Do Gar spook away Bass?

[jiangtao]

I have seen alot of Gar in the place I am fishing and have had little luck with the Bass there. However, I have fished a small pond/lake where there were Gar and caught 6 Bass in about 1 hours time. The place I am fishing now is a creek that goes about 10 feet deep in some places. The pond I mentioned earlier is about the same depth. The reason I ask this is I have heard a friend of mine, who is a biologist, state that Gar will feed and attack Bass.

[KYbass1276]

I don't really know for sure but I would have to say yes myself.  Given that Gar can grow to pretty good size and some bass if being the right size would probally make a good meal, I could see why they would be spooked by them.

[Guest ouachitabassangler]

I've never known of that problem with gar. I frequently see gar in the same waters as catching bass in. A large gar might attack a keeper bass by lying in wait in weeds, attacking anything that gets close enough, like ducks. They do feed on small fish, competing with bass primarily for shad, not as likely to try catching panfish or mature bass, and the aligator gar in particular loves catfish. I take note of gar behavior, though. When they roll on the surface a lot that alerts me to a low DO situation. They roll to gulp air. I'd move on when seeing that since baitfish won't likely stay in areas like that.

Jim

[Cajun Caster]

If you see a lot of gar where you are fishing, you are seeing long nose gar. Long nose gar never get to the size that can prey on adult bass. It's the larger aligator gar that can eat a bass. But aligator gar travel alone and are not in the numbers that could hurt the bass population.

If you are asking if the large numbers of long nose gar keep the bass away due to feeding competition for their food, that's another question. I would say it seems so from my experience in my home waters here in the Atchafalaya Basin and surrounding bayous.

[Sam]

Hey Cajun Caster,

Welcome to the forum.  It is an outstanding place with wonderful guys willing to share their knowledge.

Also on this site are Cajun and me, both from Louisiana.

I am from New Orelans and I grew up fishing the Biloxi Marsh, Mississippi Sound and the Gulf plus many fresh water locations including the Atchafalaya Basin where I remember some fun times but lots of water mocassins.

As an LSU alumni I follow the Fighting Tigers and this weekend it is the Big Coonasses playing the Little Coonasses in a 92,400 seat stadium filled with Cajuns and Want-To-Be Cajuns.  It should be a fun game.

Be sure to let us have your two cents about bass fishing.  

And I know the difference between a "Needle Nose Gar" and an "Alligator Gar" which many people do not.  So thanks for the clarification.  We see the Needle Nose Gars all the time. And I thank God that we do not have those mean and ugly Alligator Gars in Virginia although I will say that while I was growing up in Louisiana it was fun "hooking" them until they broke the line.

Geaux Tigers!

[RobDar]

you seen how ugly a Gar is?

If I were a bass I would run!

[Muddpuppy]

I am pretty sure they will feed on the little bass, but we have an real nice local zoo with an aquarium exibit that has a local freshwater display and they have both gar and bass in together, both species are trophies to say the least so the size may be a factor.

[Guest ouachitabassangler]

Hey Cajun Caster. Welcome here!

Maybe you know what a pirough is. I hired a cajun from Eunice as an interpreter-guide for 3 years to help locate and buy up cypress, whose dad built me one for $900 cash. They were a second family for me. Took him a year even though he'd built them all his life, but the shop they used burned and stopped production. That boat was fine, as though carved out of solid wood yet lighter than most canoes, and worth a lot more than that cost. Anyway, I got a lot of use out of it fishing from there to Monroe and north to Springhill, to the Black River and back down for the Mississippi oxbows, bassing much easier than nowadays. When fishing with those guys we kept and ate everything, including gar and grennel, and of course trapping swamp bunnies (muskrats). I worried more about the Alligator Gar more than alligators. At least alligators try to avoid people, while gar were pesky. They made it impossible to use a stringer over the side, pulling the boat over grabbing fish, so we put water in the boat to make them ride lower, more stable, and hold our catch. I doubt I'll ever match the bass fishing I had there those years. Nothing like pitching under drapes of spanish moss in places you just 'know' no human ever went before you.

