Skinning and Cooking Long Nose Gar Fish *GRAPHIC*

[@gregwestfall6585]

I had the honor of meeting this man briefly today......i stepped out at work to grab a smoke and when i was done......lo and behold......he comes walking out of the store next to mine......i ask if he is John and he smiles and says yes and approaches me.....when i say jnull he smiles and extends his hand......we spoke very briefly and he climbed into the black beast.....(thats what i call his truck....lol) and left.......my impression was he is a nice and humble as he appears in the videos......my pleasure to speak with you today jnull......next time your in town pop in and say hello again

[@JTrahanUSA]

John, being a Cajun, I was raised on Alligator Gar. You are right, the white loin meat is very good. You are also right about getting it off the bone (cartiladge). My grandmother said never to freeze the meat on the bone, that it would ruin the meat. I have tasted long nose (needle nose) gar and, in my opinion, Alligator gar is much better tasting, but fried up fresh, long nose was good. If you ever get to try fresh alligator gar, you will be able to tell the difference. I was eleven years old when I first hooked an alligator gar. It took my dad, grandfather and two of my uncles to pull that 7 footer in.

[@garyc8208]

Enjoyed video John. In Louisiana my Aunt would take that loin. Run it thru a grinder. Add Onions, bell pepper and other spices. Roll the mixture in cornmeal and bread crumbs. Then deep fry them. Called 'em Gar Balls. That was a very good way to use Garfish Loins.

[@JTrahanUSA]

Yes, it was. Gar Fish Balls were good eating. Garfish Sauce Piquante was good eating too!

[@ronhart8857]

I'm glad your going to have a knife sheath made out of it. Hopefully you could have a double sheath for two knife, ferro rod, with multi pliers! John you did a great job skinning and saving the meal for a good supper! Thanks for sharing

[@EnchantedAlana]

I believe this is the first vid of yours with a graphic warning that I've had the guts to actually watch. I'm impressed. You honoured that fish's life the entire time and I thank you. Betcha all the lil' minnows of that swamp jumped up and said something like 'you've saved us all!' when you guys pulled that BEAST out of the water. Wonder how the very first caveman figured out that gar were edible!!! Great little knife too!! Can't believe how sharp that blade still was after all that skinning when you were taking silverskin off that backstrap. Great skills to pass on, and a well done vid!!

[@angelabaril104]

Hey John if you have an air compressor you can put a slit in the gar skin and insert the air nozle and blow it up and the skin will seperate from the fish. This is how you can skin a gator quicker it should work on a gar. Just a thought. Florida Girl.

[@lisabooker6405]

I seen the sheath Mr. Ricky made ya and it's AWESOME! Absolutely beautiful. I'm further North in Ohio (Centerville) but I would LOVE to come fish with you guys one day! Thanks for sharing. God Bless y'all always! ~Lisa

[@paulandr]

I'm sorry Lisa, but you can't fish with us

[@camerond5623]

Love learning this stuff. Thank you for taking the time to make these videos

[@tallcedars2310]

Wow, that was very interesting. We in northwestern Canada don't have these and have not seen one let alone one being skinned, they really do look prehistoric. The skin thickness was amazing, glad you are using that tough old skin for a knife sheath, I believe it will be quite beautiful. Thanks for posting, I will remember this one with that ancient fish!

[@stacydurham5100]

hello mr. John we called them needle nosed gars..grand dad. chopped them up with a hatchet..then cut the meat out...I've skinned a few. I used garden shears and tin snips....I personally thought they were a good eating fish...but. they are battle hardened tough...grand dad was a salt water bath and deep fry in lard guy..but man it was good...good day..mr..

[@richardhutchings921]

"KNIFE ABUSE". It's a good thing that is a Wallace Knife.

[@heprovides5604]

Thanks. I've always heard Gar was to much work. Glad you proved it's worth the effort. Godspeed.

[@FiresideCoffee]

That would make an awesome mount too! Congrats and thanks for the video. Bless you and your family.

