ISALC: ESL 382: Computer Applications - Fall 2000
Hatchet: Student Survival Guide

This is what I knew about bow fishing before reading Hatchet:

I had never thought too much about bow fishing. I had seen movies of American Indians using spears to catch fish. I also had seen nature films of grizzly bears walking through rivers in Alaska and catching fish with the huge claws on their front feet. However, I don't think I had ever actually seen a photo of someone fishing with a bow. I know I had never seen anyone bow fishing in person.

This is why bow fishing was important in Hatchet:

In Hatchet, Brian learns that he can eat berries and he eats a lot of them. He also finds turtle eggs and discovers they are good, especially if he cooks them over a fire. However, Brian really wants some meat or fish to eat. After he learns to bow fish, he knows that he will never go hungry again because there is a continuous supply of fish to eat, probably trout. Brian was also proud of himself because he was able to make a bow and to figure out exactly where he needed to aim in order to hit the fish.

After reading Hatchet and completing my Internet research, this is what I have learned about bow fishing:

Until I read Hatchet, I never knew how difficult it would be to bow fish. I learned from Brian that the image of the fish is refracted so that it looks to be in a different location under the water than it actually is. Brian had to aim below where the fish appeared in order to hit it. I also learned how carefully a person has to approach fish in order to be close enough to shoot them with a bow.

When I began to research bow fishing, I discovered that it is not so popular in the U.S. However, I was able to find some guide services who will take people bow fishing. It seems to be popular in the south, in states such as Texas and Louisiana. In Texas you can bow fishing on the Brazos River near Waco, Texas. It's not cheap to go bow fishing. If you go with one other person, have a guide, and go on a jet boat on the Brazos River for two days, it costs $1000. You can get many details about this trip from the Brazos River Bow Fishing Adventures Web page.

I also found that there are many special kinds of supplies to buy before a person goes bow fishing. Of course, you need a bow, but there is a special kind that has a reel mounted on it to pull in the fish after you shoot it. There is also a special type of line and arrow. The points of many arrows have special barbs so that the fish cannot get off once it is shot.

People also go after different kinds of fish. In Texas, records are kept for the largest fish taken with a bow. Some of the fish have strange names such as catfish, buffalo, and drum. Gar are one kind of fish that people bow hunt for. Sometimes they get really huge! The Texas record for a Gar caught with a bow is 200 pounds and about 8 feet long! That is heavier and much taller than me!

I think bow fishing appeals to hunters. It is like a combination of hunting and fishing. Many of the Internet sites I found advertised a bow hunting trip as part of a larger hunting trip. What do you think? When you look at the picture of bow fishermen, do they seem more like fishers or hunters?

Bow fishing today is a sport and there is a lot of specialized equipment that most people use. However, in Hatchet Brian had to bow fish with very primitive equipment like some of the people in isolated parts of the world who still bow fish in order to survive. I'm interested in bow fishing now. I hope I can try it out some day. How about you? 

Created by: krauss@lclark.edu
Updated: 10/20/00