, the strategies there. Let's talk about the safety precautions. 'cause this
Speaker 2 (00:42:16):
Man, here you go. Here
Speaker 1 (00:42:17):
We go. This is Florida,
Speaker 2 (00:42:19):
Here we go.
Speaker 1 (00:42:19):
And if, if you go up to the water and you put your finger in it and, uh, it's either salty or wet, there's alligators and other things in there. Uh, so let's talk about the safety features when it comes to nighttime, uh, bohan. Yes.
Speaker 2 (00:42:31):
Yes. Well, uh, one of the things is, is don't be so excited to run up to the water and scout out the area and, and shoot without looking where you're walking first. Right? That's one of the biggest things. 'cause sometimes Gators, they like to rest outside the water at night. So, you know, depending on where you are, um, it's, you know, use, you know, you gotta, you know, use your brain a little bit. You know, a lot of , a lot of people don't use their brain these days, but, um, you, you need to be able to be on your P's and Q's, right? Because alligators, now, mind you, alligators probably won't come up and attack you, you know, an adult sized male, you know, for the most part if you're out there. Uh, but if you're, if they feel that you're in their area or, you know, and you don't see them, you know, just 'cause you're not paying attention, you're gonna get your leg bit off.
Speaker 2 (00:43:21):
Right? So, you know, that's one of the things is, you know, pay attention to everything. And where, and I'm on foot, right? I'm not on a boat where I'm kind of, where I'm protected. I am walking sometimes and it's, it's dark, right? And I need a flashlight, right? And there's, that's, you know, there's snakes, right? I've, I've encountered a, a bunch of snakes, right? Just in the woods, right? Not, I mean, you know, you know, no bites or anything, but I've seen them, right? Because I'm looking at nighttime and you can't see them. And remember at night, if I'm, if I'm going to the woods like a trail, I go to, um, I go to Shingle Creek a lot, and you probably don't know, but, uh, it's a preserve where we can go. It's very beautiful. It's a, you know, you can hike and miles.
Speaker 2 (00:44:02):
Um, but if I go there and I'm gonna fish the bank line, there's nocturnal animals out there too. That that's their, remember this, this is their home. So I'm intruding. And you remember that when you're hunting though, you're intruding, you know, in their natural habitat. So you just need to be able to have something on you to defend yourself, uh, you know, in case you know, need be. And you can open carry in Florida when you're hunting, by the way, when you're out fishing. You know? So that's a, that's another thing that, that gives a peace of mind. , when you're, when you're out there at night and by yourself, I'm, I'm alone most of the times, . So I wouldn't recommend, uh, you know, I wouldn't recommend that, but my military instinct and everything and, and how I am. And you know, even when I was, I used to be a bounty hunter, right? When I would catch fugitives, and I was, a lot of times I was alone or with another guy. Uh, so I kind of just kind of, you know, keep that, you know, in mind too. You know, when I'm out there at nighttime, uh, you know, with the, you know, safety precautions.
Speaker 1 (00:45:00):
Holy crap, dude. I never realized how close that was to my Well, I go down to where you live a lot. Um, yeah. And, uh, I used to live in Maitland.
Speaker 2 (00:45:10):
Oh, okay. Oh yeah. ,
Speaker 1 (00:45:13):
Why does Shingle Creek sound stupidly familiar to me? And I'm like, I gotta pull it up and look. And I'm like, yeah. Oh. Its went over there by freaking celebration. I
Speaker 2 (00:45:21):
Know where you are. Yeah. It runs long. Yeah, it runs, it runs for Miles. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Um, yeah. I love it.
Speaker 1 (00:45:28):
There's a guy on TikTok, uh, and I think he's on all social platforms. I don't remember his name, and I'm, I'm not gonna try to look it up or say it. Uh, he goes to the Everglades a lot and his favorite thing is, oh, hey yo. And he's grabbing all these . Yeah,
Speaker 2 (00:45:41):
The swamp puppies.
Speaker 1 (00:45:42):
Yeah. Look at this. And I'm like, no, no, no. This is Florida. You are being ultimate Florida man right now.
Speaker 2 (00:45:49):
Mm-Hmm. , poison frogs, , what's going on, guy? So
Speaker 1 (00:45:55):
Talking and I, you started talking about nighttime. All I could think is like, oh, oh dude, I was trying to find fish. Leave me alone.