[@i8topees]

,..skin came off real nice! I hope I'm be able to see how that skin turns out. thanks!

[@Daoldman54]

You make great videos. Great explanations and you're right that skin will make a wicked sheath. Hopefully Ricky will show it on his video when he does it

[@RonHicks]

John couldn't you do something with those jaws like dry them out some sort of way and use them for a Fred Flintstone kindling rack for your indoor wood stove😀.

[@stonewallpi1]

Hey Friend... Great job of dissecting that Gar! The skin on that Gar was like an alligator skin damn near! :) The loins looked tasty once cooked. Great video and I'd love to see the final product of the knife sheath using the Gar skin!

[@hybridchaser1943]

Awesome video!! Thanks for sharing, learned from it. I too can't wait to see the sheath.

[@jamieshelton2892]

You never cease to amaze me! Love the video, and now I know why my daddy said we had to throw that gar back, that I caught when I was about 9! They're a lot of work to clean, compared to all those crappie!

[@bswins9648]

Thanks John! For a future Q&A, would you consider compiling some tips you've learned regarding parts of fish and animals that you know are poisonous and/or not desired by you (like the dark gar meat). I realize many of your subs have a lot of info on that subject, but I'm not one of them. Thanks again, and I appreciate your consideration. God bless!

[@savageoutcast7716]

Love all the vids on both channels bro. You did well at explaining everything about the gar, I grew up on the Ohio banks in Lewis county Kentucky I'm sure you know where that is. Still there today. Lol

[@jeanettewaverly2590]

That looks like something out of Jurassic Park!

[@anitaronquillo1410]

Another great video! 👍So educational. Stay blessed!☕🐬

[@kendallsmith6517]

I love your videos they're very educational to me

[@matthewsullivan3581]

Always wondered about gar. Maybe I’ll take the next one home. Cleaning that thing didn’t look fun at all though. That skin was like armor or something. Very cool. Thx for the video.

[@kevinchaney5595]

Nice video John. Love the ways we can "live off the land." New subscriber!

[@whatheworld]

Do you have footage of when you got the gar was snagged. That would have been cool to watch. Nice clip !!

[@lisafeingold1966]

Well done John! Thanks for sharing.

[@beaverrick9789]

That was great how you did that jon, never had Gar. But hey Id try it,

[@walrusfest]

Very nice! Thanks for the tip about the roe being poisonous

[@evanphil51981]

awesome video as always but i was wondering what do you do with the head of the fish? because it would be cool to have the skull cleaned and etc.

[@joey-san]

Amazing creature. No wonder it outlived dinosaurs, with tough armor and poisonous eggs. It's a nature's masterpiece.

[@jacorin]

would it make the skin more managable for cutting if you scaled it first??

[@KaleidoscopeJunkie]

That was one tough fish. (not as tough as you Ha - HA !!) I love your videos and Wallace knives. Thank you for referring him. Have you thought of Black Soldier Fly larvae to dispose of fish scraps? The larvae then become excellent protein food for your chickens.

[@Edge1775]

they use to line farm plows with those scales believe it or not

[@towerjokey]

Jnull0, Hey you have some new fencing are starting to open up the upper hill?

[@RasBuyaka]

PLEASE make a video of the whole sheath process!

[@GaiasPupil]

RasBuyaka Check the wallace link he put in description box. ;)

[@davishayes1733]

I know I'm late on this but wanted you to know a better way to clean gar. Nail head to board. Use catfish skinners to hold onto and pull up on rear dorsal fin. Use a machete to chop top cap off. Then cut back straps out. Never touch guts. The bigger the gar, the easier it is to clean. Hope this help for your next one. Here in Louisiana we catch all the time. Anywhere from 40 to 100 plus pounds. Trying to use tin snips takes way to long. Anyways, try it. Will make life a little more pleasant for you and gar cleaning. ..

[@GaiasPupil]

So far I've only got one on the bank via hook. Now I use a drop set up with braided line, they get tangled between the hook and the weight. If I don't mind snipping off a few inches of line then it works well.

