Gar

[Bluebasser86]

My wife decided to take the day off a few days ago and float around the lake with me. I was fishing a marina break wall when we came across a school of gar spawning on the rocks. I put a big 8/0 worm hook on and flipped it across the nose of the biggest female I saw and stuck her. My wife recorded the fight on her phone. Probably took 5 minutes to put in the boat.

18lbs 2oz on the digital scale, not sure on the length but I shot one that was 51 1/2" long out of the same lake a few years ago and this one didn't seem quite as long as that one. Didn't have my bow this time . Too bad, my wife wants to try bowfishing and this would have been the perfect chance to learn!

[bass or bass ?]

Nice gar! The best way to catch gar with rod & reel is with a rope lure. Take a 1/0 or larger hook and whip tie a 4" piece of white nylon rope to the shank. Varnish the tie. After varnish sets, unravel the rope. Cast the lure when you spot gar. When they strike, the unraveled nylon rope tangles in their teeth and they can't throw the lure. You could even cut off the hook from the shank for gar fishing, but you may get a bass strike on the lure, then you'll be glad to have the hook

[Bluebasser86]

I've done that with my flyrod and it is a blast! These ones were spawning though so they were not at all interested in eating anything. I've heard of people eating them but the last guy who tried to explain how to clean them lost me at "you lay them on the bandsaw..." I don't like eating any fish to work that hard to clean them .

[GrundleLove]

what's the deal with bowfishing? I never really understood it....does it kill the fish?

[crazy4bass1]

what's the deal with bowfishing? I never really understood it....does it kill the fish?

yes

[bass or bass ?]

Yep, I've fished the rope lure on both spinning and fly rods. Awesome fight on a fly rod!

[GrundleLove]

yes

wow. I officially hate bow fishing

[Teal101]

wow. I officially hate bow fishing

Ignorance

Species that are allowed to be bow fished are species in need of population control generally. In WA you can harvest bull frogs and Common Carp with a bow, no other fish.

[Fishing4SquidDuck]

not really ignorance. just a dislike for killing a fish. i'm not sure that bow fishing is used to control a species just allowed for fish that arnt "game fish" personally i hate it. but if you can live with it then do what you want.

[Bluebasser86]

Why would you dislike bowfishing just because it kills the fish? Standard fishing techniques kill fish sometimes and lots of people at least occasionally keep the fish they catch to eat, even bass. I have a list of people I can call that are more than happy to eat the fish I shoot, carp, buffalo, gar, drum, doesn't matter what. They're people with very low incomes that might not eat otherwise. There's a reason states allow bowfishing for the fish species they do, very few people fish for and eat rough fish like carp and buffalo. These fish also grow quickly therefore becoming to large for control by other predators. Even on lakes that I bowfish a lot and that get lots of pressure from other bowfisherman the populations of rough fish are out of control, to the point that the state has started shocking and netting the lake just to try to curb the population a little. There has to be some kind of population control just like there is with other "gamefish". If you don't keep some bass from a lake they will become overpopulated and eventually you'll run into a fishkill because there isn't enough food or a diesease kills off all the unhealthy fish. I enjoy catching carp and gar almost as much as bass fishing and sight fishing drum is a real challenge and a lot of fun so it's not like I think they are just trash fish that should be killed at all costs. It's also a real challenge that gets me ready for bow season for deer and is not even close to "shooting fish in a barrel". I'm sorry I'm ranting a little bit but it seems like there are lots of people who don't like bowfishing and I can't ever get an answer that my tiny brain can make sense of I guess.

[tyrius.]

wow. I officially hate bow fishing

You do realize that a percentage of fish that you catch and release die anyways right? If you hate bow fishing because it kills fish then logically you should hate ALL fishing, even catch and release, because it kills fish.

Me, I'm not so concerned about a single fish as to worry about it. It's a fish, there are millions of them. Plus they taste really good too!

[Teal101]

not really ignorance. just a dislike for killing a fish. i'm not sure that bow fishing is used to control a species just allowed for fish that arnt "game fish" personally i hate it. but if you can live with it then do what you want.

It is very much used to control fish species. It is ignorance when you hate a tool that the states use to manage an out of control fish species, just because it kills them. You do realize carp and other rough fish destroy bass habitat, as well as many other native fishes habitats. Carp are absolutely decimating my local waters and I full advocate killing them off. They scrounge on the bottom eating tubers and plant roots, killing weed beds and releasing tons of silt into the water that reduces water clarity and chokes out other fish.

Why would you dislike bowfishing just because it kills the fish? Standard fishing techniques kill fish sometimes and lots of people at least occasionally keep the fish they catch to eat, even bass. I have a list of people I can call that are more than happy to eat the fish I shoot, carp, buffalo, gar, drum, doesn't matter what. They're people with very low incomes that might not eat otherwise. There's a reason states allow bowfishing for the fish species they do, very few people fish for and eat rough fish like carp and buffalo. These fish also grow quickly therefore becoming to large for control by other predators. Even on lakes that I bowfish a lot and that get lots of pressure from other bowfisherman the populations of rough fish are out of control, to the point that the state has started shocking and netting the lake just to try to curb the population a little. There has to be some kind of population control just like there is with other "gamefish". If you don't keep some bass from a lake they will become overpopulated and eventually you'll run into a fishkill because there isn't enough food or a diesease kills off all the unhealthy fish. I enjoy catching carp and gar almost as much as bass fishing and sight fishing drum is a real challenge and a lot of fun so it's not like I think they are just trash fish that should be killed at all costs. It's also a real challenge that gets me ready for bow season for deer and is not even close to "shooting fish in a barrel". I'm sorry I'm ranting a little bit but it seems like there are lots of people who don't like bowfishing and I can't ever get an answer that my tiny brain can make sense of I guess.

Very well said. I dont know much about the gar fishing being from up north, but we have some huge tourneys for carp up here. They are out of control, and nothing is working to reduce their population.

[GLADES]

Gar fish are a nuisance down here in south Florida. They usually get killed and left on the bank for the wildlife and birds to eat.

[Vance Jones]

they are awfully cute when they are this tiny. but man do they get UGLY when bigger

if you look real close you can see his teeth in his mouth already. super small.

very unique and distinct markings on the tail and along the lateral lines. note the really small fins

he's going to be ugly when bigger..but right now his markings and size make him actually very pretty. nice color pattern on him, love how the lines continue right into his eye.

nice clean white underbelly. can really see how small the fins are here on this lil guy.

[Bluebasser86]

I had a couple small gar in an aquarium for awhile, man do they eat a ton! I couldn't keep enough minnows in the tank for them it seemed like. They are pretty cool to watch stalk and catch the minnows though.