Allegator gar?

[Olevern]

When I was a pre-teen and teen I spent more time on the Maurice River in South Jersey fishin and trapin than I did in bed. Way back then we would see an occasional catch of allegator gar, some six or seven feet long. As I got older and involved with family and career, spent much less time on the river and I can't remember when I last heard of one being caught. Anybody heard of any catches there in, say the last 40 or 45 years? Are they gone from that watershed?

Thinking about going back home to try for one now that I'm retired the second time. If they are no longer there, anybody know where I might go to have a shot of hooking one?

[starmac]

I have never heard of gar being gone from anywhere they were at previously. lol Been a long time since I've had gar balls though.

[possom813]

I took these photos. I don't actually know the gentleman, our paths just crossed at the Trinity River one day in Sept this last year(IIRC, may have been the end of August). I pulled in to the boat ramp in my car to see if the water was going to be high enough to launch the boat that set off, and he was down there fighting with it, so I offered to help him and we sat and bs'd for a good hour or so about it, huge dang gar.

This one was taken on the Trinity River about 25 miles south of Corsicana. It's laying in the back of a Ford F250 with a 6 or 6.5' bed, not sure how long they are.

Not even close to pertinent to your question, but I enjoy showing the picture off. I've fished that river for many years and never seen one come out of it this big, seen a few in the water that were close, but never one that I could touch.

[Olevern]

Nice pics, Possom, and a nice fish; that sure ain't no catch and release!

[possom813]

Like I told the gentleman that got it(bowfishing), there would've been a whole lot more holes in that fish, and probably in the boat.

He got it with the bow, and then a .45 in the head to get it in the boat.

[rhbrink]

I'm out here in the midwest and they can be a nuisance below any major dam where you can do some tailrace fishing. So I would bet that they ain't far away from you if you can't find them in your river head to the nearest trailrace fishery and hold on.

That's a monster gar I use to go into a bar north of St. Louis and they had one mounted behind the bar like the one pictured I can't tell you hold long it was but it looked like a gator hanging there.

RB

[wch]

I used to fish off a wharf in Lafitte, La-there were so many garfish there that I felt I could cross the bayou on their backs!

[Olevern]

I used to fish off a wharf in Lafitte, La-there were so many garfish there that I felt I could cross the bayou on their backs!

Now there's the makins of a Texas-size fishing story!

[swheeler]

Possom that is one big gar! We caught many off trot lines in Arkansas but a 5 footer was the usual, maybe another breed, had a long needle nose loaded with hundreds of little sharp teeth, and long and skinny bodies. I would think that guy could take a hand clean off!

[popper]

swheeler - that is a different variety, I think related to the salt water gar we saw in the swamp behind V Beach. About 5' long and skinny, always rolling over in the brackish water. We had a couple guys jump the fence wade the moat and go AWOL. Few days later they jumped back over, all beat up. First time my wife caught one I had to take the hook out. Those teeth go out to the side instead of down, really nasty when they thrash.

[wch]

OleVern:
We tell 'em just as good in Louisiana.....

[Reg]

Tell em all ya want to. Thats one dog but ugly looken fish !!!! Big fish !!!!!! Real big fish !!!!!!!!

[gwpercle]

The only problem taking a gar that size is cleaning it. We caught a big one and brought it home to get my mom to make gar balls. She said sure , I will cook it but you have to clean it. What a job that turned out to be , a whole lot more work than 4 teenaged boys wanted to do on a saturday night. Garfish that size have thick armor plating and getting it off was hard . Mom cooked us up some gar balls in a spicey gravey that we had over rice the next day and everybody got several packages or gar meat for thier freezer. Since that time Ive never wanted to catch another. When I hook one now it goes back in the water. They are edible and if prepared well taste good, more like course meat than fish, but too much work if another gamefish is available. But hooking one is fun....I would have liked to have seen the battle that monster put up with an arrow through it, He only had a bow so he must have had to use his hands on the line to get it to the boat...going fishing with a 45 acp makes a lot of sense.
gary

[375RUGER]

Even the small ones are tough to clean. angle grinder helps. I won't even mess with gar unless they are 3'+. Well worth the effort though.

[swheeler]

swheeler - that is a different variety, I think related to the salt water gar we saw in the swamp behind V Beach. About 5' long and skinny, always rolling over in the brackish water. We had a couple guys jump the fence wade the moat and go AWOL. Few days later they jumped back over, all beat up. First time my wife caught one I had to take the hook out. Those teeth go out to the side instead of down, really nasty when they thrash.

A little Googling shows that what we used to catch are called long nose gar, ugly little buggers

[gwpercle]

We called em needle nosed gar. None of that family are " not ugly " down right prehistoric looking. I think the only freshwater fish that is uglier are choupique ( bowfin ). Fun to catch but they have teeth also , be careful getting your hook back, they will bite the heck out of you.
Gary

[Love Life]

We would get those bags of shad from Walmart and use them as bait to catch gar at the Guntersville dam in Alabama. Gar balls are one of my all time favorite foods. I will agree that gar are a pain to clean. We used steel leaders and whacked them in the head with a mini louisville slugger when we got them in close.

The biggest ones we got were over 20 lbs, but no huge monsters. Caught a ton of catfish out of there as well. When the dam was let out we had to use 1 1/2 oz triangle weights just to keep your bait where you wanted it when catfishing.

[tomme boy]

So what do they taste like? Catfish, crappie, largemouth bass, walleye? We have tons of them on the Mississippi River. Late in the year when the catfish go on a feeding frenzy, it is usually over when the gar start to show.

[swheeler]

So what do they taste like? Catfish, crappie, largemouth bass, walleye? We have tons of them on the Mississippi River. Late in the year when the catfish go on a feeding frenzy, it is usually over when the gar start to show.

Chicken!!!! Been about 25 years but was white meat, firm and reminded me of nothern pike. I still remember the first one we brought home, chopping block and maul were setting there, wife held tail laid head on block, I took a big old swing, bounced like hitting rubber.

[starmac]

I have even used a skill saw to clean gar, UNTIL an old commercial fisherman showed me the easy way. they are easy and quick even 6 footers.
Start with a small hatchet, and starting at the tail. Lift the tail fin and cut between the 3rd and 4th fin, then just keep going all the way to the head taking an inch and a half or so strip of the hide off, then switch switch to a rouded tip skinning knife and pull the skin back with one hand and skin it. It takes just a few minutes and isn't even messy.