Indiana Bowfishing regulations 2010/2011

[Hoosierflogger]

Spear and Bow Fishing
Suckers, carp ,gar, bowfin, buffalo, and shad may be taken at the locations below with the equipment listed, and only during the hours noted. There are no bag limits for these fish.

Large Streams
*White river from the Wabash river upstream to the junction of the east and west forks.

*West fork of White river, upstream to the dam below Harding street in Indianapolis.

*East fork of white river upstream to the dam at the south edge of Columbus.

*Wabash river, upstream to Indiana highway 13 at the town of Wabash.

*Tippecanoe river, upstream to 1/2 mile below it's confluence with Big Creek

*Maumee river, upstream to the Anthony bvd. bridge in Ft Wayne

*kankakee river, upstream to the Indiana 55 bridge.

*St. Joseph river, upstream from Twin Branch dam in St Joseph and Elkhart counties

Equipment
Fish spear, gig, spear gun, bow and arrow, underwater spear.

Time
All year, day or night.

Small Streams
Any and all small streams, or partial streams not listed above.

Equipment
Bow and arrow.

Time
All year, sunrise to sunset.

Non Flowing Waters
lakes, ponds, reservoirs

Equipment
Fish spear, gig, spear gun, underwater spear, bow and arrow.

Time
All year, day or night.

I copied these from page 15 of the regulation book, and in no way take responsibility for their accuracy.

[Anonym]

Whew, those are pretty tough restrictions!

Got a buddy hooking me up with a retriever, rest, and arrow. Just waiting on my AR5-ANGLER to put it on and I'll be out on the water more!

[Hoosierflogger]

Originally Posted by Anonym

Whew, those are pretty tough restrictions!

Got a buddy hooking me up with a retriever, rest, and arrow. Just waiting on my AR5-ANGLER to put it on and I'll be out on the water more!

Yea, we've got it pretty good I guess.

It would be nice if we could shoot the small rivers at night though.

I also wish we could shoot bluegill, like in some states.
It would be nice to kill something worth eating IMO.

[Fowl Water]

talk to your local CO's. I have had lengthy discussions with ours and there is absolutely no problem shooting the small rivers and creeks. The only problem that comes into play is in residential areas. I have been in discussions with a biologist concerning catfish...all I am asking for is a legal posession limit...we will see

[INDY BOYS]

let us know if we can help ya in anyway on the catfish regs man

[Hoosierflogger]

Originally Posted by Fowl Water

talk to your local CO's. I have had lengthy discussions with ours and there is absolutely no problem shooting the small rivers and creeks. The only problem that comes into play is in residential areas. I have been in discussions with a biologist concerning catfish...all I am asking for is a legal posession limit...we will see

I got a chance to speak to a CO on Thursday.
He was not MY CO but one from another county North of here.
I asked him about fishing small streams at night, and he told me he had to admit, he was unaware that it was illegal.
I thought that was a little strange, but he explained that he almost never deals with any bowfishers (I guess it's rare in his county).
Anyway, he said that HE PERSONALLY would not be inclined to hassle a guy for bowfishing at night, but that may vary depending on your officer.
He did say though, as you pointed out, that it sounds like an issue of lights and noise around homes would be the likely reason for the law.

I have not had an opportunity to speak to the CO in my county about it.

[raptor777]

Originally Posted by Fowl Water

talk to your local CO's. I have had lengthy discussions with ours and there is absolutely no problem shooting the small rivers and creeks. The only problem that comes into play is in residential areas. I have been in discussions with a biologist concerning catfish...all I am asking for is a legal posession limit...we will see

Same thing with us. Talked to a couple different CO's in the area, a fish biologist or something of that nature working out of Orland, and a guy working at Pigeon River FWA. We got the exact same reaction from all of them. They didnt know it was even in the regs that way and said that we it wasnt an issue as far as they were concerned. The only suggestions they had were dont do it in cities or places we think people will complain. They said that the law was written with "fair chase" in mind and that small streams sort of confine the fish and make it a lot easier at night with lights. But as far as they were concerned there is no such thing as fair chase with invasive species. At most, they said that we'd get a warning if they had a complaint and had to respond, but there's no way we'd ever see any sort of citation. So, good luck and hope some if this info helps someone.

[bigun]

Had the same thing happen here and some CO's even telling peole where to go at night in the creeks. I wish we could just get them all on the same page because most counties have 2-4 CO's covering and would hate for one to tell you it's ok then the next one write you a ticket. But most I have talked to have no idea on the bowfishing regs.