Gar Fishing...

[victor3ranger]

We used to fish for them all the time. We would use a 12" piece of 100% cotton rope, slip on a egg sinker, tie the fishing line in the middle of the rope, then untwist the rope, get it wet, cast, then reel it on top of the water or just below the top. The rope will get hung in their teeth when they bite. You will need a pair of leather gloves and pliers to get the rope out of the teeth.

Most of the time we use white rope, but if you can find a few other colors it might help or cut a piece of colored wash rag.

 

[Master Carper]

I've landed very few intentionally (mostly because I don't know what i'm doing). I'd appreciate it if you'd be willing to share some insight into your setup for catching gar.

My fishing rig is a 6 1/2 ft. medium/heavy action spinning rod with a Pfleuger 10 bearing spinning reel, loaded with 14 lb. test Cajun Red fishing line...

The hook I use is a 2/0 circle hook...

I use a 3" split cork....... I usually set this at 3-4 ft. from the hook...

I don't like or use swivels and instead, I tie a double uni-knot and use 65 lb. test Spider Wire as my leader, which averages around 15" in length. I use a 3/16 oz. lead slip weight that I usually peg in place with a tooth pick to keep it from sliding up and down on the line...

My favorite bait of all - a 3" shiner. My pond is loaded with them and when I get ready to go fishing, a few casts with the cast net will get me all I need...

A gar is one fish that you can "sight fish" for. Once a gar is spoted, cast about 10 ft. in front of it and if it is going to strike, is usually takes no more than 90 seconds for it to do so...

If there is not much surface activity, set your float 3-4 ft. from the hook and wait'em out. If there are gar in the area, it does'nt take long. When a gar does take your bait, it moves off r-e-a-l s-l-o-w. Once it dives, set the hook. More often than not, you don't actually "hook" a gar because of how tough the "plating" on a gar is. When a gar clamps down on a bait fish - it's favorite food, it does not like to let go. Of all the fish my wife and I caught last week, none of the fish actually had a hook in them. When we got them to the boat, I grabbed them with a gloved hand and as soon as I did, they opened their mouth and the bait and hook just fell out!

I am hoping that we get to go gar fishing this Tuesday and if we do, I'll post some pictures of our catch....


Dennis,

no Sir, we did not go to Grand Lake. We went to a creek that is sbout 20 miles from the house that has a couple of 15-20 ft. deep holes in the bends and there are several above ground springs that keep fresh water flowing into holes and that seems to be where these gar like to congregate....

DAVID

 

[RidgeHunter]

I float fish for smallies a bit and usually the streams are teaming with gar. For years now, whenever the sun would get high and the smallie bite slow, I'd cast to these gar. They'd never give it a second look.

Last week we eased into a hole from which I pulled a couple smallies. My attention is diverted for a couple seconds while I scull draw the boat to maintain postion. As soon as I pick back up on the retrieve, I feel something solid. I'm fishing an ultralight with 4lb test, so a stout smallie and a boulder often feel pretty much the same for a bit. The I see a ridiculously large gar swimming downstream in the clear water. My drag is just singing as this thing slowly strips line off my tiny reel like a fawking tractor. My main worry is that it was gonna spool me, snap me off, and leave me line-less on day 2 of a 3-day trip (yeah, I shoulda brought a backup...I pack too light sometimes). By stroke of luck the lure came free right before it spooled me.

About an hour later I hook and land this one, which was a fraction of the of the one I'd hooked earlier. I mean, I'm not a gar fisher so I won't hazard a guess as to length/weight of the one I'd hooked earlier...but it was a very substantial fish. One of the larger ones hanging in the school of gar that pool had.

So after years of bored afternoons casting to these things, I hook two accidentally within an hour. Weird.

 

[dennishoddy]

Very cool Ridge. Like you, I need to keep an extra spool of line in the gear bag. Never thought of that.

 

[Porter]

Very cool Ridge. Like you, I need to keep an extra spool of line in the gear bag. Never thought of that.

Always!!!! I keep backup line in multiple tensile strenghts. It doesn't weigh much or take up a whole lot of space.

 

[Porter]

Did you catch that one on your flyrod? Good Lord that would be a fight!

This one wasn't on the flyrod, but was on an ultralight with 4lb line. Still quite a little battle.

 

[Master Carper]

Very nice RidgeHunter, thanks for sharing....

 

[Oklahomabassin]

I am going to have to get in on some of this gar fishing. I may have to do it with my bow.

 

[Layn20s]

When I was younger, we used to go down to Altus lake behind the damn and rent canoes and paddle boats, and the gar were everywhere down there. When in a canoe, they would come up and hit the canoe. scare the crap out of you as a kid, not so much anymore lol

 

[870WingBlaster]

I float fish for smallies a bit and usually the streams are teaming with gar. For years now, whenever the sun would get high and the smallie bite slow, I'd cast to these gar. They'd never give it a second look.

Last week we eased into a hole from which I pulled a couple smallies. My attention is diverted for a couple seconds while I scull draw the boat to maintain postion. As soon as I pick back up on the retrieve, I feel something solid. I'm fishing an ultralight with 4lb test, so a stout smallie and a boulder often feel pretty much the same for a bit. The I see a ridiculously large gar swimming downstream in the clear water. My drag is just singing as this thing slowly strips line off my tiny reel like a fawking tractor. My main worry is that it was gonna spool me, snap me off, and leave me line-less on day 2 of a 3-day trip (yeah, I shoulda brought a backup...I pack too light sometimes). By stroke of luck the lure came free right before it spooled me.

About an hour later I hook and land this one, which was a fraction of the of the one I'd hooked earlier. I mean, I'm not a gar fisher so I won't hazard a guess as to length/weight of the one I'd hooked earlier...but it was a very substantial fish. One of the larger ones hanging in the school of gar that pool had.

So after years of bored afternoons casting to these things, I hook two accidentally within an hour. Weird.

so who keeps taking pictures of the back of your head?