Speaker 2 (00:46:05):
Uh, you know, listen, I'll tell you now, I'll give you a little inside that you guys can check out. Um, I, I'm going to soon, when I'm doing my night, I'm gonna be getting some content of me at night, both fishing with night vision goggles. That's the only thing I'm using is no flashlights. N VGs, N VGs, MVGs mounted. I just gotta figure out how to, you know. But like I said, I'm not aiming through pee polls, so it makes it a lot easier to kind of pull it up instinctively pop. So
Speaker 1 (00:46:32):
Dude, that's gonna be a tough one because I mean, you know, as well as I do, you get that extra gap. You've got the one and your eyeballs for military. You all know this. We, your eyeballs don't move the MVGs your head moves your side.
Speaker 2 (00:46:44):
Oh
Speaker 1 (00:46:45):
Yeah. You don't get that in luxury. Mm-Hmm. . Um. Are you gonna run monocle or are you gonna run a double? Yeah,
Speaker 2 (00:46:52):
You know, I'm not sure just yet, but, um, one of the planes too, there's, um, there's a green light that I'm gonna buy. So fish light, I'm gonna be able to drop that in the water where I'm gonna be, um, where, where I'm gonna set up that's gonna attract them. And then that's gonna enable me to, you know, when it's underwater enough, it's gonna be able me to see them like, like perfect shadows. And then just be able to pop 'em right there in the pitch wide.
Speaker 1 (00:47:12):
Yeah. And you, and it won't blow. And it won't blow you out. 'cause in the green doesn't do anything on that for that side optic.
Speaker 2 (00:47:18):
Right. And it'll be underwater. Mm-Hmm. . Yeah. So, so it'll be, you
Speaker 1 (00:47:22):
Know, that'll help you with the shadow view. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (00:47:25):
The thing is, it, it's a test. It's a mission. We're gonna try, we will, maybe we'll fail, maybe we'll be successful, but we'll
Speaker 1 (00:47:31):
See. But, but you also have, we're gonna try it. But you now have a reason to pick up a set of N VGs.
Speaker 2 (00:47:36):
Oh, yes. Oh, you see, look at that . I'm not
Speaker 1 (00:47:40):
Saying I told, I'm not gear
Speaker 2 (00:47:42):
Saying we're
Speaker 1 (00:47:43):
Wrong. I'm just saying. I understand.
Speaker 2 (00:47:45):
When would you need N VGs for fishing? Tell me. .
Speaker 1 (00:47:49):
Uh, nighttime. Hello. Yeah. We need it. It's in the need
Speaker 2 (00:47:53):
Category. , , food, water, MVGs.
Speaker 1 (00:47:57):
Yep. Prob totally. And everybody listen to this goes, makes sense. I'm gonna use that for Christmas. Um, okay. So we've nailed into a lot of cool things here and let's hit, uh, one, one of the, one of the most important ones that kind of in a way is this, and you and I both have played this one, the lessons learned category, because that's always the, that's always the way we get better is lessons learned. Yes. Yes, sir. So, what are some of the top fishing mistakes to avoid, and how can people that are getting into this continually improve their skills and knowledge to become more successful if, uh, they go down this route?
Speaker 2 (00:48:32):
Um, to be successful? Lessons that I've learned it, a lot of this really ties down to paying attention to detail, right? Learn knots. That is one of the biggest lessons that I have learned. And I'm, I'm bringing it up again. My 20, my $20 elbows that I lost. Right? Learn how to tie knots properly with bow fishing or any type of fishing, because I'm sure you've had Briggs before that you've lost because you didn't, you know, you didn't, your knot wasn't good. But that's very important. Um, tie, make sure you tie knots, especially if you shoot somewhere, you shoot into a log, and then the arrow's somewhere far away you can't reach and it's sticking out and everybody's walking by the bridge and they can see your arrow, you know, something like that. So, um, pay, pay attention, you know, paying attention to detail is, is definitely a, you know, a lesson I've learned.
