Gar Pike.. What to use for bait??

[MillerPhoto]

Found a hotspot tonight in Quinte with a load of Gar Pike up to aprox 30" Can see them swimming in schools of 3-6 with in a few feet of the shore.

 

Who has caught them, and what did you use for bait??

 

Thank You

[cram]

Tiny minnows, really sharp single hooks. Expect to miss a bunch -- really hard to hook.

 

Have also heard of people using a piece of frayed rope that looks like a minnow...i guess their teeth get caught up in the rope.

 

Also, bring a towel and something to clean your hands iwth. STinkiest fish ever.

 

Fun though.

[MillerPhoto]

lol thanks for the tip on the towel.. Always carry one in the car anyways.. I havn't smelt it yet, but I still have a feeling the American Eel is worse! They are just down right raunchy.

[laszlo]

i seen a bunch the other day as well on a different body of water. i think they were spawning though.

in groups of 4 to 5 and they wouldn't pay any attention to any lure.

 

beautiful fish. i was able to get as close as 5 feet away and watch them for 5 minutes or so.

one of them (female) must have been close to 40".

[Handlebarz]

I have one nice spot here on LSC that they school up in 100 or more on nice clear days you can just sit and watch them in the area I have not tried to catch them in years I usually just sit and watch them then head away again I do know that a nice dead minnow with no weight floating on top or just under the surface will do the trick either try and set the hook right away or you let them swim for a bit and then set the hook in the side of there mouth but they could get deep hooked I would tink. They are fun and do put up a good fight.

[fcm420]

I've caught a few in my day,

 

you get on the grand river on the right day and you can find schools of em too.

 

My fav tactic, is 2 super sharp single hooks, on tied direct to the main line, and the other on a 3" lead tied to the first hook. Take a medium sized minnow .. 4" kill it or use frozen/salted minnows hook it on

 

then goto your wife/mother/aunt or the friendly lady next door and steal her pantyhose.. cut a 4" x 1" strip and hook it to the first and second hook.. not bunched up.

 

If your in a river like how i usually am, just toss it out no weight and let it dead drift through em.. they love to surface pick off the water and they tend to twist when they grab it, the nylon material snags their tiny teech just enough to give you a chance to get a hook set.

 

Mouths are all hard bone so its difficult to get a hook set. Most of the time you gotta keep constant pressure and when you land them the hook will just fall off as its rarely ever dug into the mouth of the fish.

 

Best luck!

[Fang]

We catch em in the trent with a 3-4" slugo run just below the surface. White works good. Like other say, you'll miss a ton before you actually get the hooks to stick

[MCTFisher9120]

I caught 2 of them last year out of a river system out towards Campbellford. I used a small 1/4 oz Blue Fox silver spinner, try a 1/8oz...smaller hooks might be of a advantage.

[Muskieman]

I actually use a large shiner or sucker minnow... no hooks just a thin snare .. something like you'd use for rabbits.

I use a magic marker to paint them black..when you set the "hook" snare ... it tightens down between the teeth of their bony beak and voila you've just lasooed a Gar..

Fairly easy.

 

RFS

[MuskyBill]

Try tying some of these....apparantly the teeth get all wrapped up in the rope.

 

Edited June 14, 2009 by MuskyBill

[ciceri]

caught one on a worm once, then a couple on a jointed rapala, let it float above them and twitch it.

[Backlash]

We fish gars using velcro, we cut the bottom portion of velcro which is the less furry part into cut bait size pieces(1" at the top cut back to a point about 3" long) put your hook through the top of the 1" side cast and retrive like you would a normal lure. The gar will chase it and when they hit it it will catch their teeth on the velcro. Works well!! We find white works best.

 

Good Luck

 

Backlash

[MillerPhoto]

Nice, thanks for the tips. Will definatly have to try them techniques.. Went back today but the water was choppy and it was fairly windy. Even casting a 5" spoon into the wind for Pike, i would lose half the distance! Hopefully the weather is better this week..

 

Since I noticed most of the comments were around the trent area, then most might know where I have been spending some time at.... Murry Canal south of Brighton. At the turning bridge, take the canal road west right down to the point.

 

In the pic, as soon as you step onto the concrete, ive been spoting the Gar on the right, right beside the shore!

 

Been seein alot of people pullin 24" average pike from the end of that pier

[RuNnYoOzE]

chad go enjoy them with film....umm frayed rope Velcro..eeeps I'l stick to rock bass hiding under the dock.....had 1 campground with huge bass thick as thieves...have to admit I was quite in fishing heaven! oooh must go to Paris conservation area..yes we must!

[scottlpool2003]

I never have a problem on worm.

[blaque]

Its been forever, but once while wading a local lakeshore, we caught them on floating rapalas...........jerk it topwater, and let it sit, and you would see the sticknose poke out of the water, grab the rapala, and go back under....really delicately actually. I had never seen or heard of a gar pike when we got into these fish, so the first fish i had no idea what this stick was that seemed to be grabbing at my lure lol.....and i almost walked on water when i brought this thing to my feet wading in the water