Help with gar!

[Joshua van Wyk]

Hi guys, 

I fish the Tidal Basin in D.C. quite a bit and there is a healthy population of gar, however I am at a loss on how to catch them. I always fish for catfish when I'm there and I get bit a lot without any hookups and I'm sure gar  are the culprit. The only time I've seen them caught is by accident when the lines gets tangled up in their mouths,  I've been brainstorming for quite some time now and I think I've come up with a solution. I was thinking in wrapping my cut bait in yarn or twine so when the gar  eats it it'll get stuck in the yarn. I'm looking for other people's opinions on this and to see if anyone has tried this with success!

[CroakHunter]

Frayed rope works well. I'm sure someone will chime in with pictures as they have before. @Bluebasser86 got any tips?

[Bluebasser86]

I usually just tie mine to the bend of a jighead. Any cheap, frayed rope will do as long as there is plenty of thin strands to tangle on the gar's teeth. I've had moderate success catching them on suspending jerkbaits using a pull/pause retrieve, but hookups are usually short lived. Live bait or cut bait gets tons of bites, but again hook ups are the issue.