Originally Posted by
Gigmaster
You'll need an axe, or tomahawk (I always carry one fishing), a pair of tin snips, gloves, some rope, and a very sharp fillet knife.
Start by cutting the head and tail off the gar with the tomahawk/axe. Then using the rope, hang it in a tree, head-down, and let all the blood run out. Next, using the tin snips, split the gar's armored hide all the way down. either on the belly, or the back. Using gloves to protect your hands, pliers, and a knife when necesary, peel the hide from the meat. Now, just fillet the meat from the backbone just as you would any other fish, and cut it into loin strips.
Now, you can freeze it, smoke it, fry it, stew it, or any other way you wish to fix it. When cooked, the meat is white, flakey and tastes a lot like crappie.
Bon apetit.