"Bowfishing For Friends"

      By:  Marshall Miles

I have not been bowfishing for very long compared to how long I have been an outdoorsman. In fact, I have only been a bowfisherman for a little over a year now. Before that, I had gone a handful of times with a spotlight.

 About 14 months ago, I tried my hand at welding aluminum and built a light rack for my 14 ft. tracker jon boat. I ordered a $259.00 generator off of e-bay and purchased four 500-watt halogen flood lights the same week. Since then I have committed to this sport full tilt. I couldn't go at it alone, so I had to drag my high school partner in crime Zach Kinsey down with me. Together we form Texas Playboys Bowfishing. We have met some of the most interesting people in the past few months trying our best to succeed at this up and coming sport. It has truly been a wild ride to say the least.

However, this past weekend, when prior obligations prevented Zach from joining me, this wild ride changed considerably for me. It was during this weekend that I came to know, bowfishing builds friendships like only the outdoors and sports can do. To start my story I am going to have to back up to a few months in.

During the Gator Gar Banaza Tournament, on the Trinity River, I was blessed to meet a man named Steven Sallee. We do not live far from each other, so we met up and bowfished with our wives one day on the North end of Toledo Bend. During the trip Steven told me about his plans to host a couple from up North and I'm not talking Texarkana or panhandle, I'm talking legitimate "cheesehead Wisconsin” in late May to bowfish for gator gar on the Sabine River. He asked me if I wanted to come and join in on the fun, so I told him I'd be there.

I had no idea how much this was going to make me appreciate this sport that I was already so in love with.

I am a high school agriculture science teacher. It was my last week of school so I had to sit the first two days out, but I did go and visit Steven and my newly acquired friends Shawn Deneen and Katlyn Nelson in the evenings. On Thursday night I actually bowfished until late. I was able to take them to Sam Rayburn Thursday night. We didn't see many fish, but this was my first chance to spend a considerable amount of time with my new friends from the North. It was starting to dawn on me how, if it were not for bowfishing, I would never have had met nor cared to meet these wonderful people. Friday morning Steven and Shawn were able to take a 7'5" 150lb gator gar. They described the experience as thrilling and exhilarating. I could tell it was a bonding experience for them both.

 I had another friend, Marshall Cole, meet up with us on the river Friday night. I think the mix was just what the doctor ordered. We spent the entire weekend laughing and joking with our new friends. Most of the time we spoke using their accents, and they spoke using ours. I think we were able to give them a dose of our culture and sense of humor. They in turn shared theirs with us. I have never been in that kind of situation before. We fished and took turns jumping off the boat in the heat of the day. All the while we made friends.

Sunday night finally rolled around and I had to leave my new friends. On my drive home something dawned on me. In one weekend, I had made friends for life. It was a great feeling. Bowfishing was just the catalyst. Without bowfishing it wouldn't have happened.

For this very reason I do not care how much money I sink into my sport. I know that I am rewarded with outings just like this one. Spreading knowledge of your sport and meeting others with the same passion can only be described as purely rewarding. I can't tell you how many of these rewarding trips I will be a part of, but I can promise you this: I will seek them out because that is a large part of what being a sportsman is all about.