fishin jesus Posted August 9, 2012 Report Posted August 9, 2012 My friend is non stop talking about trying to catch a Gar Pike with a fly rod this summer. well, it's his birthday on Saturday so we decided this Saturday we hit the Belleville area to help strike off 1 of his bucket list fish.....does anybody have any clue as to where to launch the boat in the Belleville area that might by chance put us near some goos Gar Pike water???? I'm a Trout fisherman so this is waaaaaay out of my comfort zone trying to catch 1 of these fish. I heard they like to lay out in the shallows and sun....but this saturday it's suppossed to rain so there goes that plan of attack.......any tips would help bigtime.
Oryx Posted August 9, 2012 Report Posted August 9, 2012 I have seen them basking on the trent River. near Anderson Island. There is a launch there as well.
gaspumper Posted August 9, 2012 Report Posted August 9, 2012 Lots in the Point Ann area,go out from the launch and turn left towards the east,you can see them surfacing when it"s calm.
Pigeontroller Posted August 9, 2012 Report Posted August 9, 2012 (edited) Its just Gar...Not Gar Pike... Moira River system has an abundant population of Gar... Edited August 9, 2012 by Pigeontroller
Garfisher Posted August 9, 2012 Report Posted August 9, 2012 Any relatively sheltered flats with either rocks or weeds will have gar cruising about on nice sunny days. As mentioned before you will see them gulp air if they are around. Try to keep your flies near the surface too, they don't hit lures near bottom (probably to keep the beak in one piece lol)
skeeter99 Posted August 9, 2012 Report Posted August 9, 2012 Its just Gar...Not Gar Pike... Moira River system has an abundant population of Gar... In American English the name gar (or garpike) is strictly applied to members of the Lepisosteidae, a family including seven living species of fish in two genera that inhabit fresh, brackish, and occasionally marine, waters of eastern North America, Central America, and the Caribbean islands
Pigeontroller Posted August 10, 2012 Report Posted August 10, 2012 In American English the name gar (or garpike) is strictly applied to members of the Lepisosteidae, a family including seven living species of fish in two genera that inhabit fresh, brackish, and occasionally marine, waters of eastern North America, Central America, and the Caribbean islands Wikipedia? Really?
fishin jesus Posted August 10, 2012 Author Report Posted August 10, 2012 Great helps guys....thanks as always.
n.clarke00 Posted August 10, 2012 Report Posted August 10, 2012 I was up north on lake Waubeshene back in may or june (cant remember date) and caught three gar pike... it was insane the amount of gar pike i seen swimming around to top of the water, I spent probably about 6-7hrs trying to hunt them down lol . I went back to the exact spot i was seeing them in july but for some reason i didnt see anymore.. . im guessing the best time of the year to find them would be around early summer because they seemed very active at that time..
fishin jesus Posted August 10, 2012 Author Report Posted August 10, 2012 [i cant believe I've yet to see 1 of these things. Any places you can just wade out without a boat?...seems they like the shallow weedy area's. i'll be out in Belleville area all weekend, and would love to break out the waders and 7wt and take a shot at them from the shoreline. i like the boat.......but i LOVE walking and wading Thanks again for all the help and advise....if anyone needs to get pointed towards Trout feel free to hit me up.
Grimace Posted August 10, 2012 Report Posted August 10, 2012 Longnose Gar. You can call them Gar because that is what they are. It is like referring to a Largemouth Bass as a Bass. Gar Pike is incorrect. If you launch out of Belleville you will be in the right area. Sounds like you are heading in the right direction. Good luck.
Garfisher Posted August 11, 2012 Report Posted August 11, 2012 Check out the waters just out from swimming beaches (wade away from the plain sandy parts into rocks/weeds), should be some around as long as it isn't too windy
Christopheraaron Posted August 11, 2012 Report Posted August 11, 2012 Longnose Gar. You can call them Gar because that is what they are. It is like referring to a Largemouth Bass as a Bass. Gar Pike is incorrect. If you launch out of Belleville you will be in the right area. Sounds like you are heading in the right direction. Good luck. Thankyou! It gets on my nerves when people say that!
Dontcryformejanhrdina Posted August 11, 2012 Report Posted August 11, 2012 [i cant believe I've yet to see 1 of these things. Any places you can just wade out without a boat?...seems they like the shallow weedy area's. i'll be out in Belleville area all weekend, and would love to break out the waders and 7wt and take a shot at them from the shoreline. i like the boat.......but i LOVE walking and wading Thanks again for all the help and advise....if anyone needs to get pointed towards Trout feel free to hit me up. I've seen tons of them swimming around in the Moira River right in downtown Belleville a few years ago, haven't looked lately though. The water isn't deep there by Front St. , you should be able to wade out and sight fish them.
kyle7273 Posted August 11, 2012 Report Posted August 11, 2012 Dave Mercer did an episode a year or 2 ago all about gar fishing. Anyone remember where he shot that episode? They look incredibly fun to catch, like having a wild banshee on the line. I have seen them at the marina harbour in Kincardine. In Ontario you can find either the Spotted Gar or the Longnose Gar.
Christopheraaron Posted August 11, 2012 Report Posted August 11, 2012 Most of hay bay is a good habitat for them, Italo also did an episode on them, he was using floating rapalas.
kyle7273 Posted August 11, 2012 Report Posted August 11, 2012 Here is the youtube link to a Dave Mercer Webcut of him fly fishing for gar.
Rich Posted August 12, 2012 Report Posted August 12, 2012 Look for shallower, hotter water than largemouth live in, with some lily pad and weed cover, wear polarized lensed glasses and look for surface activity.
fishin jesus Posted August 13, 2012 Author Report Posted August 13, 2012 Well my " Gar" quest was an official skunkage. However, thanks to a bunch of leads off this board and after talking with a bunch of locals, i did manage to get all the info needed for next season. We had no boat and it was windy, and apperently this isnt the time of year for them to be near wading grounds. We ended up seeing alot of new places, met some good people on the journey and found a new Pickeral honeyhole...........half the fun is the chase.......thanks again boys for the help!!!
chris f. Posted January 31, 2013 Report Posted January 31, 2013 hey there... we have lots of gar on the trent... last summer my brother and i were fishing bass in shallow weed flats and came across a 20 or 30 gar floating just under the surface. we didn't have any lures or bait to make them bite, but it was something to see. message me and we can hook up for next season
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