Where to catch big alligator gar?

They look like a hoot.


I have a dream of driving somewhere one winter and catching some different fish, and big gar are definitely on that list.

Where would one go to catch some giants?

Watching deermeatfordinner, aintcha?

In for answers, also on my to do list!

Texas or Louisiana

The Trynity River goes through Dallas / Ft Worth and then runs southeast. It is known for having the biggest gar anywhere and there are several outfitters who specialize in puttying you onto the "large lads"

If you do get to that part of Texas, the coast is not much farther. I like catching big redfish and the sea trout eat really well

I've never eaten redfish, but have had sea trout many times. When my father in law was alive we fished sea trout in the gulf. He lived in Fort Myers, FL. Sea trout or grouper are some of the finest eating fish there is.

There are some pretty big ones in Louisiana. I have about a 12 lb alligator gar roast defrosting in my refrigerator right now. Catching them is fun, but eating them is even better. Excellent.

How do you cook a big alligator gar roast like that?

Keith

on a Railroad cross tie.

The roe may not be healthy to eat.

To be honest, I am not even sure what that is.


But I am curious now lol

Sounds fun. I'll check it out


A fella keeps bugging me to come hunt gators with him in crystal river, fla.

Sharks and stuff to catch there too after gator hunting.


That area sounds cool too.

I'm headed to South Texas in March to fish with a guy who is trying to catch the state record. Should be fun.

Just googled.

Thats 280 lbs


holy crap.

I fished with him 2 years ago. The guy is a fishing maniac!! He has landed several 200+ pounders. Going for 300! The bonus is the catfish that we catch!

The White River and it's endless oxbow lakes have some big ones. Texas though would be your best bet.

I'm guessing something big and bloody for bait?

I wouldnt pass up some of those catfish you guys have!

My buddy caught what would have been the Provincial record channel cat at the time years ago. 30 lbs.


Puts our little bullhead to shame anyway

BIG, not necessarily bloody. Big, live bait when we can catch it. Lots of work with a throw net getting enough bait.

Live bait eh. I took them for more of a dead bait predator, but with all those teeth that makes sense.

I think they use to sight fish for them using frayed rope. No hook.

I cut it into manageable size and freeze the rest. I’d cut this one in half and trim off red/dark meat.

I cut off slabs of meat like the size of half of a biscuit or chicken strips. I season both sides well, wash it in egg, roll it in seasoned flour, and then fry it in oil. Comes out great. It’s a beautiful, delicious meat. It is nothing at all like typical, flaky freshwater fish. It has a firm texture and a bright color like a tender chicken breast and a flavor somewhat similar to chicken breast or tender alligator. Probably my favorite fried freshwater fish.


I also cook it in a gravy like a courtbouillon or etouffee type dish.


Gar patties are also good. Scrape the flesh off of the membrane layers and season well. Mix 50/50 or 60/40 with seasoned, chopped potatoes or hash browns and green onions. Egg wash, seasoned flour, fry. These are the ways I cook them. I know some people also grill them.

It’s important to dry freeze alligator gar meat. Vacuum seal, freezer paper, or multiple wraps with cling wrap. No water.. If you need to rinse the meat, do so then immediately pat it dry.


I’ve always been told that alligator gar fish gets “cottony” if it’s wet, and I believe it. It is not sold on ice without being wrapped in some sort of barrier like plastic.


I have not tried choupique (bowfin, grinnel) yet, but I would think it’s meat would be delicious and need to be handled the same way—-no water.

Well now i want to try it.

Those fish are really old eh,? As in, do they grow fast or slow?

Old slow growing fish have potential for bioaccumulation of toxins. 10000 small fish with 1ppm of toxin adds up.


I wonder if thats a potential problem with gar?

The people I know that fish them commercially and catch lots of them use dead 10-12” catfish with clipped fins or mullet for bait. STRONG hooks and a wire leader. They rig them so that the hook is at the tip of the Bait’s mouth, usually by threading a wire leader through part of the bait near the tail. The commercial fishermen run jugs for them, but many people use rod and reel.


