How to Catch Gar?

[badisbadis101]

I have been fishing in a creek near my house, and in one of the pools is a gar ~24" long. I would really like to catch him, but i have no clue how to go about it. I normally fish for sunfish in that pool, but i see him frequently while fishing. Any suggestions?

PS: I am going to release him if i do catch him. He would be pretty cool to keep in an aquarium, but i dont have room, besides, he deserves to stay in the wild.

 

[ceeej31]

catch a small sunnie and use it as bait

 

[thrillbillie12]

or try a husky jerk, or some long top water plugs. your gonna want to try something large to.

 

[andy1234]

or as simmple as an unweighted hook with a worm, or another good way is nylon rope frayed out does less damage as trying to set a hook in thier beak.

 

[invisyblegypsey]

wire snare with a float on it
if you havent seen one pm me i have caught many of those boys on a snare and float system

 

[midnight]

search the fishing section
i have a few gar threads
if you cant find them just ask and i will dig them up 4 ya
one is my thread on gar i catch,like 20+ now my count is i think
and the other thread is about tips to catch gar

 

[badisbadis101]

Thanks for the ideas! I went down to the creek yesterday, and finally caught one, about 20" long. It was pretty cool, and i was very happy

As for the details, here it goes.

I caught a ~6" warmouth (type of sunfish), killed him with a quick blow to the head, filleted him into pieces about 2"x2". I then hooked these onto a medium sized hook, about 2" long and barbed. Attached a bobber about 4' above the hook, as i though they were running deeper. I casted it out, only to find that the gar got it about 18" deep, as the hook was sinking. I reeled him in, took a few pics (which are on my freinds phone, so i do not have them), and released him after removing the hook.

SO yeah, that is how i caught a 20" longnose gar

 

[zfoster22]

use a bow its a non-game fish. (if your going to eat them that is.)

 

[badisbadis101]

no, i am not going to eat them. I just enjoy fishing, and gar seemed like a fun fish to try and catch. After catching one, i know that i was right

 

[CGochanour85]

Did ya try using a throw net? I use a throw net to catch bait, but often catch channel cat, bass, and all sorts of things. Might try its only about 25 bucks for a 6foot net.

I also have commercial license, so i run hoop nets in the river from time to time, and have caught 14 gar in one net. But thats prolly a not gonna work in your situation.

Happy Fishing.