longnose/spotted gar...

[Ribs1 0]

since my original post, I haven't had the opportunity to try for them. the owners have been digging out and expanding the pond, so the water has turned the temperature and consistency of hot chocolate.

 

I also find it strange how people arbitrarily hate one species of fish over another. Bowfin is another kill-on-sight species here. Along with gar, it's another one I've never caught.

 

Wait until you do catch a big bowfin on fly gear. I call them fresh water tarpon around here. The bigger ones literally explode when hooked and take off like a small tarpon. These are not trash fish to me (even though they are really ugly).

 

[panfisherteen 0]

heres a bowfin i caught back in late may

even though i didnt catch it on a fly or fly rod,it was still a fun fight

[JSzymczyk 0]

:bugeyes: that thing's a trophy!

 

I was under the impression bowfin have some nasty teeth, yagotcher finger in it's mouth.

 

That's an excellent catch. The ones I've seen around here were not that big at all, but I'm sure there are some big ones.

[Harold Ray 0]

heres a bowfin i caught back in late may

 

I know nothing of bowfin, but that is an unusual fish. I suspect it is an ancient species just like the gar from the looks of it.

[Harold Ray 0]

Bowfin

Bowfin (Amia calva) are the lone survivors of an earlier primitive family of fish known mostly through fossils. They have retained much cartilage in the skeletal system and have bony plates covering the semicartilaginous skull. A distinctive bony gular plate is located on the under-surface of the throat between the lower jaws. The bowfin's olive-colored body is stout and slightly elongated. A very long dorsal fin helps in identification. Male bowfins have a black spot encircled with a yellow ring at the upper base of the tail; the female has a spot without a circle. In addition to gills, these fish have a modified air bladder, like the gar, that enables them to use surface air and to live in polluted or stagnant water unsuitable for most fish.

 

The distribution of the bowfin in New York is similar to that of the longnose gar. It occurs in northeastern New York, in Lake George, Lake Champlain, and the St. Lawrence River system (where it is relatively common). It is also found along the shores of Lakes Ontario and Erie. In central New York, it is known from Cayuga Lake, Oneida Lake, and from intermediate waters.

 

Bowfins are spring spawners. The male constructs a bowl-shaped nest in shallow water and guards the eggs and fry for several weeks. Adult bowfins usually reach a length of about 2 feet and weigh 2-5 pounds, although they may occasionally reach weights of up to 12 pounds.

 

Bowfins feed on all sorts of aquatic animals-crustaceans, adult insects and larvae, and small fish. Generally, they are a scarce fish of no commercial value. They are dogged fighters when caught on sporting tackle, but their flesh is generally considered poor eating.

 

 

 

 

[Harold Ray 0]

BOWFIN

 

The Florida Museum of Natual History

 

Order: Amiiformes

Family: Amiidae

Genus: Amia

Species: calva

 

Taxonomy

 

Linnaeus first described this species as Amia calva in 1766. Synonyms occurring in past scientific literature referring to this species include Amia ocellicauda Todd 1836, Amia occidentalis DeKay 1842, Amia cinerea Cuvier & Valenciennes 1846, Amia lentiginosa Cuvier & Valenciennes 1846, Amia lintiginosa Cuvier & Valenciennes 1846, Amia marmorata Cuvier & Valenciennes 1846, Amia ornata Lesueur 1846, Amia reticulata Lesueur 1846, Amia subcaerulea Cuvier & Valenciennes 1846, Amia subcoerulea Valenciennes 1846, Amia viridis Lesueur 1846, Amia canina Valenciennes 1847, Amia ocellicaudata Fortin 1866, Amia piquotii Duméril, 1870, and Amia thompsoni Duméril, 1870.

 

Common Names

 

English language common names are bowfin, beaverfish, blackfish, cottonfish, cypress trout, freshwater dogfish, grindle, grinnel, John A. Grindle, lawyer, marshfish, scaled ling, speckled cat, and western mudfish. Choupique is a common name used in Louisiana that was derived from the Choctaw name for bowfin. Other common names include alcaraz (Spanish), amerikanischer schlammfisch (German), amia (Danish/Finnish), amie (French), choupique (Creole/French), choupiquel (French), dyndfisk (Danish), il'naya ryba (Russian), kahlhecht (Russian), kaproun obecný (Czech), mieklawka a. amia (Polish), poisson de marais (French), poisson-castor (French), and schlammfisch (German).

