Help for a long-lived leviathan

[Hamilton Reef]

We do not have the larger alligator gar in Michigan which is featured in the article. The longnose gar in Michigan is smaller. Have you ever caught one hook&line? What's your story?

Help for a long-lived leviathan

http://enn.com/news/enn-stories/2002/04/04052002/s_46039.asp

[Hamilton Reef]

This is what our longnose gar looks like.

Longnose Gar - Lepisosteus osseus
http://www.enature.com/fieldguide/showSpeciesSH.asp?curGroupID=3&shapeID=991&curPageNum=5&recnum=FI0017

[knockoff64]

While I was in Louisiana in the service, I saw them many times. More than once I had them brush against my leg while wading, scared the "you know what" outta me!

I tried to catch them on live bluegills and shad only to have them ignore it!(not sure what I would have done if I hooked one).

Some of the ones I saw where bigger than me! 6'2" 165lb.

[tubejig]

I have a friend of mine that lives In TN. I was down there
a couple years ago and had the chance to fish for them.
We fished with 20 lb test with a piece of 10" bailing twine
for bait. It seemed kind of silly to me but, this is what
they use to capture those critters. Unfortunately I was
unable to catch a fish myself but I did see how it worked.
In the rivers, the bailing twine was drifted down streem
towards specific holes that held fish. The fish would grab
the twine and then begin to roll wrapping the twine around
their snout, which they could not cut with their sharp teeth.
Twine was woven in their mouths so they were unable to
escape. To some southerners this apparently is a game fish,
though I never had the chance to see one taken home.

Just a little useless input

tubejig

[Hamilton Reef]

tubejig, You were fishing with a piece of 10" bailing twine for bait and lasso? I thought this thread might be a learning experience, but that one got me. Now I'm curious. Were the first pair of fishermen that invented this method of fishing sober at the time?

[tubejig]

I don't know the history of this method, I never
would believe it unless I saw it. The hills of TN
contain a lot of secrets.



tubejig

[omerjim]

Ok, seeing how this subject has been brought up, the Rifle river gets a large run of gar pike in the summer. I have never tried to get one , but have thought they would make a terrific wall mount.
I too would like to know what it takes to get one on rod and reel. Has any one caught any in Michigan? If so, how?:confused:

[Ruler]

I caught about 15-20 of them on hook and line in the hot ponds the year before they blocked it off. I tried trolling tiny plugs (no more than 1" long) out of the canoe, but couldn't hook em. Got lots of strikes, and the plugs I used both feel like 180 grit sandpaper on the sides, but couldn't sink the hook into their snout.

What I ended up using and that worked fairly well was a 6" wire leader and a black and white daredevil. They liked hitting it, but they were still hard to hook; only hooked 5-8% of the strikes I had.

I've thought about going back out for them, but never have gotten around to it. They're fun to catch, but slimier than anything else I've caught and reek BAD. I hear they're full of bones, but I did see 2 dudes once who were keeping one to try. I tried to shoot a couple with my bow when out bow fishing, but hitting a 2" cylinder suspended a foot under the water from 30 feet away when it's moving with an arrow that has a string tied to it is harder than it sounds. ;)

I've heard about the twine method, but heard a slightly different version. The reason they're so hard to hook is because their mouth is a boney beak and full of teeth; no flesh to bite into at all. What I heard of people doing is to take a piece of cotton rope, tie it on your hook, and fray the last 3-4" of it. The threads will get caught in the gar's mouth and, since the teeth point backwards, it can't get away. Like I said though, I've never gotten any after that one time in the hot ponds, so I don't know if this technique works or not.

Lemme know when the rifle gets some of those prehistoric fish in there OmerJim. It's a blast catching them and I imagine it'd be twice as fun in that current! :)

[Lunker]

I lassoed one with my droper fly once when it went for the main fl, I set the hook and the dropper spun around its snout so fast it couldnt get lose. It was cool. That was at Flatrock.

I snagged a 3 footer in the tail and fought it for about 15 minutes in the Maumee last year. What a fight. It didnt agree however because once on the shore it tried to turn around and bite me a few times. I tried to put it back gently but it was too mean so i Kicked its snappy ars back in the drink.

[MuskyDan]

I have caught several of these fish in the hotponds. I have snagged on thornapplle lake while muskie fishing, and really caught some big ones on the cheboygan river below the dam night fishing for walleyes with rapalas.

[TrailFndr]

ABout 10 years back, I was fishing in Brighton Lake for Bass, throwing a Crankbait. Gar Pike hit and in about 2 hours I had hooked and released 8 of those things. What a PAIN to unhook and release. Not to mention that I ended up losing 2 nice Shad Raps. But I will never forget the fight they put on, smallest that day was aboput 24 inches, and largest was near 36" What an unexpected blast.

[MGV]

We caught one on Wabisis Lake one morning. It was about 5 in the morning. We were in a bass tournament on the lake. My buddy was doing his test cast before the tournament to make sure everything worked ok. Got a hit right away and pulled in a 18". We thought that we were still sleeping when he hauled it in. They do put up a good fight. We were using a small Rapala. size 10 maybe?.