Garfishing

[Btech]

I seen my first Gar the other night, Went out at midnight in the rain, and just after launching the boat when i pluged in my rear light i noticed a long swirl in the water, i used the TM to get closer thinking it was a crappie or brim, Nope..... GAR!

Mind you the ony time i have seen a gar was at BPS in their aquarium, they just look neet to me.

Now to the point - I know NOTHING About GAR (Except dont screw arround with thier teeth im told) Also herd stories of people catching them on "Rope" or "Cotton balls"

What am i getting into if i want to catch one? Is it worth it , Do they fight well? How dangerous are they? And most important ... What do i catch one on? Any help as to how to locate them would be nice, or links would be best (yes im doing a little research)

So far I came up with this site but it seems kinda lame... i mean ... well youll get the point

Thanks guys - Your sugestions are greatly appriciated!

[TruflShufl]

I've never really fished for them but I've caught them before. They fight ok. Not really dangerous so long as you don't get into them teeth. I've heard of guys tying string loosely around their lures to get tangled in their teeth because their skin is too tough to penetrate.

They're gross. I've been known to beat them with oars.

I've caught em on a topwater while fishing for bass. I'd assume you can catch them on most bass lures. Maybe someone else will have a better idea. Good luck and snap some pics!  8-)

[carrothead]

They are extremely scary at night.  I was in a boat while jughooking, and went to get a jug.  My grandaddy pulled it halfway out of the water, and BOOM!  This huge gar jumps out of the water .  I nearly jumped in at 2:00 in the morning ;D.  It turned out to be 52 inches long.  HUGE for a needlenose.

[Btech]

Yeah the one I seen scared me a little, but thats why i like it, got ya all hyped up - Do they jump often? Like a bass would? Or what?

Sorry guys im just intersted in this fish - Is it a bone catch (hear that alot i guess meaning its bad to eat, no good to catch?) Id Catch and release (Assuming it doesnt bite me).

[12_Foot_Johnny]

Man, you guys ain't lying.  One night (well, really early morning, about 4:30 AM) I was out fishing in my kayak and while paddling to where I wanted to start fishing a HUGE gar SLAMMED the side of my kayak.  That about made me need change of shorts if you know what I mean...lol

I think they are kind of cool though.  I've seen several here in Alabama.  They swim in a slow glide much like sharks... it's like they own the place, lol

[carrothead]

They feed on dying baitfish on top.  That's probably why you've caught them on a topwater.  They won't bite you.  One trick to do with a needlenose though, is to put a stick between its jaws vertically, holding its mouth open.  It will then jump frantically out of the water multiple times trying to get it out.  Pretty cool.

btw...  They have so many bones, you can't really eat them, plus they're nasty.

[bass or bass ?]

When I was a teenager living in Florida I caught them a lot. Good fighters and a lot of fun. The best gar bait is as follows. Whip tie a 4" piece of white nylon rope, 1/4" diameter, to a hook. Fray the rope. all the way to the tie thread. Seal tie with superglue or varnish. The frayed rope tangles in the gar's teeth  8-). They are very hard to hook because of their hard bony mouth . You don't really need the hook on this lure, but you may get a strike from a bass or other gamefish, and then you'll want that hook ;D.     Happy gar fishing.

~B.A.S.S.~N.A.F.C.~boatU.S.~N.R.A.~A.M.A.'

[swilly78]

Here is a cool site on gar fishing I found awhile back, Ive caught a couple, and they are alot of fun.  These guys are crazy about them though.  http://www.garfishing.com/

[mrlitetackle]

not sure quite the sort of them you have around there, but here in FL we have tons of alligator gar..... and some of them get really large to say the least.........

the best bait i have caught them on (while targeting bass though) are live shiners near the surface.......

sometimes it seems like i can't keep the gars away from them, although at times i wish i could...........but every once in a while i land a large one that is more than worthy!!!!!!!!!

[alger319]

they like dead or wounded shiners... or you can shoot em with a bow! so much fun!

[carrothead]

Gar are probably the most nasty smelling fish around.  They are fun to catch though. ;D

[Daniel My Brother]

Bass or Bass has some good advice with the rope rig...

Fight the urge to set the hook when a gar takes your rope rig...instead, just reel in. Large gar are good fighters.

We carry leather gloves to land gar, as many are just too long for a regular net. Put on the gloves and grab the gar by the snout (make sure it's closed) and hold on tight as he will thrash for a couple seconds.

I tried eating a large one last year and it tasted awful. I'm told the smaller ones are better. If you try to fillet one you'll only want the backstraps to avoid the bones.

[bowfish12]

I tried eating a large one last year and it tasted awful. I'm told the smaller ones are better. If you try to fillet one you'll only want the backstraps to avoid the bones.

Haha I can't believe you tried eating it, I've heard some people say they are good an all, but after smelling one I shot with a bow last year and coming close to puking all in the boat it changed my mind on trying it.

Make sure you have gloves though, the fish is extremely slimey and the easiest way to deal with them is grabbing the snout.

[Btech]

Great so they stink too? This i didnt know - I wasnt gona try to eat one they dont look like they have much meat.

Does the smell stick to your boat when its landed?

Ok - Does anyone have pix of their Gar? If so post em here.

[firefightn15]

Gee Brian, I hope this doesn't mean your giving up on the big mouths.

[Scorcher214]

i caught one while pan fishing with a worm, it tangled in my line after thrashing, wasn't hooked.

I see them all the time when i bass fish in the spring, they scare all the bass and pan fish away so I'm not a big fan of them.

i have tried to catch them on a jitter bug, but they only seem to come up to it, check it out then glide on out.

[Dalton Tam]

I live in Louisiana and we got some big a** gar here man and plenty of them. I've cought them on bass baits before up to about 10 pounds and lost more baits to even bigger ones. I've eaten them before and they are great when cooked right. Now you may think this is stupid but (I'm told) the best way to catch gar down here is to get some heavy duty PANTY HOSE (lol yea) tie them into tight nots and cut them at the end with scissors so that they are very frayed. Somehow the gars teach get caught in the panty hose and you just real them in.

[Daniel My Brother]

Here's my best from last year...

[firefightn15]

Man DMB, that thing is ugly!  Must have been a fun catch though.

[bowfish12]

They will stink if you leave them in the boat all day, I wouldn't get it on carpet but as far as my little jon boat it didnt stink the next day.

[Btech]

Nope brian im Not giving up on LMB just trying to lern more fish just got a  new pb toay 5,5 lbs  pix later

nice one (pic Above)

[DawsonH]

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=57372481&albumID=2710699&imageID=44898686

There is a pic of an alligator gar. I fish for them in the summer when it gets hot.

[Btech]

Sweet pix guys - are they more active at night? this is when i seen my only one.

[DawsonH]

What species are you looking at?

[bowfish12]

He's probably seeing short and longnose, and spotted gar since he's from NC. The alligator dont range that far east, even though they have been reintroduced into west TN and KY. Do you ever bowfish for those alligator gar or just go out and catch them?