 

Geographical Distribution

 

The bowfin has a distribution from St. Lawrence and Ottawa rivers and Lake Champlain west throughout the Great Lakes, including Georgian Bay and lakes in Nipissing and Simcoe, Ontario (Canada). They are found south in the Mississippi basin from Lake Winnibigoshish, Minnesota, to Louisiana, in the lower Texas drainages west to Colorado River and along Coastal Plain from Alabama to eastern Pennsylvania (US).

 

Changes in the environmental quality have probably all but eliminated the bowfin from the Missouri watershed system. It has been introduced in a number of localities in Iowa, Illinois, North Carolina, and Connecticut.

 

World distribution map for the bowfin

 

Habitat

 

Bowfins typically inhabit lowlands and are common in backwaters, oxbow lakes, and clear, well-vegetated streams. They have a preference for clear water with abundant vegetation but are tolerant of silt, mud, and high temperatures. Adult bowfins usually live in deep water, coming into shallows at night and during the breeding season.

 

Bowfin specimens, A. Male, B. Female

© George Burgess

 

Biology

 

· Distinctive Features

The bowfin fish is the sole bowfin belonging to the family Amiidae and the order Amiiformes. They have an elongate body with a dorsal fin running its entire length. The tail has semiheterocercal scales and the body is encased with cycloid scales. Its head is armored with a double skull and a large mouth and strongly developed teeth, bony gular plate, and tubular nostrils. Bowfins have kidney tubules opening directly into the coelomic cavity in contrast to other freshwater rayfin fish which have their kidneys closed off from the body cavity.

 

While many fish use their gas bladders for buoyancy, the bowfin can also use it to inhale air from the surface. At a temperature of 40ºF-50ºF (4.4ºC-10ºC), air breathing is non-existent, however at temperatures above 60ºF (10ºC) the rate of air breathing consistently increases as the temperature increases. Air-breathing activity is greatest between 65ºF and 85ºF (18.4ºC and 29.6ºC). The air-breathing habit begins early in life, and when the school of young fish is undisturbed, individuals will occasionally leave the school and surface for a gulp of air. An example of the air-breathing activity may be seen in a floodplain of the lower Mississippi Valley, when farmers come across live bowfins with their plow after floodwaters had receded from farmland.

 

Bowfins are olive-colored with dark mottling along the body with a lighter belly

© George Burgess

 

· Coloration

The back and sides of the bowfin are olive-colored, with dark, and netlike mottling while the belly is cream-colored to white. The paired fins and anal fin are bright green. As juveniles both sexes have a round-to-oval black spot at the base of the upper caudal rays. Mature males have a black spot on the upper caudal rays rimmed with orange-yellow. Mature females do not have a black spot on the peduncle.

 

· Dentition

The bowfin's jaw contain strong, conical teeth.

 

Bowfin reach lengths of 30 inches (75 cm)

courtesy National Park Service

 

·Size, Age, and Growth

Adult bowfin females may reach 30 inches (75 cm), obtain a weight of 8½ pounds (3.8 kg) and, live approximately 12 years. Adult males may grow to attain a length of 18-24 in (457 - 610 mm) TL. The longest bowfin caught measured 34.3 in (870 mm) in length, while the largest bowfin fish caught in the United States (South Carolina) weighed 21 lbs. 8 oz. (9.8 kg). The largest bowfin fish caught in Florida waters weighed in at 19 lbs (8.6 kg).

 

· Food Habits

Bowfins normally eat fish, such as speckled perch and catfish in the northern region of Florida, but they may prey on freshwater crayfish.

 

· Reproduction

Mating occurs between April and June in weedy shallow waters. Optimum temperature for nesting and spawning is 61ºF-66ºF, (16ºC-19ºC). The males arrive to the site first and construct nests in the form of a circular mat measuring 15-36 inches (39-91 cm) in diameter. As a female approaches a nest, the mating ritual begins with nose bites, nudges, and chasing behavior until the female is receptive. The female with lie on the nest while the male positions himself at her side and eggs are laid. Occasionally more than one couple will use the same nest and a male may try to mate with several females. After 8 to 10 days the eggs hatch. Upon hatching young are 8 mm long and attach themselves to rootlets by an adhesive organ until they are 9 days old and about 0.5 inches (12 mm) long. They then follow the male in a close school. If one become separated from the parent, it swims in close circles until its parent reappears. Adults have been known to take flight in order to protect their young from predators. They larvae feed on plankton and grow rapidly. When young reach a length of about 4 inches (102 mm), the schools start to break up. Young bowfins grow to over 8 inches (203 mm) in length during their first year of life.

