Unusual Night

[OzarkFishman]

I started the night fishing a 4 inch BPS shad (green and silver) on a 1/4 black jighead. Less than 5 minutes in and I had a big fish on. It was one of those that just appears on your line ... no tick, no time to set the hook, just screaming drag and a bent rod. Then, it was off. I have no idea what it was, but it felt really nice (probably a gar or cat).

I lost the 4 inch shad in some chunk rock on the bottom and because I am an idiot, I only brought that one. So, I switched to the same color in the 3 inch version on a 1/8 leadhead. I was working it just off the bottom giving it a good jerk every so often. After a jerk there was a fish on. Again, the drag start screeching. This time though I got it in and it was a ~4 pound channel. Nothing special ... except for the fact that it was hooked in the tail fin (it was a fun fight on my medium action rod).

I fished for a while with nothing. So, I decided to cast so that the jig hit the spillway. It got stuck on the moss, so I gave it a slight jerk and the moment it hit the water a small bass was on (~1 pound). This gives me a new technique to try when I fish there.

I switched to a 1/8 green jighead with a 4 inch Lake Fork shad (green with red flake). I was wading down a little. I decided I was done, walked back about 10 feet and then decided to cast one more time. When the jig got within about 10 feet of me there was a huge movement in the water. I didn't get the fish, but I am fairly sure it was a gar. A little eerie to think that a gar was that close, I know it probably happens a lot, but still it makes you think.

Sorry for the long post, but it was an interesting night.

Tight lines,

OzarkFishman

[Dan052]

your first fish that got off, might have been a paddlefish...I saw a guy catch a 50+ pound paddlefish out of there a few days ago.....I couldn't believe how big a fish it was, for how shallow of a portion of river we were fishing.

[Ämp]

first . paddlefish would be hard to hang if your not snagging for them since they eat microscopic organisms, second gar are thicker than pollution up there so i would guess thats what you hung.. its a typical hang out for the gar because they do not require high oxygen levels to live and dont mind 90F water.

[Dan052]

could have been, although that guy that landed the huge spoonbill, was fishing a rubber perch with a treble hook attached to the bottom.....

When I first walked over to where he was fishing, he had a HUGE one on that snapped his line, then less than 20 minutes later, landed that 50 pounder....

They don't ONLY feed on microscopic organisms, apparently.

[et84]

A little eerie to think that a gar was that close, I know it probably happens a lot, but still it makes you think.

Sure does. I remember when my friends and I were younger, about 13 or 14, we would always be walking around the lake. Most all of my friends lived within 1/4 mile of the water, so it made it easy. One day my buddy Joel and I decided to take some snorkeling goggles with us. Below the dam in particular, we used to just stand in chest-deep water and look under the surface. As usual, we'd shad and bluegill pecking at our legs, but every now and then a HUGE gar would swim by. They are EVERYWHERE below the dam.

[Ämp]

On the contrary, studies show that paddlefish feed almost exclusively on tiny crustaceans and insect larvae that drift as plankton in the water. The common water flea, Daphnia, and closely related plankton species are reported to comprise more than 75 percent of the paddlefish's diet.

This raises two very interesting questions. First, how do paddlefish find near-microscopic plankton in the murky waters of their native habitat, which includes the Missouri and Mississippi rivers and their tributaries? Second, how does a fish capable of reaching weights heavier than 150 pounds and lengths of six feet capture enough of these small prey to thrive?

Regarding the first question, paddlefish are filter feeders, similar to the giant baleen whales of the world's oceans. Paddlefish gills are equipped with comb-like rakers that strain plankton from the water, much like the curtains of baleen that suspend from the roof of a whale's mouth. Like a whale, a paddlefish swims with its mouth open wide so it can filter plankton from large quantities of water.

Taken strait from mdc's web site .............

[papermouth]

I have been seeing quite a lot of spoons in the river . I would say since the fish did not snap your line right then and their that it was a spoon.

[OzarkFishman]

I still don't know what it was, but I went back this morning and hooked up with a 2 1/2 to 3 ft gar. I had a good fight for about 5 minutes, before it decided to get serious and break my line. I am now on the hunt for gar. It would be nice to land one.

OzarkFishman

[Ämp]

I will try and find that article on mdc's website about gar lures... short of it is frazzled nylon rope , no hooks , and a few red beads.. the teeth get caught in the rope and they cant shake free. which is a better idea than drilling pilot holes to set your hooks .

[et84]

I will try and find that article on mdc's website about gar lures... short of it is frazzled nylon rope , no hooks , and a few red beads.. the teeth get caught in the rope and they cant shake free. which is a better idea than drilling pilot holes to set your hooks .

Here it is: Angling For Oddball Fish