The Alligator Gar is a serious fish. If you're interested in testing your mettle against this 100-pound, prehistoric-looking animal and have access to the murky waters flowing slowly from the Mississippi river disposal area, the Alligator Gar might just be the fish for you. Here are some tips for trying to catch this sharp-toothed giant.
Step
Part 1 of 3: Finding the Alligator Gar
Step 1. Go to South America
The fish are found in abundance in the Mississippi river basin, from Southern Ohio and Illinois to the Gulf of Mexico. Most of these fish are found in freshwater river bodies in Texas, Alabama, Louisiana, and Arkansas. This fish is a fish from the South. Like many things, the largest are usually found in Texas.
- Henderson Swamp west of Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Lake Pontchartrain, North of New Orleans, is inhabited by the Alligator Gar.
- So are the Pearl and Pascagoula Rivers in Mississippi, Mobile, Tensaw, Tennessee, and Tombigbee in Alabama, and the Escambia, Choctawhatchee, and Apalachicola Rivers in the Florida outskirts.
- Texas rivers such as the Colorado, Trinity, Guadalupe, Sabine, and other major waterways are also frequented and have the greatest history of Garfish to date. These places also have the highest population rates of Alligator Gar fish.
Step 2. Find a swamp or dammed water
A “dead lake” is a lake that is flooded by a nearby river when the water is high, but is inundated when the river is normal. This lake is the perfect place to catch these fish. Have a license to fish at this location and any required papers in the jurisdiction in which you are fishing.
You will need access to fishing in your preferred location, so if you are having trouble fishing by the river, you may need to prepare a boat
Step 3. Learn how to identify the fish
The Alligator Gar is a species of gar that has a long nose, sharp teeth, and is a unique prehistoric fish. They can weigh over 250 pounds and can last up to 2 hours on the water. It is the largest species of gar, and the largest freshwater fish in North America. They can grow to 8 to 10 feet long, and the current world record for the largest Alligator Gar caught is 279 pounds. The largest caught by Bowfishing was 365 pounds.
- If the fish's nose is twice as long as its head and no more than a few inches wide, it's likely a long-nosed gar.
- The Florida gar and the spotted gar have a shorter nose and are lined with a unique brown spot.
- The Alligator Gar-your goal-is the largest of these fish. This fish has a nose that is wider than a long nose, with 2 rows of teeth that other garfish do not have. These fish can be quite large.
Step 4. Know when and where to search
Gars are found in brackish water in the spring, around April, but the best time to hunt them is in the hot, dry late summer.
In July and August, the Alligator Gar can be found in deep rivers that bend into shallow ponds. Deep water is where gars congregate, and shallow water will let you find them more easily when they forage
Part 2 of 3: Fishing for Gar Fish
Step 1. Make sure your equipment is suitable for this task
If you're trying to catch fish that weigh up to 250 pounds and have dozens of teeth that are sharp as needles, you're going to need more than a stick and a hook. Bring a composite fishing rod with a strong thread. You have to lift this type of fish to the surface, so using a hook for your bait is perfect.
It would be best to have a large spinning or open reel that can hold 150–200 yards (137.2–182.9 m) of 30–100 pounds of mono-filament test yarn. Composite fishing rods, 6 or 8 in length are perfect for this size fish
Step 2. For thread, you will need 2 3 feet of iron thread, and 40-80 pounds of test thread
- Fit the bait into a 6/0 treble hook and use a 1/4 ounce slip sinker, with a split shot sinker to build it over the hook.
- A plastic or cork bobber is useful for keeping your bait and equipment near the surface of the water.
Step 3. Bring a medium-sized live bait
Some people in the lower delta waters near the Continental Bay prefer the 10–12 inch (25.4–30.5 cm) bullet, and it is sometimes recommended to remove the scales before use, but any official fish bait, such as shiners, shad, or suckers is on the fish menu. gar.