Jim

[BassHunter266]

I have had times when gar and bass both try to hit my bait! so I don't think it matters, the only thing I can think of is, size difference gar do get huge.

[THEbassmaster]

im not sure, but one time while pike fishing with bluegill, i got a 16incher, and it had bite marks on each side, which i think was a gar. he have also caught gar there. not sure, but they try and eat bass.

aaron

[jiangtao]

I do see the gar there coming up top a bit, but the water I have been fishing is coming from a small dam just up the creek and it is constantly flowing. Could there still be low D.O. there? There are also lilly pads growing in the area as well as alot of timber in the water. [mainly Bald Cypress along the bank] It's hard to really tell, but the water seems clear and the bottom is REALLY dark.

[CJ]

I have seen gar rolling alot in the late summer and fall.I have caught fish with them rolling but haven't took notice on how well.Thanks for that info,oba!I try to pay close attention to all fish activity especially in the fall.I have noticed that when baitfish are flipping or jumping,solo on the top,fishing can be slow(this would be in shallows).I was wordering if this could be low DO?Huh,baitfish observation.....would make a good thread.

BTW,I see mostly if not all longnose gar.I don't think they bother bass.They rarely hit any of my lures.

[jiangtao]

In the past month I have had Gar hit a swimming jig, spinnerbait, top water popper, buzzbait, plastic worms, and just about anything else that has been swam by them!! My friend was fishing a popper that he has never caught anything off of and soon as it hit the water... BAM,, pulled in a Gar. All of these Gar that hit the above lures were on top [visible] and chased the lure until they bit it or ran into the bank! Yesterday, I was reeling a buzzbait back to the bank and noticed the water was waving [kind of scared me because I didn't know what the heck it was] behind the lure. After I got the lure out of the water a Gar RAN into the bank and started going nuts until it was back away from the bank. On another note, I caught a 9 lb Drum on a Rattletrap and a week later had a Drum [same exact place as the Rattletrap incident] come up and snap at my swimming jig. The second one was at LEAST 15+!!! Go figure.

[BassKing813]

Whenever I fish an area where gar are present I never catch any bass, so I would say that gar cause the bass to seek another area while they are there.

[Guest ouachitabassangler]

Rolling gar signals yet another situation as the summer progresses. Besides gulping air in low DO, they also gulp shad and minnows in open water. Keep in mind both threadfin and gizzard shad can spawn several times a year, in water up to 75 degrees. There's a different lower limit for each, but that isn't worth mentioning for summer. It's very possible there are multiple generations of shad, more variety of sizes by the time fall arrives, and each generation of shad larvae move immediately to open water but very shallow after each hatch. They just know to vacate shallow heavy cover where hoardes of bream could wipe them out. That's what gar love to feed on.

Maybe we should be doing a shad thread.

Jim

[Rob G.]

No

[ZbestBassman]

I live in Eastern NC and the swamps y'all see in Louisiana look just like they do here their are even a few gators in certain areas. The longnose gar in NC along with bowfin are most definitely problematic when bass fishing. I have to use at least 14 lb test in order to keep my tackle and yes I will bank the gar when I catch one not the bowfin I feel there is still some skill and fun in catching a big ol blackfish

[craww]

This is a 13 yr old thread man lol

[Choporoz]

11 minutes ago, craww said:

This is a 13 yr old thread man lol

True.  But impressive since you can't just search and find a gar thread, since BR search doesn't do three letter words.  Well done, @ZbestBassman

 

I've got one small bay where I fish that is just frothing with gars.  I don't know if bass are there because a gar will immediately attack a lure, especially any lipless cranks -- just asking for trouble...lol.  It's crazy because there's a LOT of other very similar bays close by, but they tend to stay in their corner

[geo g]

A lot depends on water quality.  If good, bass and gar may be in close proximity.  Gar will also frequent water with low O2.  They will clean up on fish dying and struggling with the poor water quality.  Easy pickings for hungry gar.