Toothy critters

[Poke 'Em]

Went out today and caught who knows how many smallmouth, and two gar.

First one right at 40".







This one came in in the mid-30's:



Unfortunately, my real camera's a little under the weather, so I was forced to take a picture with my camera phone...

[Midwest Custom Fly Rods]

Very cool. Gar are a really interesting fish and those are pretty good size

[Gandolf]

Hi Poke 'Em,

Great looking fish.

Is the fly one of those flies with strands of nylon, and no hook, or is it a fly with a hook?

Also, I have heard some say that certain types of Gar are very good eating. Do you eat them?

Thanks and regards,

Gandolf

[Poke 'Em]

Yes, that was a rope fly. Basically a frayed piece of nylon rope attached to a hook (with the point removed), a little flash, and some bucktail.

I've never eaten gar, though I too have heard they can be pretty good.

One thing to keep in mind if you use a rope fly, it's imperative to remove as much of the nylon as possible before releasing the fish. Oh, and use very heavy tippet so as not to break off the fish. If the fly remains in the fish's mouth, it will almost surely die. Much like that of an alligator, a gar's mouth is designed so that almost all of its strength is geared toward closing rather than opening. A gar has very little muscle to open its mouth with, so if it is released (or breaks off) with the fly in its mouth, it likely won't be able to free itself of the fly, and will eventually starve.

[Midwest Custom Fly Rods]

That' something I have always wondered about the rope flies, how you get them out of the fishes mouth Do you just try to get the most you can out of teeth with hemo's, or do you cut the hair on the fly to get it out? I imagine they are tangled in there pretty good since the fish can't shake it out during the fight.

[Poke 'Em]

I pry the fish's mouth open with a pair of pliers and then stick a dowel rod in the back of their mouth to keep it open. Once you do that, it's fairly easy to remove the rope with a pair of pliers.

[Poke 'Em]

Went out last night and caught a couple more. It's a lot of fun when a 40" fish erupts out of the water and tailwalks when he realizes he's "hooked."

[Uncle Jesse]

Down in Louisiana where they can make about anything taste good they grind up gar and make gar balls that they fry. Of course there is seasoning.

And there is a recipe that involves baking the fish on a hardwood board, hickory or oak preferred. Flay the body on the board, long enough to hold the fish, short enough to fit in the oven. Cover the fish with onion slices, tomato slices, peppers according to taste green, chiles, jalapenos, habneros, etc., salt and ground pepper, bake at 265 - 300 degs for around 1 hr. 45 minutes. Dump the fish in the trash and eat the board.

[Gigmaster]

Gar are great eating. They are just a bit more trouble to clean. You clean them very similar to a turtle.

I hang them in a tree, split the armour plating down the middle of the back with my tomahawk, then forcefully peel it off the fish. After that, you can just clean them like a carp.

Gar balls are great. They make great chowder, as well. I use them to make Gefiltefish.

[pdowney]

gar r way underrated as table fare. All in the preparation as w/ anything. They ar easy toclean w/ the proper technique - I can't splainit but if you saw it done it would make sense.