First Gar on a fly.

Well, I have to admit I was actually fishing for them. I've been fishing a small county park lake close to the house and thought I would see just how many species of fish I could catch in it. So far I've caught Bass, Bluegill, Sun perch and one small Crappie and now Gar.

The first day I fished it I saw quite a few Gar and I cast everything I had at them with no luck. They would follow the fly and never strike. Today I tried something different. I cast over the fish and dragged the fly over his back several times till he looked annoyed then planted it about two feet past his nose,(brown woolly bugger) gave it one fast strip and paused. He nailed it like he had never eaten. Caught a second one the same way.

Leo C.

When I lived in South Florida we would annoy the Gar when the bass didn't want to play with us. I remember that it took something red to catch them. I always kept a Red Devil spoon in the box for the slow days. A Mikasukee (sp?) Indian taught me how to clean them and they actually are a great fish to eat.

Clint

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Wise men still seek HIM...

They're difficult to hook because of their thin mouths, but I heard of a hookless fly the more dedicated gar fishermen use; I think it gets caught in their teeth.

they're good for a couple of nice initial jumps, but after that, they don't have the build for a good fight; I should qualify that I've only caught the 17"-20" versions, not the mid 20" I do occasionally see swimming around.

I've caught quite a few this summer on lit docks at night at a resevior here in Texas (Cedar Creek). What I've seen is that small hooks work good, and also tandem hooks. They sometimes tend to short strike so a trailer hook can be a good idea. I still only get about 25% succesful hookups, but I have caught alot of other fish on my gar flies, so I cant afford not to have a hook on the fly.

Tie yourself a fly or two using double salmon hooks. My favorite is a muddler looking fly with an orange throat, dark olve back and sides and yellow underneath.

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Good Fishing
Chuck Scheerschmidt
"I've traveled a long way and some of the roads weren't paved."

Thanks everyone for your input. I'll tie some up like recomended and give it a try.

Leo C

Just one comment: I can NOT believe that anyone, having caught one Gar, would actually try on purpose to catch another. SHUDDER.

Ok, back to your warm water adventures.