[@MrGrendel65]

love the idea of a knife sheath

[@mikescooling]

Nice, that looked like a tough fish to cut. thumbs up

[@deaganachomarunacathasaigh4344]

Did you keep the head. I always keep the skulls and heads of bigger animals

[@bradgillis2405]

"Billy Gar" is what many call it here. good eating. Some do make patties out of it. I use to make fish oil out of the scraps and also coon and mink bait. The "fishier" dark meat makes good chowder too. They are tough for sure. Ive killed some with a .22. I never understood those who just killed them. Fun fish to hunt or fish for. I use to soak the "fillets" in salt water, the buttermilk sounds interesting.. great video..

[@ajsbd3815]

brad gillis how did a .22 even break their skin?!!

[@snookie65]

I had no idea the skin was so tough. Great video!

[@colin22hockey]

Great video! What is your favourite fish to eat ? Maybe make a video of cleaning and cooking it that way you like it!

[@brendengodfrey9564]

Another great video by you SIR

[@heathschwab]

Yeah I forgot I watched this one thought I commented. But KZbin has been acting up my comments deleting guess cause I talk to much. But I got a gar well my daughter got a 15 pound gar this morning well around 3am. But we cleaned me and Patrick cherry he gets all my gar and some catfish to help feed his family. Great guy. But I keep the hide for Wallace and he said watch this after he seen how we Patrick was cleaning his gar. But yeah I'll clean the hide today I have borax. But I'm mailing it to Wallace how long did you weight to mail it to him. But great video and yeah you cleaned faster than us but it's our first but I posted for Wallace this morning. I love sharing my fishing vidoes on here. Have a good week God bless

[@peggysueaustinmcdaniel2590]

first time viewer really enjoyed

[@steveharris2589]

Good video!!! I did not know you could eat them!!!))) 🐠🐟🐠👍🏼😊

[@essemsween818]

This might be a mad question but what is that skin made of? Even cutting the 'underbelly' it sounded like you were cutting metal, they aren't normal fish scales are they? And, in the normal course of fishing (for food) is the meat worth the work involved in catching and processing the Garfish? or would you normally release it back? Thank You. ps isn't the acid in the B'milk to take out the fishy taste & smell? anything acidic will eventually 'cook' whatever's soaked in it, so that's more than likely the firming up. Like Ceviche.

[@colemanherefords7321]

The gar fish is a invasive fish like carp in Missouri and most states people bow fish them no limit and just throw the carcasses ie. dead fish back in the water or on the bank for fish,turtles other animals like raccoon to eat. But I and a few others in the us eat them . It's best and quickest to use a reciprocating cordless tool cuts them in say 1 minute use a small hook ie. Hayhook old small size meat hook and holding the head pull down the sides quickly then cut out loin then rinse, rinse, rinse getting oils and nasty tasting juices off meat until water doesn't foam and meat is textured feeling and not slimmy as fish is .cook hot and eat immediately tastes exactly like alligator so you can dip it in say Chipotle or other sauce . Or just light cornmeal type fried fish coating. Cold it's nasty .so eat immediately.

[@SAMPATHMSAMPATH]

Enjoyed from India, nice to watch

[@o61000]

October will make one year of myself raising rabbits how do they deal with the heat I have California whites and New Zealand I keep them in a well-ventilated shed with a box window fan was wondering if I should not breed them during July and August

[@scotty1553]

Thanks For the Video John! Enjoyed!

[@dananelson3534]

Is that fish related to gator? Enjoyed the video John, thanks for the warning about the roe. Looks tasty.

[@Cfdonald]

My dad & granddad always told me the best way to cook one was to split it open stuff it with dog crap Bake it then throw the fish away and eat the crap, lol. May have to try one now, we have the big alligator ones here in Mississippi

[@JoeyP322]

I'm assuming not many things mess with this fish ! Thanks for the video !

