Bowfishing involves the use of a bow and arrow to catch fish. Reference is made to FIGS. 1 and 2, which illustrate prior art bowfishing equipment. A bow 10 may be equipped with a cable 12, which may be used to fire an arrow including an arrow shaft 14. Many types of bows may be used in the sport of bowfishing, including recurve bows, hybrid cam bows, or crossbows. The arrow shaft may be solid and may be made of fiberglass-reinforced polymer, a fiberglass and carbon mix, or a carbon shaft. A typical diameter of a bowfishing arrow shaft is 5/16″. These shafts may include an arrowhead end, which may be round, where the arrowhead may be attached, and may have a nock end, which may be tapered, conical, or flat, where a nock 18 may be attached.
The arrow may be connected to a line 22, which in turn may be connected to a reel. In order to attach the line 22 to the arrow shaft 14, a slide 20 may be provided on the shaft 14. The slide 20 may be adapted to move longitudinally along the shaft 14, which allows relative motion of the line 22 with respect to the arrow shaft, which may be useful in loading and firing the arrow. In order to prevent the slide 20, and therefore the line 22, from passing beyond the nock end of the arrow shaft, thereby detaching the line 22 from the arrow shaft 14, a stop 24 is provided. This stop 24 prevents further longitudinal movement of the slide 20 in a rearward direction.
With further reference to FIG. 2, a conventional slide 20 and stop 24 are illustrated. The slide 20 may include a tubular or annular body, and the stop 24 may include a simple projection extending radially from one portion of the shaft 14 and fixed thereto. In practice, the slide 20 may impact the stop 24 upon firing the arrow, but may bounce off said stop once the arrow has made contact with a target, such as a fish. In the event that a fish has been speared, the free longitudinal movement of the slide 20 with respect to the shaft 14 results in the line 22 also freely moving relative to the shaft, and hence the fish. This can lead to an uneven “pull” created between the fish and the fisherman as the line 22 may slide longitudinally on the arrow shaft 14 as the fish moves.
In addition, a stop 24 in the form of a single fixed radial projection, as is shown in FIG. 2, results a single area of the stop absorbing all contact from the slide 20, namely the upstanding wall on the arrowhead side of the stop 24. The shaft may include a threaded aperture to receive a stop, such as a shock pad, and an attachment screw. The stop may be approximately 1¼″ from the nock end of the shaft. The stop may be in the form of a resilient pad that has a plate or cover that is secured to the arrow shaft with the attachment screw.
Repeated contact between the slide 20 and this relatively small surface area of the stop 24 may cause the stop to wear relatively quickly or unevenly. Moreover, the asymmetric force (with respect to the shaft) caused by the slide 20 repeatedly contacting the stop 24, often with high levels of force, may cause the stop 24 to begin to deform itself and/or the shaft, as the stop is urged to bend backward with each impact from the slide 20. Furthermore, this asymmetric extension of the stop in a single radial direction creates a less aerodynamic arrow as compared to an arrow without a stop.
Accordingly, a need has been identified for a bowfishing arrow with an improved slide and stop system which addresses these and other shortcomings of traditional bowfishing arrows.