Gar on the Fly

[skeet3t 0]

Removing fish will change the balance for a while but will work toward an equilibrium in the ecosystem. We dissected a gar in college class. Had to use tin snips to get through the armor. As for gar as food, it would be more trouble than what it's worth.

[SilverCreek 0]

19 hours ago, robow7 said:

2. What are the right tools to remove a rope fly

............... Snipped the rest of the post..........

Thanks for the reply. I do appreciate it.

[mikechell 0]

Imagine a slightly stained shallow area, with dozens of 2 to 3 foot sticks and logs littering the bottom.  Now, imagine the water is two to six feet deep, and all those logs and sticks are gar.  That's what some of the waters I fish usually look like.  

Although I don't do it anymore, just because I don't have a bow at the moment, I never regretted killing as many gar as I could.  I leave them in the water, as the turtles and alligators will eat them.  

Catching them with a rope fly/lure is fun for a few seconds.  They give up very quickly.   Fishing for them is too targeted for me most days.  I'd rather catch whatever happens to bite on regular flies than to spend the day playing with (and killing) gar.

[Philly 0]

I know there are gar around here but they're not very common, or at least I haven't seen or caught very many over the years.  If we did catch one it was usually on minnows and they weren't very big.  It was a different story when I was in NW Tennessee.  They were all over the place, but we didn't fish for them.  Most times we'd set up on the bank and plink at them with .22's, some of my friends would go after them with bow and arrow.  I knew some Canadians who lived in southern Ontario, who would fly fish for them and they used rope flies.  They did a video on how to catch them.   Now a days, around here, you're more likely to catch a snakehead in the places gar would hang out.

[robow7 0]

On 4/27/2022 at 2:15 PM, skeet3t said:

We dissected a gar in college class. Had to use tin snips to get through the armor. 

That's exactly how we make that dorsal longitudinal cut, then peel back that skin and a sharp fillet knife makes quick work of it.  Another way we've prepared them is to toss the chunks of boneless meat into a food processor along with some onion and green pepper.  Comes out kind of like a firm mush, make into small patties or roll into balls, bread and deep fry.  They will have the same texture as a chicken McNugget.

 

 

[Mark Knapp 0]

55 minutes ago, robow7 said:

That's exactly how we make that dorsal longitudinal cut, then peel back that skin and a sharp fillet knife makes quick work of it.  Another way we've prepared them is to toss the chunks of boneless meat into a food processor along with some onion and green pepper.  Comes out kind of like a firm mush, make into small patties or roll into balls, bread and deep fry.  They will have the same texture as a chicken McNugget.

 

 

Mmm, sounds good.

[skeet3t 0]

3 hours ago, robow7 said:

They will have the same texture as a chicken McNugget.

And probably a lot better tasting!

[Chris_in_Louisiana 0]

3 hours ago, robow7 said:

That's exactly how we make that dorsal longitudinal cut, then peel back that skin and a sharp fillet knife makes quick work of it.  Another way we've prepared them is to toss the chunks of boneless meat into a food processor along with some onion and green pepper.  Comes out kind of like a firm mush, make into small patties or roll into balls, bread and deep fry.  They will have the same texture as a chicken McNugget.

 

 

Gar Balls are definitely a popular item here in south Louisiana.  Can't say I've had the pleasure yet, but anyone with cajun roots as a grandfather or uncle that always seems to bring them to the family pot luck.  I'll have to try them one of these days.

[robow7 0]

And I guess we should state, just for the record and as a public safety announcement, when we talk about eating gar, 

Don't ever consume gar eggs.  They are poisonous. 

Find another source for your cheap caviar. 

[Capt Bob LeMay 0]

One of the charms of the backcountry in Everglades National Park is that you can launch your skiff in salt or brackish waters at Flamingo, then from there - run all the way up into freshwater areas to the north(a pretty long run at around 27 miles..). The water is stained dark - but pretty clear.  Way up inside you can find salt and freshwater species together -snook, tarpon, redfish, etc - along with largemouth bass, oscars, cichlids of every kind - and along with them plenty of short nosed gar... The gar aren't big specimens - rarely much over 24 to 28" but they'll follow and attack a fly or small lure all day long in some places (a nuisance when you're looking for snook or baby tarpon that they're holding right next to...). 

For some years we'd rarely ever hook one since their mouths are all bone or teeth - but finally I figured out a method that works for us and we've added them to our "catch and release" menu.  Using the same flies that we're trying to get a snook or tarpon to bite (small baitfish patterns in white - with razor sharp hooks..) I simply tell my anglers to try to break the leader with a short quick hard strike in response to a gar taking a fly.... When I can get my anglers to respond that way -striking with your stripping hand only - no rod movement at all (and the rod pointing straight at the fly...) they hook up frequently...  No we don't target the gar - they're just a regular part of small creeks way up inside where the water is purely fresh - but on it's way to becoming brackish a few miles away...

 

Just nothing like the 'glades for variety and surprises... I'm still running into things and situations I've never seen before and I've been running that area in a small way at first way back in 1974 - then as a guide years later...