"A Fifty Gar Salute!!!"

[Headhunter]

Hey Bunk, fantastic report and pics! Got a question for yah...

In my youth, growing up in London, we used to catch many a gar at the Springbank Dam, but none in the sizes you are catching. Mostly 24 inches or less and never did I spot anything bigger.

Those small gar simply didn't have a chance to fight, or couldn't. Once we got their nose in the air, they were just motorboated in. Fun way to pass some time and have some action, but not really any kind of "sport".

Curious as to how those obviously bigger gar scrap...

Thanks,

 

HH

[RickOnt]

Hey Bunk

 

Another amazing report.

 

Pics and story are fantastic!!!

 

Thanks for taking the time

 

Rick

[Moosebunk]

Curious as to how those obviously bigger gar scrap...

 

Foghat's Foghat was one of the first 5 LP's of my dad's that I borrowed and recorded to cassette in my teens. Love that album.

 

Had the same gar question on a private board elsewhere too Joe.

 

Catching bigger gar in the 48-55 inch range is similar to catching pike of 35-40+ inches.

 

Caught a fair share of both on basically the same gear. By length/weight the average 40-inch pike is about 16 pounds, (range 12-20) while the average 50-inch gar is about 15-16 (range 14.5-17.5) Simple physics is that two equal masses pulling against a same resistance should result in similar force needed against, right? Though either species will have that odd fish which will totally surprise you and give a better or worse test than you calculated for.

 

I’d give advantage to the pike for speed and stamina, yet gar can certainly be more aerial and cunning. Yet with gar, it’s the sight-fishing and hunting aspect, getting them to take, visualizing that, and keeping them hooked which makes them their own unique kind of challenge, so what they might lose in fight they make up for in character. But oddly still, they're rather similar in fight time and their ability to surprise you with several good runs. You’re right too Joe, catching smaller gar is quite boring because there is no fight. I’d say 45-inchers and up is where things get interesting, but 50 and beyond is where it’s at.

 

The story of Townsend Miller’s battle with the 72-inch, 50 pound World Record can be read here...

 

http://www.tpwmagazine.com/archive/2008/nov/legend/

 

The length/weight conversion chart for longnose gar and other gars is here... The fish I’ve weighed and measured relate more with the 1962 chart but are often found somewhere inbetween it and the 2000 chart.

 

http://www.garfishing.com/weighttables.html

 

Also, caught some short video of a 20+ pound gar reel peeling me during a great fight last year...

 

[Headhunter]

Thanks for the reply Drew... Fogat Live was the album that caught my attention, which of course meant getting all their others as well!

Figured a fish of that size would have to put up a good account of itself. BAck in London in my youth, we would target them using either floating jointed Raps or loading up a treble hook with pin head minnows and hanging that about 6 inches below a float.

We could watch them feeding on schools of bait, their snouts popping out on the water's surface and cast the bait a close as possible. Many a frustrating time keeping them hooked, that's when we started to use the treble/minnow combo. They did get airborn from time to time giving us a first hand look at how they toss your bait back to you!

I wish we had come across some bigger fish like yours, but even the small ones are quite interesting to get up close and personal with.

Thanks again Drew, awesome post!!

HH

[asdve23rveavwa]

Now that was a post I could really "sink my teeth into" !! Stupefying, stunning, creative as always. Thanks, Drew!!!

[Moosebunk]

Fogat Live was the album that caught my attention, which of course meant getting all their others as well!

This is actually a band of my teenage youth who's album was likely almost "Classic" Rock by the time I was born. Dad's collection was awesome but the first five I grabbed were, Foghat, Pink Floyd's The Wall, ZZ Top's La Grange, Saturday Night Fever and Deep Purple's Machine Head. I liked them in that order too. Foghat's album was my Saturday morning music. 4, 5, maybe 6 years highschool and college, I had a mindless job driving a van, picking up and delivering groceries, putting in orders, stocking shelves... I could do it blindfolded and drunk but I was usually sorta hungover and fuzzy-eyed from getting in way late on Friday nights. When I recorded the LP onto cassette I actually screwed up and put the B-Side on first, making this tune the one that kicked off my driving EVERY saturday. It was probably my favorite then, but the whole album has a tonne of miles with me and I love it still.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1fMH1rQJJA

Anyways, couple more pictures I liked, so I'll throw 'em in here to get locked down into the report someplace.

[spinnerdoc]

Reports like this make life a little easier for those who cant fish as much but are dying to...lol

Thanks for the detailed report

 

These kind of reports really set this board apart among other things

Edited August 5, 2013 by spinnerdoc

[Cookslav]

That was epic dude!

Informative, entertaining and enticing....I want to fish for Gar now LOL!

 

Thanks for the effort, that had to take some time to put together and I for one appreciate it.

[Twocoda]

Just phenomenal.. simply phenomenal.

^^^^^^^WHAT HE SAID^^^^^^^

[spincast]

Another stellar report. Love the shots with Leah. Zen and the art of Gar Angling. Thanks for sharing your learnings too

[S.M.05]

Bunk you totally cruised into to the gar-dens of Gar-land and grabbed your 50 gar-badge with some crazy gar slayn skills.