 

· Predators

The bowfin is not normally considered a sport fish but it commonly takes a hook and produces a worthy fight on light tackle. Since the adults are so well armored they probably have few natural enemies other than man.

 

· Parasites

Anchor worms (Lernaea spp.) are large, external parasites that are commonly encountered by the bowfin. They normally attach themselves to the skin and bases of fins. Heavy infestations can slow the growth of a fish, cause it to lose weight, and even kill it.

 

The bowfin is also a host to the glochidia larvae of the mollusk Megalonaias gigantea. The eggs of the mollusk are fertilized internally by sperm entering with incurrent water flow. After fertilization, the eggs develop within the gill tubes into the tiny glochidia larvae.

 

Importance to Humans

 

Since the bowfin feeds principally on fish it is frequently cursed for feeding on sportfish. They compete with the sport fish for food and may take any bait or lure that bass or catfish fishermen use. Bowfins are strong on the hook and are a game opponent for the angler.

 

Bowfin over grass beds in the Rainbow River, Florida

© Doug Perrine

 

The bowfin is commonly known as cottonfish in some parts, due to the fact that when they are improperly cooked or eaten cold, the flesh is said to ball up in one's mouth like cotton. Food critics have given "Cajun caviar," a delicacy made from the eggs of bowfin, rave reviews. Reviews regarding the flesh of the bowfin range from "soft and pasty" to "passably palatable, while being one of the best of all smoked fishes".

 

The bowfin is commonly used as laboratory test animal because of its status as a "living fossil." It is easy to maintain and has interesting behavioral and physiological temperaments. Young bowfin may be kept in an aquarium, however they may feed on smaller fish.

 

Conservation

 

At this time, the World Conservation Union (IUCN) does not consider the bowfin to be vulnerable or threatened. The IUCN is a global union of states, governmental agencies, and non-governmental organizations in a partnership that assesses the conservation status of species.

[Harold Ray 0]

ALLIGATOR GAR

 

The Florida Museum of Natural History

 

Order - Lepisosteiformes

Family - Lepisosteidae

Genus - Atractosteus

Species - spatula

Susan Middleton © California Academy of Sciences

 

Taxonomy

 

Lacepede first described the alligator gar in 1803. The original name was Lepisosteus spatula and later changed by Wiley in 1976 to Atractosteus spatula in order to recognize two distinct extant genera of gars. The name spatula is the Latin derivative of the Greek word spathe meaning "any tool with a broad, flat blade." The genus Atractosteus is derived from the Greek word atractus, meaning "spindle" and osteus (Greek osteos) which means "bony." Synonyms of Atractosteus spatula include Lesisosteus [sic] ferox (Rafinesque 1820), and Lepisosteus spatula (Lacepede 1803). Fossils from the order Lepisosteiformes have been collected in Europe from the Cretaceous to Oligocene periods, in Africa and India from the Cretaceous, and in North America from the Cretaceous to recent. There is only one extant family of gar, Lepisosteidae, which has seven species all located in North and Central America.

 

Common Names

 

The English common name for Atractosteus spatula are alligator gar, gator, greater gar, garpike, garfish, and Mississippi alligator gar. Other common names are pejelagarto (Spanish), marjuari (Spanish), catan (Spanish, gaspar baba (Spanish), garpigue alligator (French), alligatorpansergedde (Danish), alligatorbengadda (Swedish), keihasluuhauki (Finnish), and kostlin obrovsky (Czech).

 

Geographical Distribution

 

Although fossils of gars have been found in North America, Central America, Europe, and Asia, the living members of the family are restricted to seven species living in North and Central America. Five of the seven species live in the United States. The range of the alligator gar extends from the Florida Panhandle, through the Gulf Coastal Plain and the Mississippi River Basin extending north to the lower portions of the Ohio and the Missouri River, and ranges southwest through Texas down to Veracruz, Mexico. There is a population in Mississippi Sound and the brackish water of the Gulf Coast and Mobile-Tensaw Delta that seldom stray far inland. There are also reports of a disjunct isolated population living in Nicaragua. The alligator gar is disappearing from many parts of the range, and declining in population everywhere due to over-fishing and the construction of dikes, dams, and other flood control devices, resulting in loss of key breeding habitat. The alligator gar was once reported as common and even numerous in much of its northern range. Now it is rare in the Northern parts of its range with reports of valid sightings coming in only every few years.

