GASSBAG Message Board

November on the Coosa

Cpt Kirk The Gar Hunter — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:21:05 GMT

One more brief November day on the Coosa River in N Alabama near Glencoe...Fishing with my son Brian and Gar Getter Terry Smith the inventor of the Gar Getter lure..

We had had success in Nov 03 with 3 longnose over 20 lbs in a 12 hr span so there were positive vibes for this outing..

Cold front day, gusty winds, bluebird sky and bright sun..We fished hard for about 6 hrs..lotta casts.

Terry Struck first with a 16 lb er.. then the bites were gentle and sporadic but we ended the day with about 11 fish.. averaging around 12 lbs....

Terry landed the largest nose weve seen in a long time a 59.66 in 28 lb Garzilla

Pics are at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/garhunterkirk

Wish we were back there today.As the water temp cools, these fish gorge to hold them over their winter inactivity..Just another small drop in water temp will most likely make them winter dormant as usual...

Think we'll be returning again for some fall gar?????

Forum: Gar Fishing

NC Black River Bowfin in November

Kent Brewer — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 19:05:02 GMT

November 7, 2009. Fished for six hours today with a fishing friend on the Black River and landed 15 Bowfin up to 7 pounds each. Key today was to use a very heavily weighted 1 oz large spinner to slowly pull next to the bottom in 10 foot of water. Even with the colder air and water temperatures the bowfin remain active and pull strongly. We had a fun time and also landed 5 Largemouth Bass.

Left early so we could scout out two additional potential Bowfin Hideouts and the last one proved to be jam packed with the "black fish" but they refused to bite. Never seen so much surface activity from the Bows in my life. I will try and unlock the keys to great catches in this newly found spot. Did land one here about 5 pounds but boy I am telling you this spot is STACKED TO THE RAFTERS IN FINS!!. Only got to angle here for one hour before darkness settled in on us......until next time ......

Forum: Bowfin Fishing

leaders????

Brian Shea — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:20:49 GMT

What type of leader should I be using for fishing bait? I will using 20# power pro but I would guess a leader would to be heavy mono or flouro to avoid bite offs. Right?

Forum: Bowfin Fishing

recent catch

haze — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 22:45:47 GMT

New personal best. It was just under 4'. It was the only one caught all day. Might have been a little too cool for them. None were surfacing. I had 3 runs but lost 2 during the fight. I am happy I was able to land this one.

Forum: Gar Fishing

longnose gar

isaiah — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:56:27 GMT

Hey i im an ohio river fishermen and the last couple times i went fishing at the dam i've seen gar i was just wondering how to catch them w/o useing the hookless lure so what can i use would cut shad work????

Forum: Gar Fishing

60 Bowfin Fall Day!!

Kent Brewer — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 17:46:20 GMT

"A Day of Bowfin Fishing Adventure To Remember"

Traveled up the Lumber River today with Robert McKinnon and enjoyed a fun-filled outing. To access a particular area we actually had to get out of the 17 foot river craft and pull it over a short log filled shallow stretch. Upon entering I announced to my guest he had now entered "Blackfish Paradise". With the cooler fall temperatures (for it was October 24) I was a bit concerned about the "bite". These thoughts vanished quickly when we began casting the plastic worms into the waters deeper depths. Back-to-back casts were repeatedly attacked and doubles com mom. Four strikes on four casts at one point. We must have angled in this one area for 6 hours---but it seemed so short for the action was very constant with hardly a 5 minute span without a Bowfin landed. We actually worked up a big appetite and had lunch on the bank---fighting and landing 60 of these prehistoric battlers will do this to a couple of guys.

Many were 5 to 7 lbs with and average of 3 to 4 pounds each. All were returned to fight another day. My guest caught the largest that we weighed on a set of accurate scales at 9 lbs. 2 oz.(he measured over 30" long). Dozens were lost. Best lures were mid-sized plastic worms and the "Blackfish Specials"-----an Amazonian strength large In-Line Spinner which sports a #4 or #5 Colorado Blade, heavy duty shaft and Heavy Skirt with a 4x Treble Hook--it's an efficient beast with great hook-up ratio with no downtime in replacing destroyed terminal tackle or lures. My brother custom builds these.

