Should have kept quiet... could have been my fish

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catman529

catman529

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Franklin TN
On the way back from work early yesterday afternoon I found a hole in the harpeth river loaded with gar.... but one or two caught my eye as they were bigger than usual (for the harpeth)

Made a big mistake of calling a fishing buddy and telling him... we decided to meet up... I caught some bait with a cast net, and even got dibs on first cast. Shared bait with my buddy and instructed him on how to fish for gar since they usually take a long time to swallow the bait.

Well my little bitty bream I had one the hook didn't cast very accurately and I lost my first chance at the big one as he dipped out of sight... then of course my friend has to get his bait in the big one's jaws, he just happened to see the fish sitting in deeper water and got his bait in the right place. I basically did everything to help him catch my fish... well at least one of us caught it! it was a 47" longnose weighing 9 lbs 7 oz. My biggest gar is a meager 5-6. They don't hit 4 feet often in this part of the river. His was 1 inch shy... so of course I have to be the first to break the 4 ft mark. but that fish could have been mine, if I had kept quiet.
 
yeah imma hit up a few places without him including old hickory and other larger bodies of water and put a beating on the big fish and tell him about it and show pics of them :D
 
Respect the Gar! They have their place as much as bass or crappie, and have probably been here a lot longer. If they're a nuisance to you then shoot them with a bow, but I won't ever shoot one. When they get bigger they put up a good fight and are more aggressive than bass, and can become just as finicky.

When I catch a 6 lb bass or 3 lb crappie I will post that here too... and will be just as excited as when I catch a 4+ foot gar....
 
Get some straight shanked #5/0 hooks. Take three inches of nylon rope and shred into long, thin strands. Take some of it and glue and tightly wrap it around the top of the hook shank just below the eye. Use no weight, you want it to slightly float. Cast it ahead of the gar and let it settle. They just "smack" at it, don't usually take it but their teeth get caught in the rope and you can land most of them. Anything over 10# is perfect for smoking.
 
I haven't had luck with rope lures yet and don't try them often. I've had one get tangled in one and then get off. Don't know why it hasn't worked for me. Need to try some more. I haven't tried weightless yet.
 
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Weightless is they key. You have to be able to keep the lure in front of them to tease them. You can also catch them quite readily with English peas and a board. but you have to chum.
 

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