gar bait

[bottomfinder12]

me and my fishing buddy have been wanting to catch some gar but evertime we get around them we just spook them and they swim off. does anybody now what kind of bait to use to catch them

 

[craazyboutbass]

I've alway's caught them unwanted! The bait that seems to get them to hit would be shiners.

 

[churly]

Doc1 - 6/19/2007 9:29 PM

Use a large lead head and attach a 6 inch piece of nylon rope which has been unraveled. Burn one end of the nylon before you unravel it then attach the led head to the unraveled rope, fish it sorta fast on top of the water below the dams and you will have a fine mess of gar in no time.

That works! but you could also take the stabilizer off your bow and mount a bow reel on it, get a fiberglass fishing arrow, and with enough practice you'll catch everyone you can see!

 

[Fishin Fool]

The lead head thing sounds good and so does the bow. I like to do a little different rig when I fish for them. I take the rope and undo both ends leaving lots of individual strings. I double it up and put a big worm hook right in the middle of the bend, through the rope. It kinda looks like a frog kicking in the water and I have caught some big gar that way. But be prepared! Once you hook one you have hooked a CRAZY fish! They make some huge jumps and runs. To me they are one of the worst smelling fish on the lake. It takes days to get the scent out of the boat.

 

[jason]

Try a Spro Aruka Shad burned across the surface when you see one picking willow/may flies off the top. Like FF said, they stink...shake them off with needlenose at boatside.

 

[MadBomber]

Make up several nylon rope lures using 10" of 1/4" diameter nylon rope.  Double the rope and wrap some mono around the end to form a loop.  Unravel the tail end of the rope.  Tie a leader of 12" or so of heavy mono to the loop in the rope and make another loop to attach to a snap swivel on your main line.  Put a small weight on the main line.  Do <font color="#ff0000">NOT</font> use a hook, you don't need one!  When the gar chomps down on the rope his teeth will become entangled and he cannot get loose.  When you get the fish next to the boat, clip the mono leader and let the gar keep the rope.  <font color="#ff0000">DO NOT</font> pull the fish into your boat.  A large gar will toss any loose gear into the river.  Attach a new snelled rope and continue to fish.    

 

[kenbob10]

I don't know what it is but rsimms has a store bought bait made for Gar. I'm sure he will help you when he sees this post!

 

[fluke]

Try the nylon rope behind a spinnerbait its kind of weird to cast but it works.

 

[Troutbum]

Hey Madbomber,

Some great advice there but I'm going to disagree with you on the bit about letting the gar keep the rope. The rope does tangle in the gar's teeth, so much so that it often locks the gar's mouth shut. If you don't remove the rope, the gar will starve and die a long, miserable death. Heck, not even a gar deserves that.

 

[MadBomber]

OK, cut the rope below the loop in the rope.  I still say, don't bring a large gar into the boat with you.  He asked how to catch them.  That's not so hard to do.  What is hard is to release them unharmed.  I hate to admit it, but when we fished for gar below Watts Bar in the 60's, we would bash them over the head with a pipe.