A dozen Largemouth Bass was also landed with the largest 4 lbs. 4 oz. Floating Rapalas, plastic worms and buzzbaits accounted for the majority of the strikes on this most popular gamefish. The weather was mild and perfect with a light south wind.

We mostly use light spinning tackle with 10 lb. test line for the great sporting effect. Mr. McKinnon commented he had never caught so many big fish and had so much fun in his fishing life. Sizzling runs and screaming drags were our music on this fantastic day!

If interested in a guided trip just email or post or call 910-258-3378 (cell)---remember--No Bowfin No Pay---thanks.

Forum: Bowfin Fishing

'Gator Gar Stocking in Missouri

garman — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 23:42:22 GMT

Brief but interesting video about reintroducing 'gator gar in Mingo FWA in S.E. Missouri:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hqrdqwd6e8

Forum: Gar Fishing

Graduation Gift

DavidG — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:32:14 GMT

I will be graduating from The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina later this year... havent asked for a car, or an apartment, or anything one would ordinarily get for graduation... I asked for a guided trip for Alligator Gar with Kirk Kirkland! Hoping it all works out... catching an alligator gar is on the ole Bucket List, and ide rather catch one sooner than later. Can not WAIT to get out of this school now!

Forum: Gar Fishing

Gar Fishing Spots

Mike — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 19:31:49 GMT

Trying to introduce a friend of mine to Gar fishing. I am looking for a place to catch large alligator gar. I am willing to travel all over Texas to find some. I heard the Trinity is good? Any spots around Houston Area?

Forum: Gar Fishing

Anybody Have A Clue........

MikeJ — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 22:14:12 GMT

Ok, twice this week been down to the river, and was much higher than normal. Lots of surfacing small to meduim longnoses. After several hours, only one small one on a shad. Rope lures drew nothing. Now, the river is down a bit, and will be cooler.....whaddaya think? baits on the bottom, or under a cork..for gators? Got a nice fresh drum for bait. just curious if anyone had two cents worth to throw in? Will let you know what happens.

Mike

Forum: Gar Fishing

Rope Lures

MikeJ — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 17:19:45 GMT

Hey guys.....a question. Where I fish are lots of longnose, so I made a few rope lures from some stuff I saw on Youtube. Went yesterday, but the water was very high and hardly any surfacing fish to spot.

First question (1) is that I assume these lures are mainly for sight casting?

Second (2) what is a good length?

Third (3) any helpful tips on making and using them...keep near the surface, or let fall?

THANKS, and as soon as this front blows through I'll give em another try.

Mike

Forum: Gar Fishing

Is there gator gar fishing in Mississippi?

Jonathan Miller — Thur, 08 Oct 2009 13:20:40 GMT

Just wondering weither or not gator gar angling is popular in that state. Is it just catch and release or is there a bag limit for the species? Also how's the paddlefish angling there?

Forum: Gar Fishing

Anyone done anything?

Dawson — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 21:01:10 GMT

Have any of you guys been catching anything here lately? Have you tried? My boat is dead, so I'm landlocked for now.

Forum: Gar Fishing

'Gator Gar Raising in Neuvo Leon, Mexico

garman — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 15:02:18 GMT

http://noticias.uanl.mx/interes/descripcion.php?id_not=280&lang=en

http://noticias.uanl.mx/interes/descripcion.php?id_not=279&lang=en

Forum: Gar Fishing

Gator Gar Stocking in Kentucky

Dawson — Thur, 24 Sep 2009 01:05:58 GMT

Check out this video I found on youtube. Nice to see some steps in the right direction.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfPVNS1ZZ78

Forum: Gar Fishing