Carp, buffalo, and large perch are also commonly used
Step 4. Watch for schools of bait fish such as shad, shiners, or freshwater mullet
When you come across a school of fish being chased by a hungry carnivore, you may be in gar state. Prepare your bait and throw it.
Step 5. Throw into a deep channel
Leave the coil open to let the gar fish eat the bait and run with it for a few clicks. Keep watching. When the fish starts to point up the water, or when it heads in, you know you've got a gar fish. Lower your fishing rod forward and wait at least 7 seconds after the fishing line is pulled taut.
The gar will swim with its food before attempting to eat it. If you try to pull the hook too fast, you run the risk of untying it or hooking the hook to a less than optimal point
Step 6. Prepare the hook
The Alligator Gar has a tough, bony mouth, which is why anglers choose a treble hook, and enough strength to penetrate it. To make sure you hook the hook in the smooth and secure mouthpiece of the gar, you may have to hook it a few times. Once you have allowed a few hundred yards of fishing line, this may take some pulling and considerable exertion.
When you get your hook stuck, it means its time to survive the big wrestling match
Part 3 of 3: Fighting Gar Fish
Step 1. Follow the fish when you feel tension in your line
Very large fish will need a fair amount of resistance to catch them, and you'll find it important to pull them down. Try to keep the directional fish away from wood, branches or other things to keep it away from snagging, which will inevitably cause it to come off.
Step 2. Fight your fish to exhaustion
Pull slowly, let the fish exhaust itself. Don't waste more energy than pulling it quickly. Never try to force even the smaller gar into the boat while it still has the strength to fight back. The Alligator Gar is known for its aggressive bite for self-defense. For very large garfish, it is best to gill their gaff, so that the head (and teeth) can be pointed away from the boat passengers before bringing them into the boat.
A gill gaff is basically a fishing rod with a sharp hook at the end, to attract big fish after the boat. Generally, a partner will hook the hook on the gills and under the spine, possibly injuring the fish. If you want to hook the gar and release it, don't do this
Step 3. Be very careful if you choose to release your catch
Generally, anglers do not recommend fishing for garfish unless you want to kill them. Carrying live garfish in a boat, or ashore, is extremely dangerous. Removing a treble hook from a mouth full of sharp teeth requires very long pliers. Make sure the fish are very exhausted, and that you wear hand and arm safety equipment if you try this.
- Cutting the line will leave the treble hook embedded in the fish's mouth, leaving it with very little chance of survival.
- The Alligator Gar and many other freshwater predators are becoming rare. The best rule of preservation for these fish is to catch and release them again, so at least be aware of the difficulty of doing so if you want to hunt gar fish responsibly.
Step 4. Consider other alternatives
Many southerners will tell you the preferred method of fishing for Alligator Gar is by bowfishing, using mixed hunting archery and fishing darts. Bow-fishing has become more attractive to most people, as it mixes hunting and fishing.
Some anglers will carry a.22 to finish the gar fish when approaching the boat. Be careful and make sure you have a license if you want to fish with hunting gear
Step 5. Consider bringing your garfish home to eat
Generally, garfish are goblet fish, due to their size and fierce appearance. It is an edible (some say delicious) fish, but a little difficult to clean. The scales are like armor and come off at the same time, so it requires proper technique to remove them.
Nail the head of the gar to the surface and using a knife from tail up to the spine, loosening the scales. Cut off the head and tail, then move your knife down the sides of the fish. The scales should come off like a layer around the meat. Clean the fish's entrails as you normally would
Tips
- When bringing a gar in a boat or ashore, don't hold the gar in its mouth because its teeth stick out from the side of its mouth, so if the fish moves it will be very easy to injure you.
- Seriously consider hiring a guide for your first fishing trip. Time will be saved, also for safety reasons will make your trip more enjoyable.
- There is a (somewhat substantiated) story that the Alligator Gars nibbles on the feet in the water from piers and riverbanks.
