Caught a few, but need to come up with a better rig. We were using a 2/0 hook and split shot under a stick float. Baited with live minnows. Hooked up about 20 times, but only boated 3. Suggestions are welcome.

Fishing in 20ft....found them suspended. Some were also working the surface, but we didn't try for them.






Also, who knows how to clean these?

sb

Fray out nylon rope with hook bait . Nice needle nose gar by the way!! Nylon gets caught in teeth most the time!!good luck !!

Nice catch and congrats on finding out about Longnose Gar at such a young age!

Get yourself a pair of steel reinforced gloves and simply grab them around the mouth with your one hand, the other hand near the tail so you support their body better. Hold on tight because they will thrash a bit.

One of the best lures/baits I used when I was targeting Longnose Gar, was like Garbow said, some nylon rope. But I did something extra, I used a size 1-2/o hook and tied on some rope nylon to the hook and frayed it out. On the hook itself I would put some cut bluegill, sunfish, etc. Sometimes just the head, if it was small enough the entire fish. The frayed rope would drape over and around the fish bait. To fish this, place it on a bobber and adjust depth as needed. I typically would have it 2-3 ft from the surface. Cast out and reel it in slowly, when the Gar strike, don't set the hook, let them "mouth" the bait a bit and the nylon rope will easily get stuck in the Gar's toothy mouth. When battling it, take your time and tire the fish out.

While the majority of Gar were caught near the surface or suspended. Using this rig I would also occasionally take off the bobber and cast out and let it sit on the bottom, reeling it in very slowly. My biggest Longnose Gar were always caught this way fwiw.

As far as cleaning Longnose Gar, you will be surprised how easy it is. Here is a video that shows the process and you don't have to mess with the entrails at all. You end up with 2 "backstraps" boneless fillets. Gar meat is a bit soft compared to other fish, so one of the best methods is to boil the meat in a crab boil, and make "poor man's lobster". It is very...very good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPvh6K22a_Y

Nice needle nose

Great video, thanks. Next trip (if we catch a few) we will try that out. I have the scissors and filet knife. Need to set up a board to nail the on, like I used to clean cat fish.

Going to try out the nylon rope/hook trick. Maybe we will have more success. Couple of questions: 1) What diameter nylon rope? 2) How long a piece of rope?

This was the 3rd or 4th trip we have taken to Canyon, and usually the boy gets skunked. We were on our way to a repeat of the skunking...honestly don't know how many more trips I could get him on if he had been skunked again. So very happy we were able to find the gar. I did not boat a single fish, and I give exactly zero craps, cuz the boy did.


Anyway, thanks for the replies. The boy got a kick out of seeing people talking about fish he caught.

sb

1/4inch about 3 inches long works great
My son�s first needle nose was a good one!!

Nice fish. Different coloration than the ones the boy caught the other day. Spotted vs longnose?

sb

Nice fish. Good job.

Yep, what he said.