Speaker 2 (00:49:28):
Um, making sure you're mentally ready, um, to go out there, right. Making sure you're, you're mentally prepared, um, mentally and, and physically, you know, prepared to, um, you know, to go out there and do what you need to do. Because, because it's patience, right? Sometimes you don't, sometimes you want things. Now, now, now, and especially if you have a, a good track record of success, success, success, success, good. And then you stop hitting for a few days, and then you're like, oh man, you know, am I really a fisherman? You know, you kind of question yourself, but, but, you know, but then the next day, you know, you shoot a bunch. So it's like, okay, all right, here we go. We're, we're, we're back. So mentally just know not every day is gonna be the best day. Right? And that's a lesson that I had to learn, was to have fun, you know, go out there and have fun.
Speaker 2 (00:50:19):
You know, it's not just all about numbers. It's not just all about, you know, I, if I don't, sometimes I go out there and I, and I don't even see anything good. I'll take a pop shot at something I think is moving, right? But I just have fun of like, the hunt, the thrill of the hunt, like tracking fish, right? How do you track fish? Right? But tracking fish, right. You know, ripples and, you know, patterns and seeing where they, you know, and, um, I, and I can get into tracking. That's a whole different thing. Um, but, you know, that, that's a big lesson is, you know, have fun. You know, pay attention, uh, you know, know, you know, be patient, you know, and, and be prepared mentally, physically, spiritually.
Speaker 1 (00:50:56):
Good stuff right there, man. Alright. Let's move into the digital world. Let's talk about content creation. 'cause you're doing that. Oh, yeah. You're, you're, you're gonna be one of the guys, one of the pioneers in a way. I mean, 'cause there's not a lot of bow fishing channels.
Speaker 2 (00:51:08):
No, it's not. It's not. That's why I'm, this is the beginning. Oh, yes. And I have, yeah, I have some things working up right now. I'm filming tonight on a, on a, on a bow fishing boat. We're gonna have the lights. We're gonna be running the, the, the little bayou. Oh, man. It's gonna be, it. It's, it's a lot. It's a lot. I'm got, uh, I kind of wanna show like, a little, um, like my own little reality show style, you know, to, to drop, you know, so that, that'll be on YouTube and, and, and everything we have going on. So, but just like I said, this is just the beginning. This is just, you know, I'm, I'm a month in into content creating with, with just this. Right. I've done other things before. I have a whole production company and everything, but this is, this is new. And I, I think just like I said, I, it could be something that could take off.
Speaker 1 (00:51:57):
Yeah. Well, so what it made you decide, all right, I'm doing this. I mean, you obviously, like you said, you got a production company, but you decided I'm gonna combine these. What, what, what made you do it?
Speaker 2 (00:52:07):
You wanna know? You know, that's a good question. That's a very good question. Um, I didn't have any intention to do this at all. Right? I was having fun. But then when I seen the reaction of people to what I like what I do, they were so fascinated. They were like, wow, I've never in my life heard of this. I've never seen this in real life. Right? There was times where I actually killed fish in front of people, and they were just right. I actually got one on, on, on video one time, right? And that's happened a a bunch of times before I would even film. And I said, wow, people seem really, they seem really, um, receptive to this. You know, this seems really, especially if I'm killing this evasive species, right? But whether, you know, it really doesn't matter. You're shooting a bow and arrow into the water and pulling back a fish that's, you know, , you know, breaking it down Barney style.
Speaker 2 (00:52:58):
And, you know, people seem to really like that. I sent it, I sent a couple videos to my dad, and, you know, he, he showed a lot of his friends and he said, wow, they're watching it like a movie, right? And, and it was just really cool. And I said, wow, okay. You know, maybe, maybe I can show the world and educate people on what this sport is and, and bring more light to because bring more light. 'cause you don't know, people have these bow fishing competition teams of three and four and five winning like 30 grand. It's crazy. You know, teams, you know, they have like 10, 15, 20, 30,000, 40,000, $50,000, right? For, for some of these teams. And then I had no idea. No, no idea. And I said, I can go and I'll shoot any of these guys. Are you kidding me? Come on. You know? So, but, but the thing is, I, I had no intentions of doing it, and I just saw how people thought this was so cool. And I said, Hey, if you think it's cool like me, let me see if I can show more people. And that's where, that's where I said, okay, this is, this is something I should be showing the world,
Speaker 1 (00:53:59):
Man. Yeah. You're gonna have fun. It's, yeah. It's weird how that happens though. It's like, I have no intention of doing this, huh? Here I am doing this. It's . It's
Speaker 2 (00:54:10):
Like, absolutely right, man. That's what we're doing
Speaker 1 (00:54:11):
This week. Absolutely. Right. Uh, what role does digital media play in your approach to phishing? And does it help your experience hinder it? Anything like that?