If I told you how many large alligator garfish are in Louisiana coastal marshes, you probably wouldn’t believe me. They will pile up at feeding locations like behind water structures or culverts and stay there rolling and feeding. At times it looks like you’re watching someone feed fish in a pond. I reckon the records come from places people aren’t commercially fishing them, but there are plenty of giants caught on the coast. It’s not that uncommon to see a boat with 5, 10, 15 garfish that are all 5-6 feet long.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLFdDYG79lc

This was going to be my answer as well. I've seen a lot about it on various fishing shows.

Thanks. They sound really good to eat.

Keith

This was a 17 lb roast. Notice the red/dark that will be trimmed.

Alligator gar Slabs of meat. Look at how pretty that meat is.


Alligator gar seasoned and fried without breading.


Alligator gar seasoned, egg washed, rolled in seasoned flour and fried. Notice the bright white flesh.



Mmmm

Talk to sheepdog 1 on traoperman. He lives in Livingston, Tx. There are some really big gar in the trinity river below lake Livingston dam.

The Trinity River in Texas is said to have some of the largest Alligator gar in the country

There is a guy that collects arrowheads named Steve (can’t remember his last name) that is a guide for monster gar on the Trinity River. He can be found on the forum Arrowheads.com under the name garguy.

Hes not on Tman eh?

We’ve eaten gar before. It’s not bad and would do for survival, but I’m not going to catch some just for a fish fry, lol.
Gonna sound crazy but we would use a huge swivel and then tie on nylon rope and fray it out. Better have plenty made up cause after a catch you’re really not wanting to take the time to get it out of their teeth, lol. Tried hooking them, but the old adage of work smarter not harder came into play.

No

That's how folks fished for regular gar here 40 years ago.
Piece of clothesline with last few inches of vinyl peeled off and frayed up.
Spinner in front.
Teeth tangled

The reason they rig baits they way that I described is because they’re not hooking them in the mouth—-the garfish is scaling/swallowing the bait and bait. They’re doing it to keep them. The wire leader prevents fraying.

I have shot tons of them on the Trinity as I live within ten miles of it. From just below the lock and dam in Crockett to the Trinity bay you can catch em from 10-200 pounds some a little heavier are possible. You can no longer keep the Alligator Gar in the Trinity from Lake Livingston to below Liberty. They are a fighting rascal. My largest was 195 pounds and she should have weighed over 200. She was 7'11" long. I have no idea anymore how many over 120 pounds my best friend and I took bowfishing. I only bowfished for them so I dont know much about rod and reel other than be ready for a fight.

The Brazos also has some giant gator gar. Like Aix Sponsa said. If you could see them in the current when they are spawning and you have good current, It is amazing to see.

Looks a lot like sturgeon.
Smoked sturgeon is fantastic food.

Have you tried that gar smoked?
Is gar a cartilaginous (no bones)fish like sturgeon?

I imagine if you know where they are and can find them, that's half the battle of rod and reel.

this time of the year the big adults head south to Trinity Bay. Come late April we start seeing them above the 146 bridge in Liberty. The deep holes in June - August is where the truly big ones hang out. as the sun rises in the hot summer, you can see those big ones about 18 inches to 30 inches deep,

for whatever reason, they dont do much at night in this river. only shot one over 100 pounds after dark. and I have spent a many a day and night shooting and skinning these jokers.

Hutchy and Sheepdog should trade fishing trips.

Caught a lot with red yarn tied to a hook out of Red River when I was a kid.

I watched three old black men wear them out on nothing but red and yellow yarn type rope, no hooks at all. that was about 1982 in May and the river was up pretty high. It was hot as hec too, i do remember that part. my bud and I shot the state record needlenose that day. He ended up breaking that record of 39 pounds with one that he has life size mounted, I think it weighed 92 pounds and was certified as a needlenose, its not a true needlenose gar. Its a hybrid of some sort. none the less he still holds that record as far as I know. back then, 88 pound braid is all we could find to spool the Zebco 808 and 888. got broke off many times. now with that new stuff that is 200 and 400 pound line, you probably wont lose many if you just let the darn thing wear down.