 

World distribution map for the alligator gar

 

Habitat

 

The alligator gar inhabits large, slow moving rivers, reservoirs, oxbow lakes, bayous and bays, in fresh and brackish water. The alligator gar is the most tolerant gar species of high salinity and occasionally strays into salt water. Young may be seen at the surface in debris such as leaves and twigs. Alligator gar prefer large rivers that have a large overflow floodplane, but these rivers have all but disappeared in North America due to the use of dredging, dams, dikes, and levees.

 

Biology

 

Alligator gar

Susan Middleton © California Academy of Sciences

 

· Distinctive Features

 

All gars have an elongated, torpedo-shaped body. The caudal fin of the alligator gar is abbreviate-heterocerical, meaning the tail is not symmetrical. The dorsal and anal fins are located very far back on the body. Gars bodies are covered by ganoid scales, which are thick overlapping scales that create a protective covering similar to medieval chainmail. Gars have retained the spiral valve intestine a primitive feature of the digestive system commonly associated with sharks. Gars also have a highly vascularized swim bladder connected to the pharynx by a pneumatic duct. This enables them to gulp air, which aids in facultative air breathing. This allows gar to breathe when there are very low oxygen levels in the water. The alligator gar is distinguished from other gars in the United States by its relatively short, broad snout which has two rows of fang-like teeth in the upper jaw. The inner row of teeth in the upper jaw is palatine and larger than the outer row of teeth.

 

Alligator gars in an aquarium

Susan Middleton © California Academy of Sciences

 

· Coloration

 

The alligator gar is dark olive-green dorsally, fading to yellowish white ventrally. Young alligator gars possess a light mid-dorsal stripe bordered by thin dark lines from the tip of snout to the dorsal fin, and a dark lateral band extends along the sides with irregular borders. The dorsal, anal, and caudal fins of the Alligator gar often have oval-shaped black spots. Adult specimens lack spots on the body.

 

· Dentition

 

Alligator gars have two rows of teeth. The inner row of teeth is palatine and is longer than the outer row of teeth. The teeth of the alligator gar are long, slander, and fang like, enabling these fish to pierce and hold their prey.

 

· Size, Age & Growth

 

The alligator gar is one of the largest freshwater fishes in North America and is the largest of the gar species. Young gars have an adhesive disc on the underside of the snout that they use to attach to objects on the bottom until the yolk sac is absorbed. Young gars also have a dorsal caudal filament at the posterior end of the upturned vertebral column, which atrophies and disappears in adults. Gars are slow growing fish, with female alligator gars reaching sexual maturity around age 11 and living to age 50. Male alligator gars mature around age 6 and live at least 26 years. Alligator gars commonly grow to a size of 6 1/2ft (2 m) and over 100 lbs. (45kg). But have been reported to grow up to 350 lbs. and around 10 ft (3m) in length. The largest recorded alligator gar comes from the St. Francis River, Arkansas in the 1930's, and weighed 350 lbs (159 kg).

 

Alligator gars feed on a variety of prey including blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus)

courtesy U.S. FDA

 

· Food Habits

 

Alligator gars appear sluggish, however they are voracious predators. Gars are ambush predators, primarily piscivores, they lay still in the water until an unsuspecting fish swims by, and then lunging forward and lashing the head from side to side in order to capture prey. Many times gars will lay still at the top of the water for long periods of time, appearing to be merely a log. The alligator gars' diet consists primarily of fish. However, brackish water populations of alligator gar are known to feed heavily on blue crabs in addition to fish such as the hardhead catfish. This gar is also known to prey on waterfowl and other birds, small mammals, turtles, and carrion. Alligator gars have been reported to attack duck decoys and eat injured waterfowl shot by hunters.

 

· Reproduction

 

Little is known of the life history of alligator gar. The gonadosomatic index for mature males and females, and female reproductive hormone analysis have indicated that spawning occurs in late spring, young specimens collected have indicated that spawning probably occurs in April, May, and June in the southern United States. Alligator gars are thought to spawn in the spring by congregating in large numbers with a female and one or more males on either side to fertilize the eggs. Fecundity in females has a positive correlation with total length. Females generally carry an average of 138,000 eggs. The eggs are released and fertilized by the male outside of the body they sink to the bottom after being released and stick to the substrate due to an adhesive outer covering. The eggs are bright red and poisonous if eaten. Alligator gars are thought to spawn in the floodplain of these large rivers, giving their young protection from predators.

