I am interested in getting some longnose gar for my pond, and I know that there are longnose gar in a local river. How do I go about catching them?
Fishing for Longnose Gar
- Thread starter Wiggles92
- Start date
They should be starting to spawn this time of year. They'll head up into mid-sized, rocky creeks, or into weedy shallows of lakes. You can sometimes catch adults using rod and reel with a piece of nylon rope that has been frayed to form a mass of loose strands; pull it past the gar and he will snap at it, entangling his teeth.
Otherwise you can wait until June-July when there will be lots of young in the aforementioned areas. Dipnet up a few and grow them out in a rubbermaid tub with plenty of small live prey (daphnia to start, moving up to glassworms, mosquito larvae, guppy or other fry, etc.) until you think they're big enough to do well in your pond. Be sure your pond has a healthy population of prey fish before you try to keep gar in it.
As always, be sure to follow your state laws.
Otherwise you can wait until June-July when there will be lots of young in the aforementioned areas. Dipnet up a few and grow them out in a rubbermaid tub with plenty of small live prey (daphnia to start, moving up to glassworms, mosquito larvae, guppy or other fry, etc.) until you think they're big enough to do well in your pond. Be sure your pond has a healthy population of prey fish before you try to keep gar in it.
As always, be sure to follow your state laws.
Ok, I'll try fishing for them first, but there's one problem: the water is fairly murky and I only see them when they come close to the surface by my dock on the river. Should I soak the rope in some kind of stinkbait to scent it to appeal to them? I'll also try netting some of the young in June and July.
I've only heard of fishermen using this technique when they could see the gar. It is or will soon be breeding season, so the gar should be congregating. Ask other fishermen in your area where they've seen a lot of gar lately and head on down with your rope lure.