I'm game

Choke Canyon produces some big ones as well.

When I was in Pascagoula at the Northrop Grumman shipyard the big gar would circle under the waterline security lights at night. Some of those fish were enormous. The water was brackish so you would see freshwater and saltwater fish in the same area. Biggest I saw was probably 10’ long and big around as a bushel basket.

I have never bow fished Choke Canyon but have some good friends that bass fish it a good bit. They see them in the spring and early summer, hec, thats when they are there. I knew some guys that we shot a lot of tournaments withyears back. they primarily bow fished the Brazos and they shot some really nice gator gar. I havent heard from them in many years.
Hutchy, I cant bowfish anymore due to all these darn spine surgeries. I sure know some folks that know the same info that I know and they are darn good folks. The Gar Guy I know of but I have never been around him. seen his videos.. If I was still after these big gar you would be more than welcome to come on down when the time is right. I certainly hope you can hook up with a good guide and catch several over 150 pounds. Hec, if you want to know about certain guides, most of these cats are darn good at catching gar and know where to find them. especially the ones that are on the fishing shows. Just be very sure that if you want to keep the meat or get one mounted, dont come to Lake Livingston or the Trinity River from the Lake Livingston Dam down to the 146/Hwy 90 river bridge. The state will not allow you to keep them in this zone. they have made it a real pain in the butt,

Thanks for the info! Sorry about the back..


I hear summer is prime time, but I only have time off in winter. Are they still catchable in the winter?

I have no idea, only messed with em from mid April to mid September. I would call some of the guides that actually advertise. I cant see them being to active in the cold months.

I recall seeing a Utube video of someone who smoked gar.

Boco I have not had smoked gar yet. I would think it’s delicious though. Smoked meats are a big part of the way we eat here.



You mentioned the meat looking like sturgeon. I believe it. I would think that most of those ancient freshwater species would be similar—-alligator gar, sturgeon, choupique, and paddlefish. I would treat them all the same...

Out of curiosity, how is sturgeon frozen? Is it frozen with or without water?

That clears things up

Downtown Houston in the flood control channels and https://buffalobayou.org/ It's an overlooked area.

they are a bony fish, not an Osteichthyes like shark or paddlefish or shark. I have smoked them in the fall or early winter when smoking sausage. we would cut the backstrap off of these big gar and blot them dry, then vacuum seal them until we were smoking sausage and a couple of hams. One thing I would suggest is to put the fish under the sausage to allow it to catch the drippings from the sausage. I have also smoked them on a pit old style with mesquite and pecan. very fine table fare. The slab of meat that Mr Aix Sponsa showed is one backstrap section of a gar. there is nothing else to retrieve on them. dont do like my brother in law and feed the row to your laying hens. It will kill every one of them in short order. he learned the hard way, i wish he had eaten them himself and left the laying hens alone. they are or were way more than his sorry a..!

Hutchy- you better swing your figure 8 pretty wide at boat side

I like sturgeon deep fried also-so I have frozen it right after cleaning and cutting up into big chunks.
It freezes well like any other fish.We smoke sturgeon outside over a fire on racks made of willow and close off the sides with old plywood or brush etc.We smoke with the skin on and whole(split down the back) right when they are caught fresh.If it is a big one we slice each side in half lengthwise so the sides are no more than a couple inches thick on each side.
When I freeze fillets or meal sized chunks of sturgeon,I lay it on a baking sheet in the freezer.When it is frozen,I take it out and dip in cold water(or spray water from a spray bottle) and back in the freezer on the sheet.I repeat this about 4 or 5 times until each fillet is coated with about an eighth inch of ice,then I bag them.They keep good with no freezerburn,and you can take out as many or as few as you need for a meal.

he wont need to do that fella. that big gar will be pulling his back out by the point he gets it next to the boat. this isnt sissy fishing. you know dang well that big mother is on there in short order after setting the hook. that musky technique wont be needed. Just a good catch pole and a savvy guide to get that mother in the boat. then steer clear of that tail and head.

I thought you got in the water and noodled them.