Archery business holds bow-fishing tournament

A new bow-and-arrow fishing activity is helping a business succeed in Queen City, Texas.

Owner John Hudson opened Deadhead Archery in May 2017.

“But I knew nothing about fishing with the bow and arrow. My experience had been hunting deer and other animals. Then, all of a sudden, we had our first bowand-arrow fishing tourney, and it was a real success. A lot of interest here. It carried the new store for those first months,” Hudson said.

The archery shop held its second annual bow-andarrow fishing tournament Saturday in Queen City, attracting 10 teams of participants from all around the region.

The teams fished from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. for alligator gar in the rivers and lakes of the area. When bringing their catch back at the end, huge tubs would be filled with the fish, some weighing up to 50 and 60 pounds each. Most teams had at least 10 to 12 fish to show for their hunting effort.

Bow-and-arrow fishing is done from a boat and is quite different from animal hunting or target shooting with bow and arrow. Fishers use modern bows, which are tensioned to release with a 45- to 50-pound pull and are set up for quick responding. A line is attached to the arrow with a reel to bring the arrow back and the catch in.

The hunting bow requires pulls of 70 pounds or more and uses telescopic sights and balancing mechanisms to slowly zero in on a target over a long distance.

“We found that archery is being taught as an activity in Queen City and Atlanta schools, so we were blessed that a lot of kids were interested in it. That worked well for us. People wouldn’t have thought it,” Hudson said.

The store owner said Deadhead is now wellstocked with archery fishing items.

Alligator gar is apparently found readily in area waters. Bow-and-arrow fishing fans say the gar is an invasive fish that has little use as it is not for eating and is usually thrown away.

Local bow-and-arrow fishing enthusiast Hunter Smith of McLeod, Texas, conducted the fishing tournament, which distributed monetary prizes and other rewards for the entrants.

One of the problems in holding the tournament was finding a way to hold and weigh the huge fish. Some of the giant tubs were so full and heavy they had to be hauled on the ground by groups of the fishermen.

One of the funniest parts was the prize given for the smallest fish caught. The entrants here were about the size of a person’s hand. It seems nothing gets thrown back into the waters in a bow-and-arrow fishing tournament.

above It’s an early morning start on Wright Patman Lake for bow-and-arrow fishing in the Deadhead Archery tournament Saturday. The participants are, from left, Logan Langford of Bullard, Texas; Dale Cherry of Rodessa, La.; and Blake Wheeler also of...

Staff photos by Neil Abeles left Participants in the second annual bow-and-arrow fishing tournament arrive shortly before 7 a.m. Saturday at Deadhead Archery in Queen City, Texas.

■ Logan Lemley, left, and Jonathan Lenard display the bow used for fishing in a bow-and-arrow fishing tournament. A good bow with arrows costs in the neighborhood of $400, Lemley said.

■ Judd Hickerson is getting ready to weigh one of his biggest catches in the Deadhead Archery fishing tournament held Saturday in Queen City.

■ Randy Moon loads alligator gar into huge tubs for weighing at the end of a fishing tournament.