Not worth me digging stuff out to post pictures... the pics above serve that purpose.
My setups on vertical bow... AMS retriever reel on the old compound, and an old school aluminum tophat style reel on the recurve. For a crossbow the setup Goose Gestapo shows would be almost optimal but I would want more support on the reel. I have used the type of point GG shows but have switched to using the larger folding type exclusively for fish. For gator I would be inclined to use a beefier version of the style tip like GG uses as they poke holes better. The wire barbs should dig in on a gator and I suspect that a rolling gator may loosen the type I use allowing him to slip off. Either way you need to use one of the slipping attachment points simply to keep the line from tangling on your gear and destroying everything (and losing the gator) when you take a shot.
When you use a setup like GGs then it’s easy to have multiple projectile setups ready. Have your float (I use gallon milk jugs or 2 liter bottles with reflective tape around the bottom usually) sitting on deck with very little slack and a nicely coiled roll of line beside it with the other end tied to the arrow/bolt.
A weird word of caution, use a lighter line than what you think you want. My AMS reel came with braided 200lb but I replaced it with braided 120. THIS IS A SAFETY FACTOR so don’t simply dismiss it. Your concern is gonna be in wrestling the gator or fish or whatever you thump with the arrow. Your concern here should be safely sending that arrow. If you put too tough of a line on and you do tangle up then you want your line to break. You do not want your line to pull tight and bring an arrow back to you like a paddleball because it can do as much damage to you as it would your intended target. Your next thought should be in how easy that line is to cut should you need to. Your third thought is on how easily it with be accidentally cut when the critter wraps up on stumps and crud.
