Was on the Vine last Friday and got into some Gar doing a lot top water action. It was fun to watch and we tried to catch some but no luck. What is the best way to catch these fish? We fish for sandies/crappie and some catfish, and just want to try to catch one of these gar to see what's its like, especially when you see dozens just rolling and flopping, like they're asking to be caught! Thanks for any help.

I am guessing you were looking at either spots or longnosed gar. The easiest thing to catch those with is going to be small sunfish, minnows, or shad. Being alive will probably help but it is not essential. The next thing you are going to need is either wire leaders or some fluorocarbon leaders.

This is my design for a double hook quick strike rig.

1. Supplies for leaders as follows:
2 2x or stronger sharp #4 trebles.
1 crane swivel
1 18-30" piece of main leader( about 50# wire or 20# fluoro)
1 3-6" piece of leader material (this depends on the length of your baitfish)


Steps:

1. Tie or attach swivel to long piece of leader
2. Tie or attach long leader to one of the two hooks.
3. Tie or attach short piece of leader material to second hook
4. Tie or attach short leader and hook directly to eye of first hook
5. Trim tags on all knots if your haven't already.
6. Tie onto your main line once you have put slip bobber and stop on main line

You will also need a slip bobber, if you have found the depth these fish are suspended at set the bobber stop accordingly. If you are not sure start with your bait about three feet under the surface and go from there until you find the depth you get bit at.

Hook one of the hooks directly behind the head of your bait and the other in the tail. Simply hook one prong of the treble hook into the bait on each hook, leaving enough slack in the short line so that the bait can move if it is alive. You should have all 4 exposed points of your hooks facing towards the head of the bait. This rig will allow you to immediately set the hook on any runs you get. You are still going to miss some of the fish because of the way they feed but you should get at least a 50% hook to run ratio. Set your drag to allow the fish to run, you can pull the hook on longnosed gar and spotted gar if you play them to forcefully, also longnosed gar are cable of getting over 60" long and above 50#'s, so you have the chance at a big fish.

A few more things: You will need a pair of leather gloves to land the fish, the easiest way on a longnosed gar is to grab the snout FIRMLY with a gloved hand. If you do not hold it with a tight enough grip you can be cut easily by the teeth if it struggles. Alternatively you can use a rolled up towel to grab it. I would not advise using a net to land them, they are bad about getting their teeth tangled in it as well as their entire body, makes a really big mess. You will also want a pair of jaw spreaders to assist in hook removal.

Let me know if you have any more questions and I hope this helps you. Good luck on your next outing and post pics of your success.

Thanks for the info, appreciate it.

Very good info!
We got into some big gar 2 weeks ago on the brazos but couldn't keep them on.
This should help next time!

Thanks