How to Clean Your Bowfishing Rig After a Season of Use
Cleaning Your Bowfishing Rig
With bowfishing seasons in many areas soon wrapping up, it’s time to start thinking about cleaning your equipment for off-season storage. Equipment cleaning and maintenance is a too-often overlooked task that has a direct impact on the longevity of bowfishing gear. The sport of bowfishing is hard on equipment, and so equipment care is imperative.
Below are a few basic maintenance steps that will help keep your quality equipment functioning at the high levels your pastime demands.
Cleaning
General cleaning of all your equipment after each outing and especially at the end of the season is a good idea regardless of the bowfishing conditions you regularly encounter.
Mud, muck, and water can damage equipment over time if left unchecked. Wiping down and drying your equipment out, including your bow and bow case, is a good way to limit corrosion and the build-up of mold or mildew.
Lubricant Moving Parts
A penetrating lubricant designed for bows is a good product for every bowfishing enthusiast to have on hand. October Mountain Products makes a Traceless Bow Lubricant that is specifically designed to lubricate cams, idler wheels, axel bushings, and cable slides.
Lubricants not only keep your bow functioning at its highest level, but they also can help prevent rust and other corrosion in your bowfishing rig’s moving parts. Periodic applications through the bowfishing season is a good idea, as is a postseason maintenance lube before long-term storage.
String Care
Keeping the string of your bowfishing rig well cared for during the season is a must. After the season, a thin application of a waterproof string wax is a good idea. Fin Finder’s Hydro-Tek Wax is designed to penetrate the fibers of your bowstring and provide waterproofing to the string.
Before storing your bow for the off-season, it is important that your string is clear of dirt and debris. A string condition product such as October Mountain’s String Serum provides a good way to clean your string of any dirt and debris, including excess wax build-up.
A light application of Hydro-Tek Wax after your string is cleaned will leave your bow ready to wreck when you pull it out of the case for your first outing of the next bowfishing season.
Remove Batteries
If you utilize a bowfishing light or laser sight device on your bowfishing rig, it’s a good practice to remove the batteries in the offseason. Battery longevity can be increased by storing them in a climate-controlled environment, and there is less chance for corrosion to occur on the battery terminals of your electronic bowfishing equipment when batteries are removed during periods of extended storage.
Take a few minutes and remove the batteries to help ensure that your devices and batteries are in optimal condition for the following season.
Do an Equipment Check
Do a general equipment check and take inventory of supplies. The off-season is the best time to organize your equipment and take stock of what needs to be replaced. Having your equipment well-organized heading into the following bowfishing season will make your first outing on the water much more enjoyable and successful.
Go over your arrows and points. If any tips show signs of damage, replace them now. Taking off-season inventory allows you to adequately prepare for next year and take advantage of sales that may occur during the off-season.
Recap
Maintaining your equipment protects the investment you have made in it. It also helps to keep things organized and functional so that you aren’t met with any surprises when the upcoming bowfishing season opens.
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