Speaker 2 (00:54:23):
Uh, well it definitely, I would say help, because in a way, now I can see that it's a positive thing and, and people like to, people like to see something that I like to do, right? Something that I love to do is interesting for other people to see. So that kind of, in a way is motivating. Uh, it motivates me to, to continue to put content. It's, it, it's definitely not gonna hurt. You know, now I'm at a, I'm at a phase where I can only draw back if the camera's running right now, because I don't wanna miss any kill. Right. You know, unless I go out there or something, I just, you know, I'm feeling it. I, you know, I wanna see if I can catch something. But, you know, it, it, the social media, um, the whole dig digital, digital media and all that, uh, definitely, uh, enhances the experience. You know, for me, I, I believe at the 110%.
Speaker 1 (00:55:16):
Okay, cool. Then that, that's a good win then. Uh, so let's talk about the creative process then. What, how do you plan, capture, edit, and share these experiences? How do you, how do you do it? All
Speaker 2 (00:55:28):
Right. So, um, sometimes I'll have a camera guide, sometimes I won't. I have a, I'll have, um, my, my trip, my tripod with me. I actually tell you the truth. Majority of the times I'm alone because it's very hard to find somebody that is able to keep up with me in this Florida heat. Right. And to be able to get the right angle, the right shots to be as patient, right. Um, and to, you know, to be there. So I, I set it up myself, right? I, I, when more content comes out, you see a lot of my drone footage, um, you know, footage on me and, you know, my little bass boat running around, little special forces vote, you know? And, um, and, you know, that's kind of how I'm gonna plan to do it, right? I use my d so R camera, you know, I was, at first I was using my, my iPhone and I said, Hey, I have these cameras, man, lemme just use my good camera and, and, and put the content out.
Speaker 2 (00:56:21):
It'll make it a lot better, the quality and all, all that. Um, you know, so that, so, you know, that's kind of what I'm doing now. I have some really good drones I'm able to put in the air and capture. But when you start to see more of my content open up, 'cause right now it's just clips, right? I'm just putting clips, put some music, you know, in it. But when I, you know, start to really put out like production style stuff, it's gonna change the, it's gonna change in everything. You'll, you'll see what I'm talking about in the future.
Speaker 1 (00:56:46):
I'm looking forward to it, man. I mean, you get a lot of cool stuff, but you just talking about it. I'm like, all right, man. What do you, what do you got? . . Uh, so with the start of it, um, I love that you brought up, I went from my iPhone to the DSLR. Yeah. Because 'cause glass is so much fun to purchase, um, for those cameras,
Speaker 2 (00:57:06):
, I'm telling you.
Speaker 1 (00:57:08):
Oh God. I'm just having flashbacks of buying my wife lenses when I had to, I'll never forget when I bought, when she, uh, I got her a macro for Christmas. And I'm like, how much was that?
Speaker 2 (00:57:16):
Oh, really? Oh man.
Speaker 1 (00:57:18):
I could've bought a very nice optic for my, uh, for one of my things with,
Speaker 2 (00:57:22):
Oh, there you go. That's a lens. That's
Speaker 1 (00:57:24):
A lens. Um, oh yes.
Speaker 2 (00:57:27):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (00:57:27):
Production piece with that. That's gonna be huge. That's gonna be a nice change. Oh, man. Mm-Hmm. So you've been doing this for a few, but you've been running production for a while, so let's kind of pull this one into that one. Uh, what have been kind of the, alright, lessons learned, like, all right, I know I shouldn't do this with this piece when I'm gonna put the content together and I need to do this. What are some of those things that have stuck out to you?
