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[mad] Me and my husband fish every weekend. We found this great place on Pleasure Island that is full of gar. The first day we went we came home with 4 gar. Didn't have alot of trouble landing them. But since then, we are having bad luck. Does anyone have any tips on catching the tricky suckers? We use different types of bait.. cut mullet, shad, perch.. Etc. We have used a regular hook and small treble hook. We have tried everything from setting the drag really loose to keeping it tight. Seems like they take it and run with it then spit it out. Or we try and set the hook and it pops out of their mouth since the mouth is so bony. PLEASE can anyone give us some advice on how to catch them, as far as tackle and bait.
Thanks a bunch!
Renee'
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[  ] hello renee i will try to help you as i am a long time giant gar fisherman and lover of the outdoors,also tenneesse moderator,well here goes,1 gar a rough fish as fish go you need 15 to 25 pond bradied line and they have teeth,i sometines use a steel leader or guitar string e string and they can bite through your line,2good med to heavey 6 to 7 ft pole i prefer spinning reels and they are well made and dont backlash as much,3use a 1 ought hook long shank or better or treble hook 4 or 5 ought,5the use of large minnows 3 inch to 5 is best as they like live prey as they are predators and will swallow them hole or hold on to them and run,5most of the time you can see them on top useing polorized sunglasses,cast in front of them 3 to 4 feet with minnows on two ft leader with a long skinny float balasa floats are best and very small split shot.6slowly rell it to your gar and wait till he has started his run and set hook hard.7,you can also use rooster tails to cast to shallow running gars you see try to cast in front of them as its a good way to get a hard strike,gar will hit anything moveing in front of them.just remember that they like to play with there food sometimes and just hold on to itwhen they are not takeing all at once try this give them some slack and let them swallow it give them a few minutes before setting the hook and then hit it hard,also look at what they are hitting in the area your fishing and try to beat them with there own food selection as you can use a minnow sein to catch fresh bait of there preference and save you a little money to boot.let me know if you are still haveing problems and i will see if i can help .
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hey renee , my tips are , hook your baitfish thru the flesh just below the dorsal fin , thats where gar snatch there prey .
second , a steel leader at least 16" long , during there rolls are when the teeth usually cut the line .
third and most important , your hook , get the best quality hook you can get . it should be able to dig into your fingernail with very little pressure ( please be carefull when testing ) keep a hook hone or stone with you while fishing to keep it sharp . thoes boney jaws dull a hook in zero time .
the best place for gars here in michigan that i've found is behind the edison cole power plant in monroe michigan . never seen one smaller than 24" and seen them up to 5 feet .
second spot would be in flatrock michigan ,( the backwaters PAST the foot bridge and across the field , just in case you wanna try for one of these awsome fish dave[ ] 2-3 foot range )
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hey Al, Flatrock MIchigan is a little far for me to drive, so what conditions do I look for in the lake, (stroucture if any or do I fish open water?)
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James I was wondering what depths should I set my bait from my bobber?[crazy]
I have caught northerns at the waters serface but never a gar, I have seen gar at depths of 5-6 feet in open water.[crazy]
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CALM , STILL SWAMPEY WATERS , A LITTLE CLOWDEY LIKE COFFEE AND CREAM . YOU FISH THEM JUST LIKE A PIKE , SPOONS OR BAITFISH FREE SWIMMING UNDER A BOBBER . BAITFISH METHOD WORKS THE BEST[ ] .
BOWFISHING IS FANTASTIC AS WELL , BUT THAT WON'T GET YOU A COFFEE AND DONUT  ]
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[size 1]when i was a kid in the 70's by the spillways in the illinois river there were so many gar, you could see thousands, but could rarely catch any, those weird lips/jaws/mouth is tough to find a place to sink a hook . .better to bow hunt or dynamite them! nasty devil fish they are . .. we would be fishin for crappie with live minnows and the gar would hit it . . if theres gar in there use live baitfish of whatever type is prevalent . . .
sm [/size]
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[cool]Yo, FFA. You are either a  ist or a masochist...or just an equal opportunity angler. Me too. I have had lots of fun getting abused by both longnose and alligator gars in Louisiana and Texas.
The tips on bait fishing already given are good ones. If you wanna have some real fun, and not go through so much bait, try pitching jigs or flies for them. A trick I picked up from an old boy in Louisiana is to tie flies and feather jigs with velcro bodies. The loops in the velcro catch their teeth and you at least get some fight out of them before they get loose. Many times you can bring the fish in to the bank or net, without it ever getting hooked.
I took this same tricky technique to the Sea of Cortez, where they have a jillion needlefish around most rocky reefs and points. It is almost impossible to get a lure through them and down to other fish. If you are throwing plastics you will go through a lot of plastic without catching many fish. The velcro flies and jigs got me connected to a lot of needles that are great acrobats. They would jump and twist several times before coming loose, and I got many of them closer to my float tube than I really wanted to...although, unlike gars, needles are good eating.
Here's a pic of the needlefish. As you can see, their jaws are even thinner and bonier than gars. Unless you hook them in the corner of the mouth, you do not hook them.
![[Image: SCOU1712CustomImage0278758.jpg]](http://web.ecomplanet.com/SCOU1712/ServerContent/MyCustomImages/SCOU1712CustomImage0278758.jpg)
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Gar are thieving fish. They try to steal the food from each other.When a gar picks up a bait they run with it to get away from any competition.They carry it out on the tip end of there mouth.When they feel safe they will stop and turn the bait and swallow it.You have to pretty much let them run on free spool until they stop. Then feel for the " turn and swallow " Then cross their eyes.There is a web site dedicated to Gar and Bowfin fishing.
It is called the Gar Anglers Sporting Society
[url "http://www.garfishing.com"]www.garfishing.com[/url]
They have a message board and a HOW TO section.
Check them out
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[cool]well i have noticed that they like to hit there prey for below so as long as you have 2 to 3 foot drop off your float you should do very well ,also look at the depth they are when you see them as make ajustments as needed .try giveing them a little teaseing jerk every now and then to stimulate them into hitting .also they run in packs so if you see one there is more close and they like hitting moveing targets and just holding onto them before takeing it so watch your bait and let them savor the taste then hit them hard to set hook.
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[cool]they like shallows when breeding and just when it floods the big ones start hunting the back waters,around shallow water with trees and bushes for them to ambush prey just think of them as a fresh water shark they school and hunt around structure and damns and pillions and dead falls .
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