Bolts, bows and boats

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Isaiah J. Soliz
  • 325th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

The military lifestyle presents unique challenges for Airmen and their families; maintaining the balance between professional and personal life can be an issue at the forefront of their lives. For one Tyndall Airman, his unique hobby allows him an avenue to escape the daily occurrences and live in the moment. 

By day, Staff Sgt. Taylor Price is a biomedical equipment technician from the 325th Medical Group. He inspects, maintains and repairs the medical equipment needed to ensure that Tyndall’s medical professionals can continue to care for patients. During his off time, Price enjoys fishing in a rather unique fashion, with a bolt, bow and his boat.

Growing up in a small town near a freshwater river, Price got into bow fishing at a young age, but his interest in it was cemented later in life while he was stationed in Ohio at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. He and a few friends would walk creek banks looking for fish or go out at night on Price’s boat lined with lights.

“You need to have the patience to learn and time shots properly, the patience to persevere on a slow night, and the patience to deal with the frustration of misses,” Price said. “The focus comes in when you are trying to determine what move a fish may make when they run. It’s easy to just launch an arrow at a fish, but it’s much harder to read the fish and determine the next turn and make the shot count.

“It’s an experience unlike any other kind of fishing, it’s a lot more active,” Price continued. “It’s a difficult hobby to get into; lots of money and time invested. It takes patience and time to develop the skill necessary. I went home empty handed a lot at first.”

Price went on to talk about the importance of minimizing stressors during off-duty hours.  

“It’s definitely good to help separate the work life from the home life,” Price said. “When you get off work on a Friday afternoon and all you can think about is going to go get the boat hooked up and getting ready to go, stressors, life, work, everything’s just not there. You don’t think about it a single bit.”

Price believes Tyndall is a prime location for his hobby, because of the mix of both salt and freshwater in the area as well lakes and rivers.

“There is no better experience than being out on the boat in the middle of the night, nothing but lights on around you and some good music on the radio,” Price said.

Offering advice to fellow Airmen, Price recommends that Airmen go out and enjoy the areas surrounding Tyndall.

“If you’re not out there having a good time, enjoying the beautiful beaches and awesome food, then you are missing out. This area is great,” Price added. “It’s a vacation destination for so many people and you live here, how can you complain about that?”

(Note: All local and state laws pertaining to fishing are published and must be understood prior to taking on a hobby like bow fishing. Be aware of any permits and fishing seasons that may be required to fish in your area.)