Speaker 2 (00:57:52):
Uh, make sure you have music that you're able to use and you won't get in trouble. , it's a big learned. That is
Speaker 1 (00:58:01):
Huge. You get rigged,
Speaker 2 (00:58:03):
Slap quick, bro. Man, I have learned that Buddy , you know, that's very, very important. Oh,
Speaker 1 (00:58:10):
It hurts.
Speaker 2 (00:58:10):
Yes, yes, yes. You know, um, and it's, it's sim I mean, simple, even a song you probably, nobody's probably ever heard you found somewhere, you know, you use it and then say, Hey, copyright infringement, you know, so , you know, that's, that was back before we were, you know, knowing how it actually works. But, you know, obviously now we're, you know, we've learned from that. Uh, so that's, you know, just make sure everything is yours, make sure everything's legal right. Make sure you can use everything. Make sure you're not shooting, uh, anything that's not supposed to be shot, you know, um, you know, like on camera, you know? So, uh, you know, a lot of that, you know, plays, plays a really big factor with it. Um, and something I, something i, I would like to do that maybe I haven't done before, um, with, with just marketing is I think I would wanna run more ads before I didn't run as many, um, you know, doing certain things as trying to, trying to do a certain way. But, um, ads are so, man, if you have a, a pretty good budget with running like Facebook, you know, or YouTube ads, they, they can, that really, that really boosts your, your numbers, you know, which ultimately helps.
Speaker 1 (00:59:23):
Yeah. Dude, that am mu it took me like freaking two weeks to find a frigging theme song for this podcast. And I'm,
Speaker 2 (00:59:30):
Yeah. You see you, what
Speaker 1 (00:59:31):
The hell, what's what, what's, and then, oh dude, the, the crazy one was this. So I, the, the one I used with Twist Dium, um, they do all their stuff for free. I double checked that. I had to double that one. And I started getting tick backs from like, Hey, the owner doesn't let you. And I'm like, and it was Facebook only. I'm like, how does the owner not let me, but YouTube does? And finally I was like, let me find this guy. And I find someone that is linked to it, and I send an email and I was like, yeah, just pay me 50 bucks. I'll send you the license. And I'm all,
Speaker 2 (01:00:03):
I'm gonna shout
Speaker 1 (01:00:04):
This Smells a little loft
Speaker 2 (01:00:06):
Guy. Yeah. A little fishy.
Speaker 1 (01:00:08):
And then, yeah, they finally found it. It was like, no, don't pay money. It look, if it's, if it's at duty free, no, I don't remember what the proper term is. Um, but if it's free use, then it's free use. It's gonna stay free use. Right. They can change it any time to non-free use. You'll get another message, right. Um, about it. But that game of finding all that stuff in the right one, and then the royalties, if you don't, it's like, all right, hey, I want to use your stuff. Okay, cool. It's gonna cost you this. Okay. Right. Yeah. Price can change easily. Prices can change unless you have a contract.
Speaker 2 (01:00:39):
Exactly. Exactly. You know, and, and you know what makes it harder and makes it harder when you find a song that you really love. Oh, oh, I know. It's like, this is the one I want. But now it has all this baggage to it, you know? Uh, I know. Exactly. , it hits the heart.
Speaker 1 (01:00:56):
That's a good one, dude. I mean that no one else has brought that up before. And as soon as you said it, I was like, I know your pain. Mm-Hmm. . That,
Speaker 2 (01:01:02):
That is, that's production stuff. That's production stuff.
Speaker 1 (01:01:05):
And if you're not in that game, you, you would never know.
Speaker 2 (01:01:08):
Not at all. There's
Speaker 1 (01:01:10):
So many weird, I wanna call 'em fringes there, there's just a lot of side rules that you wouldn't really expect. And then you find out the hard way and it hurts. Exactly.
Speaker 2 (01:01:20):
Exactly. Exactly. And the hard way, it's never, never the fun way. Tell you that.
Speaker 1 (01:01:27):
Sorry, as we sidebar there, my bad. The whole episode, I only did it once. I'm proud of myself, man. Normally it's like five times. Um, yeah,
Speaker 2 (01:01:33):
No, it was natural. We flowed with it.
Speaker 1 (01:01:35):
. Yeah. Yes. Uh, and I know you've only been doing the recording piece for a short time and you've been doing this one Mm-Hmm. So from where you started to, alright, now I'm gonna do content creation, would you say it has helped you become a better angler?
