Gar lure suggestions?

[MOFishwater]

Thanks for all of the suggestions folks. Will give some a whirl when the river is back to normal conditions. 

[Haris122]

Personally haven’t had much of a problem catching them on normal crank/jerkbaits. 

[top_dollar]

I've caught a handful accidentally while bass fishing and now try to avoid hooking them.  They are hard to hold and stink like you wouldn't believe.  I do enjoy watching them chase my popper, but I always keep it just out of their reach.  

[Ik314]

They have been crushing my jerkbaits lately , only land about one out of every 10 that I get to strike.  Like others have mentioned, boy do they stink lol .  I get a lot of follows from them and can often get a strike with some figure eights at the side of the kayak 

-Ike

[Johnsfolly]

1 hour ago, Ik314 said:

They have been crushing my jerkbaits lately , only land about one out of every 10 that I get to strike.  Like others have mentioned, boy do they stink lol .  I get a lot of follows from them and can often get a strike with some figure eights at the side of the kayak 

-Ike

one or two nice stinkers there😉. Catching stinky fish is why they invented soap🤣

[Daryk Campbell Sr]

1 hour ago, Johnsfolly said:

one or two nice stinkers there😉. Catching stinky fish is why they invented soap🤣

A stinky fish is better than no fish. 

[FishnDave]

If I come home from fishing, and I don't smell like fish....that's probably a bad sign. 🦨

[MOFishwater]

On 8/12/2022 at 9:41 AM, top_dollar said:

I've caught a handful accidentally while bass fishing and now try to avoid hooking them.  They are hard to hold and stink like you wouldn't believe.  I do enjoy watching them chase my popper, but I always keep it just out of their reach.  

never stopped me from trying to hook up with pike or muskies! 

As my obsession with fishing has waned over the years and moved into other outdoor activities, hobbies, family obligations etc I've gotten pretty stuck on certain lures and havent been using cranks or jerkbaits much. I'll have to dig a little deeper into the tackle box and revisit some old friends. I'm admittedly pretty green on my river fishing abilities and knowledge and usually just fishing something I can cover water quickly with while moving and trying to not get snagged. 

appreciate the tips and the photos. Hope to get out a few more times before school and sports (and archery season) fully engulf our lives. 

[Johnsfolly]

20 hours ago, FishnDave said:

If I come home from fishing, and I don't smell like fish....that's probably a bad sign. 🦨

When it comes to rough fish, getting "skunked" should refer to a good day of catching 😅!

[laker67]

On 8/5/2022 at 3:27 PM, rps said:

Unravel a 3 to 4 inch piece of white rope. Leave a small part of one end intact. Hook it solidly at one end of a small in line spinner like a mepps or panther martin. The gar teeth get caught in the rope fibers. You will need a glove to hold the fish and pliers to pull the rope from the teeth.

Not sure if it matters, but we used nylon, and knotted the unfrayed end and burned it with a lighter to keep the knot from coming out.