07-29-09, 12:42 PM | #1 |
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Anyone catch Gar on purpose?
Ok so I've caught a few Gars on a worm and a crankbait. I wasn't targeting them, but it sure was fun reeling them in. I've been seeing Gars swimming lately and want to target them. My question is what does everyone use when they are targeting these awesome looking fish? Is there a "go-to" bait for Gar?
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07-29-09, 12:50 PM | #2 |
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The biggest treble hook you can find (within reason) a bullet weight (depending on how deep they are) and some heavy braid on a stout rod. You can also add a trailer hook for the same reason you would a spinnerbait. I would also dress the trailer hook, just in case one wants to snap at it!
Cast over by them, and when it gets neat them, jerk hard and snag 'em!
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07-29-09, 12:51 PM | #3 | |
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Works every time... Or try something like this: http://www.ncangler.com/forums/f7/ro...gar-12467.html Shred a section of nylon rope, tie a "head" on it, fish like a spinnerbait. Their teeth will get entangled in the bird's nest of rope, so there's no hooks on it at all.
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07-29-09, 01:09 PM | #4 |
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LOL ^ Done that one before....just not gar.
Do Gar like raw Steak? LOL |
07-29-09, 01:14 PM | #5 |
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We used to go to Hovey Lake (the last oxbow lake left on the Ohio in Indiana) when the floods would go back down and snag gar trapped in the sloughs. Man, it was fun (for us at least, not the gar heh). We'd go home exhausted from fighting 10-15 lb baddies all day, as well as the occasional carp and buffalo.
My attitude regarding the gar has changed a lot since I was a teenager though. Personally, I can't stand watching people bowhunt them...that is just cruel, wanton waste. They are a natural fish in the southern US, and to feel it's okay to kill them because they are ugly is ridiculous. They're not dangerous to humans whatsoever. Yeah, they eat a lot of baitfish, but so what? So do bass, and we've got fishermen being so preachy about catch and release of bass it's downright hypocritical. Okay...off my soapbox now. Oh, btw...back to original question...we used bare treble hooks tied about 2-3 feet above a heavy sinker.
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07-29-09, 01:25 PM | #6 |
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We had a camp on the Gulf Coast and when the bass weren't on the bite, we went with 1/4" white nylon rope. We cut it in about 6" length and ran a couple of hooks off of the lead hook. When they bite the rope, it loops around the base of the teeth and allows a better hook up. We could troll around and find them floating and present the rope with lite twiches. I'm digging the old Onieda Eagle bows. Been a long time since I saw one.
I should have read Daniel's post before typmg on the iPhone. 10 minutes gone from my life LOL. Bored in the hospital though. Baby is being checked out, momma is asleep, & nothing on the tube.
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07-29-09, 01:32 PM | #7 |
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I think I'm going to troll for some Gar Sat while I putt around the Lake. Thanks everyone, so Nylon rope is the way to go huh?
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07-29-09, 01:44 PM | #8 | |
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So if you catch them in big lake (Toho and Okee of example) yes, by all means let them go! But in small pounds and lakes, please don't let them do, eat them (if you like 'em ) or let them sit in the wood for a good long time!
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07-29-09, 01:45 PM | #9 |
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you need to come on down to texas and we'll bow hunt some of these!!
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07-29-09, 01:52 PM | #10 |
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another monster gar hunted in TX
kinda scary that these swims in the same lakes we fish
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07-29-09, 01:52 PM | #11 |
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07-29-09, 01:59 PM | #12 | |
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yea bowhunting gar is pretty well known UP here.....ive never seen em that big personally.....you have to travel through muddy channels to hunt the big ones.....on average i see 3ft to 5ft gars....which is still pretty impressive to me!!...but those above are just plain giagantic!!
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07-29-09, 02:10 PM | #13 |
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The only shot that I have at catching or hunting a gar would be either at Sea World or one of the Aquariums. I am pretty sure that would not go well for me.
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07-29-09, 02:20 PM | #14 | |
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Oh, don't forget your video camera.
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07-29-09, 02:20 PM | #15 |
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07-29-09, 03:54 PM | #16 |
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Not within 100 miles Okay, the absolute truth involves if I get caught doing it. A night time ninja mission to Sea World for Gar might make the national news. Heck, I could be famous. Maybe I should wear a bassfishin.com hat for my arrest.
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07-29-09, 04:13 PM | #17 |
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Yep...they grow big'uns up in my neck of the woods too......I think bow fishing is the preferred method but lots have been caught on rod n reel....not sure how this big ol boy was taken but it was caught on a lake near by so I thought i'd share it.
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07-29-09, 05:34 PM | #18 | |
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actually i read an article about a year ago on that same GAR...it wasnt caught in oklahoma...it was caught in Texas on Sam Rayburn lake....i guess some tx and oklahoma rivalry.....i just remember seeing that picture on the left from the article.....heres another one with the other picture on it...talking ho it was caught in tx. http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...a%3DN%26um%3D1
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07-29-09, 10:56 PM | #19 |
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I dont' know if this has been mentioned yet, but rope lures work awesome! Take about a 6 or 8 inch piece of rope, unwind the rope so the end is fraided. Take about a 1/0 hook and tire the rope on the the shank of the hook like you would tie a fly on to a hook. Put a small bit of superglue on the line so the knot stays. The hook isn't really what catches the gar. When a gar bites the rope lure its teeth and mouth will get tangled up in the fraided rope, and the more it roles the better. Its very hard to hook a gar with a hook since it's mouth is so narrow and hard. A rope lure is fairly light, so a spinning rod works the best. A rope lure actually swims awesome in the water, its like a giant hair jig. The rope end flairs out, and it has a big swimming motion as it falls really slow. There is an article in IN-fisherman about the rope lure, definetly worth trying to tie! Good fishin
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07-30-09, 12:15 AM | #20 |
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It has to be a s-l-o-o-o-o-o-w day of fishing for me to start fiddling with gar.
Gar will faithfully devour a live minnow, or a dead one dangled in front of them. I find I have to let them swallow the hook to catch them, due to their very bony mouth; hence, the bait. I tried eating gar once. It was a major chore cleaning it -- you need butcher scissors to make it through the skin. It was chewy, a bit the consistency of warm water lobster, and flavored not too bad. I'll never do it again, though -- f-a-a-a-a-r too much trouble! If I'm going to eat firm-fleshed fish I'll go after Southern Puffers and clean them so they're not poisonous, as I know how to do. |
07-30-09, 02:54 PM | #21 | |
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I caught my largest musky ever on some here in Michigan. Threw it out with a big bobber and left it strung out kind of like a wounded fish.. I was fishing with other poles and expected nothing, but we got it in.. Tried since then kind of as a "worked once" scenario and its never worked again.
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07-30-09, 03:17 PM | #22 | |
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Gar are a really cool and beautiful fish. I like to catch them on a fly rod. They will bite a trout nymph like a gold ribbed hare's ear or a prince nymph or something like that. I wade the river and sight fish for them. They weigh from a couple of pounds to 10 lbs and jump like a tarpon, at least the spotted gar we have around here do. I'm not familiar with the aligator gar that some have shown pics of. If you're interested let me know and I'll give you more information on flyfishing for them. In fact, sight fishing for gar or carp with a fly rod is about the funnest fishing there is to me. |
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07-31-09, 12:25 AM | #23 |
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use a shad rap....they attack them hardcore
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07-31-09, 03:44 PM | #24 | |
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08-02-09, 12:37 AM | #25 |
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roadrunners work in the river for some reason if you pass it right in front of their face they cant refuse it
thats only when you can see them though
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