Speaker 2 (01:01:50):
Yeah, I'd say so, because now I am purposely trying to think of more creative ways to shoot fish. Right. And, and more creative ways to educate people how I shoot fish and maybe they should shoot fish, right? So, you know, that's one of the, one of the things that, you know, we're doing.
Speaker 1 (01:02:11):
So with the social game and all the pieces put together, you, you've gone through all of it and you've really, you've honed it in and you're gonna get better there. It's obvious. 'cause we all get better as we go. Absolutely. Um, and you've played in the, you've got a huge leg up, in my opinion, of having your own production company. 'cause you have seen a lot of the pitfalls that you're gonna possibly run into again.
Speaker 2 (01:02:31):
Yes. Yes. Well, hopefully I can identify them before they actually get there and then try to avoid them, avoid and then do things better. 'cause like you said, we all learn and we learn from, you know, things from before as they arise. And you know, that, that's how we have to approach it.
Speaker 1 (01:02:48):
Yeah. So I commend you for that, man. 'cause I know that that part ain't gonna be easy at all. No,
Speaker 2 (01:02:54):
No, not at all, man. Not at all. .
Speaker 1 (01:02:58):
Uh, so I guess, uh, the big one, I'm, oh, I'm gonna ask that at the end there. Have you had anyone in your corner that's been a mentor to help you out as you've grown and done this from the bow fishing and content creation?
Speaker 2 (01:03:13):
No, I haven't . Look
Speaker 1 (01:03:14):
At you. Yourself at
Speaker 2 (01:03:16):
Me. Not at all. Oh, this is awesome. . Not at all. No, I, I'm telling you, not one person. I'd say if, if I could give anyone credit, it would just, it'd be Jesus , you know? That, that would be it. Um, you know, I I, there's nobody in my corner that helps me, that chose me, that taught me. YouTube didn't even teach me. I, I was doing this first and then look to YouTube , you know, so I said, you know, you know what? How, how should I put my elbow? How should I put my body? Let me see. And then, so, okay, let me try this, this way, and then shot better and said, okay, here we go myself. So,
Speaker 1 (01:03:51):
So good. So good. Yes.
Speaker 2 (01:03:54):
Oh,
Speaker 1 (01:03:54):
Man. Um, all right, so let's get into the, I'm gonna do one more bay check. I'm gonna do the final bay check of the episode, and we're gonna get you the closing questions and get you outta here. Man, you've been great. This has been
Speaker 2 (01:04:02):
A lot time. Yeah, it's been a good, yeah, it's been a good time. I had a great time. Thanks.
Speaker 1 (01:04:13):
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Speaker 4 (01:04:15):
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Speaker 1 (01:04:17):
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Speaker 4 (01:04:41):
With final pieces here, man. What knowledge would you give to somebody brand new starting out on this,
Speaker 2 (01:04:49):
Starting? Oh, yes. When you're starting out,
Speaker 2 (01:04:56):
Don't try to keep up with the next guy, because everybody learns differently. Everybody has a learning curve. I was fortunate enough to start hitting right off the bat and started killing, killing, shooting fish, right? But I don't believe that it's like that for everybody. That starts off, that's brand new, right? So if you're shooting and you're not hitting, and you're a week into it and two weeks into it and you haven't caught one fish, um, don't give up. Hone in, hone in your skills, adjust fire, right? Figure out why, maybe, why maybe you're not hitting. Because you know, I've, I've had times where I've gone out three or four times and I've seen Phish and I've popped at 'em and I've missed, and that's like, man, you know, it's discouraging. And then it's like, man, I, I can do it. Um, so, but it, but I didn't start out like that. So that's, so if you start out and you're discouraged from the get go, uh, don't be, you know, that, that's what I would say is, is don't be, and, and just keep, you know, keep keep going, you know, with everything. Just like with everything in life, you know, if you, if you find yourself loving to do something, then it makes it a lot easier to actually do it.
Speaker 1 (01:06:13):
That's very good. Well done. What do you think has been such a reason that bow fishing hasn't really hit the mainstream so much?