 

American alligators are a potential predator of alligator gar

courtesy U.S. Geological Survey

 

· Predators

 

Due to its extremely large size, an adult alligator gar has few natural predators. Young gars are preyed upon by larger fish, but once they reach a size of about 3 feet (1 m) their only natural predator would be an American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis).

 

This large alligator gar was just under 8 feet in length and weighed 215 pounds!

© Mike Guerin/http://TheJump.Net

 

Importance to Humans

 

The alligator gar has been commercially fished in southern states along with other gar species, and has also been fished and bow-fished. The meat of the alligator gar has been commercially sold for over a dollar a pound locally. It is not classified as a sport fish in some states such as Texas even though there is a popular bow fishery along the Rio Grande River. It is classified as a sport fish Alabama where the limit is 2 fish per day, which makes it off limits to commercial fishing in Alabama. The alligator gars, along with other gars, are important to their ecosystem in order to maintain the ecological balance.

 

Danger to Humans

 

Due to its large size and sharp teeth, the alligator gar is capable of delivering a serious bite wound to fisherman or swimmers. However, there is no documentation of attacks on man by alligator gars. The eggs are poisonous, causing illness if consumed by humans.

 

 

Conservation

 

The alligator gar is rare, endangered, and has even been extirpated from many of the outer areas of its range. Studies in Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana have shown that the alligator gar is very susceptible to overfishing. It has been classified as rare in Missouri, threatened in Illinois, and endangered in Arkansas, Kentucky, and is soon to be in Tennessee.

 

Prepared by:

Nathaniel Goddard

[Harold Ray 0]

I saw about a 6 foot alligator gar sunning on the surface when I was hiking through Cameron Park today. The park is basically a 500 acre small wilderness area right in the center of the city of Waco with one, of many, trails leading about 3 miles right beside the Brazos River. I hike there to stay in shape and I'm always preparing for the next Big Bend backpacking trip.

 

The gar was beautiful!! I'm going back tomorrow, actually early in the morning around 6:30 am.

 

Ray

[lewy271 0]

I believe that gar and bowfin alike are protected in illinois, I could be wrong. I keep the DNR's phone number in my cell phone to turn in limit/creel poachers and wantless killers alike. To be honest, I think fish like bluegill cause more devastation to lakes than these predators. I do not want to be bashed by bluegill fishermen here because I love them to. But when all is said and done bluegill have a tendancy to overpopulate small lakes more so than any other fish I know.

 

Lets be honest, because I don't know any other way to be; Fish that eat other game fish are generally considered trash fish by those who seek that species that falls prey to the superior predator. Lets look at pike, well they are not that different than muskie, right? But many a muskie fisherman consider pike as trash fish, a portion of walleye fisherman tend feel the same way. Why might you ask well I have an answer to that, because pike spawn earlier than muskie and many a muskie fry fall prey to the earlier and more quickly developing pike. Lets think about earlier and quicker, what does that make you....hum evolution is a bit** huh. It makes you more well adapted to survive. I honestly believe if humans the ultimate equalizer or de-equalizer, get involved , it is us who throws a stick in the works in the natural balance of things. Nature even has a way of correcting the things that we as humans jack up, lets look at Lake Michigan for example. When I was a kid Lake Michigan was a sespool (sp?), after the introduction of the zebra mussel the lake is so clean they are starting bass touraments out of the Chicago River. The lake has changed dramatically over the last 10 to 20 years.

 

Okay so I am a programmer, not just a programmer but deal with high end Business Intelligence and Data Mining solutions; and what I can tell you is there are too many variables on what we have done and what we do to correct the situation, and how the correction to that problem causes over issues and then some "INVASIVE SPECIES" corrects the situation. I cannot comprehend this it is too jacked up, too much he said she said. Seriously lets think about it, our precious browns that I love myself, are an invasive species; in sort this is now a part of evolution of all species and are effected by the brown trout. Remember the brownie can be as much of a predator as any pike/gar or bowfin.

 

Guys I'm sorry, I'm very tired with a lot of the things that pop up on this forum. That is not to say that I don't love this forum and commend the moderators for their thankless work, because I believe that they do a wonderful job and I would be less of a fisherman without this forum. But really if I hear one more person ask if you can catch a bass on a wooly bugger or clouser I'm going to scream.

