Gar

[Lungelarry]

Had a blast today gar fishing.

[Roy]

Tell me more Larry! Sounds like a blast!

[MCTFisher9120]

Sweet, I loved it when I caught my 2 gar back in 2008. There a blast, hope to see more pictures!

[robertag]

Cool. I'd love to hook into one of those.

 

I remember seeing something years ago where they used something that looked like a big frayed knot instead of a hook. Apparently, their mouths are too tough for hooks. The claimed the twine, or whatever, got caught and tangled in their teeth.

Edited May 19, 2010 by Rob

[Guest Johnny Bass]

Very cool fish. Caught some monsters in Florida. I wonder if they taste good with fish crisp.lol

[Afraz]

A whole bunch of these guys in the BOQ and trent river, shoot me a PM and i can give you a perfect location to target them. Mind you i have never had any luck on getting them to bite the lures i throw at them. LOL and i would avoid eating them, i know GAR roe is poisonous so why bother with the flesh, besides they look wayy too cool to be food.

 

Stick to eating carp and suckers LMAO !

[Paully]

cool shot ..

[Tarzan's Jane]

No thanks....ugly little sucker....I can't imagine what other creatures are lurking in the deep waters. Almost makes me want to give up fishing - almost.

[jimmer]

They are one fish that I would never eat. I have cleaned a few to mount and the flesh doesn't even look appetizing. You have to use metal cutters to get through the skin.

I have caught some on tiny twisters while they are sunning themselves in the shallows. Cast the jig out past them, then retieve the jig so it goes close to their eyes, that way when they grab the bait, it's actually going into their mouth.

[bassman87]

what a tease

[fish_finder]

No thanks....ugly little sucker....I can't imagine what other creatures are lurking in the deep waters. Almost makes me want to give up fishing - almost.

 

Beware.......these are not deep water fish!! ankle to knee deep water is where you'll usually spot em!

[Headhunter]

I have caught many Gar fishing in London as a kid. Yes, they are very hard to hook as their mouth is essentially all bone and teeth.

Here's what worked for us...

-live minnows on a treble hook. Wrap the minnows around the treble, use a few.

-tie on a float and leave the treble no more than one foot beneath the float.

-they will bite and tow your float up and down the river

-take a guess when and set the hook very hard.

-needless to say, keep a tight line on'em

BTW - they really don't fight worth a darn, but they interesting to catch and have a close look at.

If memory serves me well, natives of North america used Gar scales for arrow heads. I have also heard that the flesh is poisonous as well as the roe.

HH

[robertag]

Of course, the best way to get a look at them is if you're lucky enough to be in the area or live near Bass Pro Shop, they have 3 or 4 descent size gar swimming around their giant fish tank.

[Tarzan's Jane]

Beware.......these are not deep water fish!! ankle to knee deep water is where you'll usually spot em!

 

 

Really!!!....thanks for the info. I seriously would consider not ever skinny dipping if I was a guy.

[Lungelarry]

Thanks guys...Hey Roy there are hundreds spawning on the lake right now,which makes it very difficult to catch them( they got other things on their minds)but I still caught 2.

[BillsTheBassMan]

Are Gar also referred to as "Dogfish." I've heard that these "Dogfish" have mouths of almost all teeth and bones and I figured it might be the same fish.

 

I would love to try targeting these fish at some point but wouldn't have the slightest clue where to go . . . are they spread pretty evenly throughout most of Southern Ontario? What types of bait (beyond the treble minnow approach) would work for them. I'd mostly like to examine one (and potentially freak out some of the non-anglers we have with us sometimes).

 

Ryan

[Raf]

a gar is not a dogfish. bowfin are sometimes referred to as dogfish.

[BillsTheBassMan]

a gar is not a dogfish. bowfin are sometimes referred to as dogfish.

 

Derf . . . I actually already knew that, but have never targeted either. We once had a dogfish stealing all of our half-alive bait when we were bass fishing and he caused us some major problems though.

 

Anyways, I did a quick google and found out there is a similarity between the two fish:

 

"Like the gars, bowfins' swim bladders serve as primitive lungs, allowing them to gulp air from the surface and survive in waters with low oxygen levels"

 

Ryan

[TC1OZ]

Awesome looking fish... I'd put a glove on for sure to get my hook back lol.

[bobowski]

I see gar all of the time on southern georgian bay. Most of the time on a sunny day. The best method to catch these fish is actually with a piece or frayed rope securely on your hook. The Gars teeth will get caught in the rope and most of the time you can reel the fish in with no hook set at all.

[DRIFTER_016]

Are Gar also referred to as "Dogfish." I've heard that these "Dogfish" have mouths of almost all teeth and bones and I figured it might be the same fish.

 

I would love to try targeting these fish at some point but wouldn't have the slightest clue where to go . . . are they spread pretty evenly throughout most of Southern Ontario? What types of bait (beyond the treble minnow approach) would work for them. I'd mostly like to examine one (and potentially freak out some of the non-anglers we have with us sometimes).

 

Ryan

 

There's a bunch in the Grand River. Ihave seen them in Caledonia when I used to fish there.

[aplumma]

I see gar all of the time on southern georgian bay. Most of the time on a sunny day. The best method to catch these fish is actually with a piece or frayed rope securely on your hook. The Gars teeth will get caught in the rope and most of the time you can reel the fish in with no hook set at all.

 

While this is a good way to catch the gar please make sure you remove all of the material before releasing them otherwise they will starve to death.

 

 

Art

[Billy Bob]

I spotted 2 gars today while crappie fishing on Chautauqua Lake...one about 2.5-3' and the other much larger, maybe 4' long....one the largest crappies had marks on it as something grabbed it...I was thinking MUSKIE as there are many in that lake but maybe gar pike ? ? ? do they eat crappies ? ? ?

 

BTW the crappie bite was VERY good today.

 

Bob