Speaker 2 (01:06:24):
Uh, because I mean, fishing is taking the light over, you know, it's, it's taken know, because fishing, I mean, it's been around, everybody knows about fishing. Uh, it's the most popular, uh, water activity, you know? Right. So that's kind of really overshadowed anything else in the fishing realm and, you know, you're using a weapon, right? Even bow hunters don't even really know, A lot of 'em don't know what bow fishing is, you know, too, right? They're, it's, it's very crazy. So we've got the hunters and the fishers that don't even really know, you know, what bow fishing is, right? Um, I, I mean, obviously there's a, there's a huge community, but having to say there's, there's a lot that don't, right? So, you know, just, uh, you know, trying to make more light, you know, on bow fishing in itself, uh, is something that, you know, I'm trying to do and trying to educate, you know, the world and show them, Hey, I'm doing this, but I'm doing it with a unique twist to it.
Speaker 1 (01:07:23):
Well done. And you're doing, you're gonna do well with that. Um, let's make this one easy then. So as far as staying connected, where can people go to find your content, follow you, and get all the good information that you're doing?
Speaker 2 (01:07:38):
Yes. Yes. Uh, so you can check me out on Instagram at, it's the under fin, uh, Reaper 47, right? Um, you can just type in the Fin Reaper and it'll come up, right? The Fin Reaper Bow Fishing, I think that's, uh, the name I'm gonna be using. Uh, so you just type that in and, uh, if you go to YouTube, right, you can see in building the channel there, uh, you can type in the Fin Reaper Bow Fishing, right? The Fin rea just like the Grim Reaper, right? But the Fin Reaper, uh, both fishing. Uh, so you can check me on those two, and then from there, you know, what, you know, when we have more, uh, things available, you know, more, more sources available, then you can, you know, we'll, we'll have announcements on there. So Defend Reaper, just, you know, there, there it is.
Speaker 1 (01:08:19):
Perfect. I love it. I love the name. Yes, sir. Alright, final question. Get you outta here, man. What's next for you? Yes, sir.
Speaker 2 (01:08:26):
Man. Uh, what's next is content and unique, unique style content that not everybody puts out, because when you have something that stands out, it, it'll, it'll take you somewhere that'll make you stand out even more, right? So, right. What's next for me is content. I want to try to, you know, see if I can do this, you know, a a show style show, uh, like TV reality, show style content. Um, so I'm gonna be playing around, you know, some ideas. Um, but that's, you know, that's ultimately, you know, the next step, you know, and, and still educating, you know, creating more awareness on both fishing, right on the hunt, on the aspect of hunting and fishing together. That's, that's what we got going on.
Speaker 1 (01:09:10):
I look forward to watching it, man. I truly do. Yes, sir. You do great things, . I, I, I think you're gonna open a lot of eyes and, uh, yes. Make, make the community be a lot of fun.
Speaker 2 (01:09:20):
Yes. I appreciate it, man. Thank you, man. It was, it was good talking to you too, man. I, I appreciate the time. I appreciate the time, you know, giving me and taking time outta your day and letting me explain, you know, kind of, you know, what this is in this field that's not new, but it's, it's very, a very small niche. Niche niche.
Speaker 1 (01:09:36):
Hey, I, I enjoyed it fully. Yes, completely. I mean, thanks for just showing sharing it and your knowledge and your story and your life, man. It's been great. And, uh, I know this won't be the last time we'll chat. We'll definitely keep in touch, but, uh, I look forward to next time, man. We'll talk soon.
Speaker 2 (01:09:50):
Yes, absolutely. Thank you so much again, man. We'll talk soon.
Speaker 1 (01:09:53):
All right, we'll see you. Alright ladies and gentlemen, there you go. Vincent the Fish, Reaper Williams out of, uh, Orlando area. Gonna be doing a lot of really cool things. All his pages will be linked back on finding demo suring.com on the website for, uh, this episode. You can find it in there. You'll also be able to find it linked back on, if we found this on social media or whatever podcast platform you were playing it from, it will be linked on there as well, so you can just hit it instantaneous, drag right over and you can follow it all. It's gonna be really good. I truly, truly believe that. Thanks for sticking around. As always, we appreciate you. I, I love being here every week with you in your ears. And, uh, I look forward to continuing on with you. You've been listening to Finding DMO Surf Fishing. I'm outta here.