#840131 - 07/27/08 01:08 PM
Basso's Big Blue and Gar on the Fly
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rsimms
10 Point
Registered: 09/08/02
Posts: 2521
Loc: Chattanooga, TN
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(Sorry... for long post, but lots to say)
Troy Basso, a fellow guide fellow guide and outdoor writer, was kind enough to pay the Scenic City a visit today. Troy is a hardcore flyfisherman. He had to cancel out on an April trip for spots, but I told him I felt sure we could have some fun with summertime gar. Yes... I said gar.
Troy is not a "purist." He's like me and just like to feel life on the end of his line. He ties up his own special gar flies and after we messed with the morning white bass bite... it was time for the Great Gar Hunt.
What fun!
Troy is flyfishing machine and had the perfect fly and presentation for the prehistoric beasties. He caught lots of small ones but pegged a couple of monster gar. On a flyrod, they put up a serious fight. It was a blast.
Of course after we played with gar most of the morning, I made him catfish with me a while. We only caught one fish ... fortunately it was the one that counted!
Woohoo!
The Big Blue Tank just about yanked Troy out of the boat on the first run. It was a wonderful battle, and throughout most of it, I think Troy was in shock.
He said," When I thought of 'catfishing' all I knew about was when I was kid sitting on the bank catching little cats with my Dad. I've never seen a fish this big in my life... anywhere!"
And it was one the end of his line. The bruiser was 41 inches long and weighed 35 pounds.
After watching white [censored] bust top all morning, doing battle with a dozen or more gar on a flyrod, and catching his personal best fish of his life... I suspect Troy will have kind words for the Scenic City fishery. Which of course means life is good and gettin' better every day!
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#840161 - 07/27/08 01:24 PM
Re: Basso's Big Blue and Gar on the Fly
[Re: rsimms]
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easy45
18 Point
Registered: 11/06/07
Posts: 24118
Loc: Medon
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I personally like fishing for gar, grennal and other so called trash fish
_________________________
Work to live, Live to hunt
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#840201 - 07/27/08 01:49 PM
Re: Basso's Big Blue and Gar on the Fly
[Re: gil1]
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Kirk
14 Point
Registered: 08/07/01
Posts: 8773
Loc: Cleveland, TN USA
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The cat is huge but I am more impressed with the big gar. Good job
with the fly rod.
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#840393 - 07/27/08 04:46 PM
Re: Basso's Big Blue and Gar on the Fly
[Re: mike243]
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Fordman
12 Point
Registered: 08/06/00
Posts: 5731
Loc: Rockvale,tn
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Well I only have two words for anyone, including fly fishers, who have thought about using RIchards Guide Service.... BOOK NOW!!
Today was utter chaos in a wonderfully twisted way. I have not ever seen such a long or intense topwater bite like we saw this morning... to bad they were the pickiest bunch of Bass I have ever Encountered. After that the catfish guru put me within casting distance to what seemd like thousands of schooling gar. I think he set me up because after I was tired from fighting the gar was when he said " Now your gonna catch a catfish, like it or not"
You know I have caught a lot of catfish over the years and was pretty happy with their sizes. Holy shite when that fish about jerked me out of the boat Richard says " thats about a 15 pounder.... then after we got a look at it he recalculated and said " I under estimated". Thats the biggest catfish I have ever personally laid my eyes on, let alone caught. The strike was what amazed me it was well... like a freight train.
Today was no doubt my best day on the water in years. I am a die hard fly fisherman but that catfish was awesome. Richard you are the man.
Gil we didnt get into and accidents nor did anyone drown. Of course my gar flies dont have hooks on them so that helped.
Edited by Troy Basso (07/27/08 08:32 PM)
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#841034 - 07/28/08 05:15 AM
Re: Basso's Big Blue and Gar on the Fly
[Re: Crosshairy]
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rsimms
10 Point
Registered: 09/08/02
Posts: 2521
Loc: Chattanooga, TN
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What type of leader do you use for catching gar?
Troy should answer... he's "the pro." But I know he's on the water today. He uses no special leader at all... plain mono. The gar flies he ties are 3-4 inches long. Typically gar's teeth get entangled in fly material and never touch the leader. He fished a long time yesterday... We didn't count but I'm guessing he caught at least a dozen gar, maybe more, and only got broken off once.
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