Gar Anyone?

[TSmith]

Ok so I went fishing after school today at the Pomme River and it is FULL of gar. I saw at least 25 gar come out of the water in 15 min. And thats about all I know about gar. I need advice on gear, lures, bait, snagging hooks and how to snag gar. Really any advice would be helpful.

Thanks

[Jarrett Ellis]

Ok so I went fishing after school today at the Pomme River and it is FULL of gar. I saw at least 25 gar come out of the water in 15 min. And thats about all I know about gar. I need advice on gear, lures, bait, snagging hooks and how to snag gar. Really any advice would be helpful.

Thanks

I've never done this personally, but I've been told that if you get some nylon rope, and fray the end, and whip it on top of the water (like a fly rod) they'll bite at it and get their teeth tangled up in the rope, so you can drag em in. I snagged one on accident the other day, and almost lost an expensive lure.

[Al Agnew]

First of all, forget about snagging them. There is practically nowhere on their bodies that isn't bone-hard, so you can't sink a hook into them anywhere except the fleshy part on the upper edge of their tail. I know this because I once purposely snagged a 52 inch one there with an ultralight rod and 4 pound test line!

For the same reason, conventional lures seldom hook them. Their snouts are just as hard and bony as the rest of them. The nylon rope trick is supposed to work, though I've never done it either. I know guys who have replaced the feathered treble on a big in-line spinner with the length of nylon and caught them regularly.

But the most consistent way to catch them is with live minnows. Sight fish for them, casting the minnows with no weight in front of one. When it takes the minnow, give it plenty of time to swallow before setting the hook. That way, they'll be hooked down in the gullet. Of course, this is only if you want to keep them, and actually gar are pretty decent fish to eat. Being a primitive fish, they have no bones. Cleaning them is a problem, though, for that same reason...they are basically armor-plated. A guy I know used a very heavy meat cleaver and a big rubber mallet. Lay the gar out flat, and use the mallet and cleaver to chop it into steaks with the armor scales still on, then use a sharp knife to cut the steak out of the ring of scales.

Interestingly, the eggs of gar are mildly poisonous.

[duckydoty]

The freyed nylon rope does work good for catching gar on the fly rod. A stinger hook on a streamer also works well. I found them just like you described on the James River last year while white bass fishing and ended up catching 4 of them on clouser minnows. Gar are very good to eat, just hard to clean. I usually use a chop saw to cut the head and tail off then tin snips to cut it open down the middle of the back. Peel it open like a tin can and cut the back straps out. Very white meat and very tasty.

[MOFishwater]

I know they enjoy my crankbaits that imitate minnows as I've lost a number of lures to them.

[Flysmallie]

I usually use a chop saw to cut the head and tail off

I bet that makes a hell of a mess!

[flytyer57]

I bet that makes a hell of a mess!

[Jigggg11]

First of all, forget about snagging them. There is practically nowhere on their bodies that isn't bone-hard, so you can't sink a hook into them anywhere except the fleshy part on the upper edge of their tail. I know this because I once purposely snagged a 52 inch one there with an ultralight rod and 4 pound test line!

For the same reason, conventional lures seldom hook them. Their snouts are just as hard and bony as the rest of them. The nylon rope trick is supposed to work, though I've never done it either. I know guys who have replaced the feathered treble on a big in-line spinner with the length of nylon and caught them regularly.

But the most consistent way to catch them is with live minnows. Sight fish for them, casting the minnows with no weight in front of one. When it takes the minnow, give it plenty of time to swallow before setting the hook. That way, they'll be hooked down in the gullet. Of course, this is only if you want to keep them, and actually gar are pretty decent fish to eat. Being a primitive fish, they have no bones. Cleaning them is a problem, though, for that same reason...they are basically armor-plated. A guy I know used a very heavy meat cleaver and a big rubber mallet. Lay the gar out flat, and use the mallet and cleaver to chop it into steaks with the armor scales still on, then use a sharp knife to cut the steak out of the ring of scales.

Interestingly, the eggs of gar are mildly poisonous.

Al,I know some folks down around Baxter Srings Ks. who harvest gar (they bow fish for them), Not only for the flesh,but for the "roe", this is one of the best channel cat baits of the spring,they use a limb saw or a bow saw to chunk it up then fillet off the chunks,I've eatin them and they are suprizingly pretty good,It's just a lot of work.

[Geoff]

nylon rope does work well with them. White and red color combo makes them go nuts when you cast it to them. i just need to land one this year, i caught some last year but havent landed one yet

[duckydoty]

I bet that makes a hell of a mess!

Dulls the blade pretty good too!