 

Here it is to you want to know what you can catch on a Bugger or Clouser ANYTHING. If you cast a clouser or bugger at my dog it would eat it.... And no it doesn't make a freaking difference what color it is, especially if all you have is white, black or olive.

 

What vice should you use, guess what I have two expensive vices and I find very little difference from them and the first vice I had. What is the first vice I had you ask, well it was a pair of vicegrips. When I upgraded from that I had two pair of vice grip on held the pair that was holding the hook. What was my favorite hook, the hook that was cheap at Kmart because I was in junior high and had no cash and I tied these flies with thread stolen from my mothers sewing kit with no bobbin. The majority of what we do is for the art of it, bringing our art to a higher level. You love it and I love it, we have brought fishing to an art. We live with art and know how to co-exist with it most important to us.

 

I am not a god-fearing man, much to the disappointment of my girlfriend. She often askes me where I am going and I respond with church. Church is my creek, it is where i find my balance, it is the smell of the water that gets even strong as I approach the riffles.

 

I know that I am ranting, I am ranting because I get the wrong impression of a lot of the comments I hear from people. Where am I going with this, Fish are Fish...No matter what the species is, if you are enjoying the moment...forget enjoying the moment. You are a part of life, a part of life that you dont get while you are in you cubicle, in front of a client or emptying the trash... If I am catching fish, even if I am not but going to a place that is still wild and untouched I am still a fisherman. I am as much a fisherman if I am gar as if I am catch a steelhead.

 

I am a fisherman, and I will be untill my last breath regardless of the last time I was on the water. Why because I have gotten one step closer to transcending. As all fly fisherman have, fly fishing aligns with my own personal philosphy. My philosphy is "man up", take it up a notch, be a tiger, BAMM whatever. If you fish the long rod you are at some level there, take it to the next step, remember regardless ofthe species you catch...you caught it with a fly that you tied and caught that fish because you have become part of something outside the Marketing BS that Fishing has become. Plastic worms, Bill Dance, the spincast rod you are a commerical, a joke that you are part of nature...

 

Forget it I'm just a jaded well-funded wanderer looking for my place in this word. Gar or no gar, I have become something else have you.

[robow7 0]

 

These are what I like to use but I will definitely try Lew's approach. Sounds like he has chased them a lot more than I have. Oh and anymore I just cut the lower hook off so as not to have to mess around with it and worry about it sticking me when landing the fish. But BTW, short nose, long nose and spotted gar are not by any means endangered, they are easily found in rivers, backwaters, and many lakes. They and the bowfin are not protected in Illinois, nor most any other state for that matter, but Gator gar are protected in Illinois only because there are so few of them this far north. I have only seen one in all my life in ILL.

[Permit Hunter 0]

I had one chasing my Clouser on some canal last month while lookin' for Snook, the Gar lost interest quick, I talked about going to target them in the glades, but couldn't convince my fishing buddy it was worth while, hadn't thought about them since. I couldn't say I know a spot for 'em so I'm not dying for one. As for kill-fish I'm not a fan either, and down here the invasive species list is as long as my arm! Do other states have "Walking Catfish" ??? they really do... And the land based meat-fishing crowd throws everything on the ground, only taking home some, and kill many juveniles and non-edible fish.(Puffers, box-fish, Moon-Fish and the like.) f---ing poachers.

[bowfin47 0]

In some areas where they are not targeted, bowfin may reach weights of 14-20 lbs. While I've not caught them that size on a fly, I met a guy who regularly fished for them with conventional tackle and had the fish to to back up the statement above. He had a fourteen pounder which was as long as my leg.

[fishaholic69 0]

I had a gar in my fish tank! what a killer! he could spot a fish and BAM! just like that he darts and catches them sideways in his mouth then flips um front to back and swallows um whole! loved that fish. guess he tried to kill to much and jumped out of my tank. by the time i found him I would of thought i took him to a taxidermist! harder than a old guy on viagra! man I miss that fish..... well I say use smaller cause u got to get the hook inside the small beak like mouth. good luck

[stevemcn 0]

That's very intersting fishaholic. where'd you get the gar? how big was it, what size tank? in the spring i see them by the dozens, spawning in a tidal pond off the potomac near here. never saw any little ones. wonder how one would go about capturing one for an aquarium specimen?