Lawful Archery Equipment
Lawful archery equipment includes longbow, recurved bow, compound bow and crossbow
May be used to take NONGAME fish only.
Any fish that is edible or can be used for bait (includes all gar species, common carp and buffalo) may not be released back into the water after being taken with lawful archery equipment. See Waste of Fish.
State regulations permit bow fishing in most public waters (see Exceptions to Statewide Freshwater Harvest Regulations and Restricted Areas in Counties. However, bow fishers are advised to check with local authorities that may have ordinances restricting use of archery equipment.
A person bow fishing on a navigable stream in Dimmit, Edwards, Frio, Kenedy, Llano, Maverick, Real, Uvalde, or Zavala counties may not possess an arrow equipped with fletching of any kind, an unbarbed arrow, or a bow that is not equipped with a reel and line.
Bows are legal for taking non-game fishes such as gar, buffalo, mullet and sheepshead. A bow may be used to take any species of fish that is:
NOT listed as a game fish on the definitions page and
NOT listed as an endangered or threatened species
No minimum lengths or daily bag limits apply to non-game fishes in fresh water, except:
For alligator gar, there is a statewide limit of one (1) per day, with the following exceptions:
On Falcon International Reservoir, the limit is five (5) per day.
On portions of Lake Texoma, harvest of alligator gar is prohibited during the spawning season in May.
Certain areas may be temporarily closed to alligator gar fishing when optimum spawning conditions occur. Get details.
For Lady Bird Lake in downtown Austin, there is a daily limit of one (1) trophy-sized common carp, defined as a carp measuring 33 inches or more. No limits apply to smaller carp.
LCRA regulations:
Bow fishing is allowed on the Highland Lakes with these restrictions:
Bow fishing must take place from a boat.
Bow fishing is not allowed from the bank, within 75 feet of any marked designated swimming area, within 50 feet of any boat dock, pier, restricted or residential areas, or while wading.
Crossbows, draw-locking mechanisms and arrows designed for flight through the air are prohibited; only hand-pulled and hand-released equipment is allowed.
Archery equipment is prohibited on LCRA Land.
So yes one can bow fish Lake Austin and LBL. There are several active guides taking folks out on Lake Austin hunting grass carps.
GARQUEST CENTRAL TEXAS BOWFISHING