I want to start bow fishing for gar and was wondering what is the best combo i dont have a very high budget so around the 175 - 225 dollar range is about what im looking for

this is the one i was looking at

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0004395416826a&type=product&cmCat=SEARCH_all&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&No=18&QueryText=pse&Ntk=Products&sort=all&Go.y=0&_D%3AhasJS=+&N=0&Nty=1&hasJS=true&_DARGS=%2Fcabelas%2Fen%2Fcommon%2Fsearch%2Fsearch-box.jsp.form23&Go.x=0&_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1

From what I know about gar, which isn't much, I think that set up would be to light.  Seems that would be good for carp.  I would go with something heavier to get through their skin.  I would go to a pawn shop or craigs list and look for a bow, then put something like this on it.

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_101844_450003011_450000000_450003000_450-3-11

I do some bowfishing and I think the best beginner setup is a browning barracuda setup.  You could go with a recurve but I would definitely get an AMS retriever system bow reel or you will have to constantly wined your line up every time you shoot.  Any compound will do but typically you don't want to shoot much more than a 40 pound  bow because the power behind the bow will damage your arrows when they hit stuff or get stuck in things.  Also constantly pulling it back will wear you out if you go much over 40.  You will want to put "no gloves" on your bow string also or it will wear your fingers out unless youo use a release but a release isn't recommended for bowfishing.  The main difference in bowfishing bows and a normal compound is that bowfishing bows have no let off.  They pull back like a compound bow which allows for snap shots and shots that don't require you to be at full draw.  There are several good bowfishing forums out there that can guide you in the right direction if you want to check them out.  It is a lot of fun and can become addicting!  Good luck.  PM me if you have anymore questions.

You will definitely want to get an AMS reel, those drum reels will keep you ticked off all day.

The AMS is also alot safer because it keeps the line by the tip of the arrow.

I use a PSE nova which is my old deer hunting bow. It has about a 45 lb draw and I have no problems getting any shots off.

You can find an older bow at a pawn shop and it will work just fine but you don't want to get one that has a high draw because when you miss in shallow water it can be tough getting it out.