[@Gayle.M]

It sounded like you were cutting through tin when you were cutting the skin off.

[@mikeellis8339]

mr john,what is the name of your fishing channel.also names of any other channels that you might have.

[@samsmith7150]

Cool video John!

[@grandmapatty1493]

Did it taste anything like the copperhead?

[@Buckrun11]

That skin will be really cool!

[@jahyeet1137]

It would be very awesome if you made a gar head mount

[@ChickaWoofRanch]

I'm thinking your knife is gonna need sharpened after that! Nice demo! Would have never thought they were edible.

[@albertmoreno6827]

love your videos one day can u make a video of fishing agian

[@cyndiburkhart3619]

I used to have the local fisher people that would come to the river behind my house give me the Gar if they caught them. A single cut down the belly, then flesh out. I ground the meat and made jerky sticks...... My Korean and Vietnamese friends loved them. The wild critters along the river loved the left overs. The skin can be made into armor plates for SCA (Rennaisance people) gear. The ugly bits can go into the black soldier fly compost bins for chicken food. Waste not....

[@jeffryrichardson9105]

Wow very cool!

[@shaymacjones5110]

Now i have to look up what a knife sheaf is.I hear it said this way, but tell me what [ or write] what it is.

[@okokletsthrive]

I would love to have one of those nice job !!

[@stacydurham5100]

granddad chopped them up with a hatchet. then cut the skin off..flowered fried dam fine eaten

[@gailreese4699]

They make good fish patties. I use stove top stuffing And eggs. LOL Gail

[@tennprovisioner2218]

you can go one step more and soak for 10 minutes in salt water rinse and then do as you did to fix them. This pulls out more of the oil and heavy fish taste. Kind of like a salt water blue fish.

[@vickiemears1363]

thanks for the info.

[@luisrangel5124]

hey where abouts do u live? in in Round Rock tx. is there anyway possible I could do a catch and cook with you???

[@jnull0]

I live in Southern Ohio..................J

[@GaiasPupil]

Luis Rangel512 I live in sugar land texas and am always gar fishing

[@Blakehx]

Nice work! Don't know how well it'll work but next time you might starting with a guthook! Looking forward to seeing that knife sheath!

[@81chowder]

Hello, I wanted to tell you, I suffer from psoriatic arthritis. I found something that helped it's called Stelara it really helped my skin. Please try it, it's amazing. I feel for you. Great Videos!

[@mitym64]

is that a breed of pike? up here in canada we have garr pike

[@JMAAD]

no sir not the same..........

[@janmorse2162]

Longnose gar, aka "gar pike" are found in parts of southern Canada. They are in both Ontario and Quebec. That is the exact fish John has in the video. We also have them here across the pond in Michigan.

[@WAXX47]

Great video

[@lemoncrinckles]

Looked like a lot of work, John, but you got a good sized meal out of it! (:

[@icestatesmc]

I've gone thru all this one time with alligator gar down here in florida. It took me forever to skin and filet and when I cooked it the taste was horrible. lol. maybe I didn't soak it in milk long enough but it was nasty but had to try it once. I can't wait to see what Ricky does with the hide.

[@tomhuest1300]

Awesome video I like that that was really cool

[@jeannemiller306]

looks like it will make a good meal

[@charlessanders8491]

thank you for time i enjoyed it reminded me of my chilhood

[@jeffnordengren3797]

I wonder if tin snips would work on this?

[@essemsween818]

Jeff Nordengren He says Jeff at 02:00 that "...alot of guys will take tin snips and cut down the back of the Gar...", so Yes they must work.

[@ty-oz5me]

how are the pheasants

[@drw5252]

Awesome

[@chafschneider7904]

Awesome and good eating do deep fried

[@danfraser7479]

How will you treat the skin so it is usable leather for a sheath. I have 2 tools that Ricky made for me. A hatchet and a spoke shave. His work is very good. I am a man of the Maine north woods and have never seen a gar prepared before. May God prosper you in all you do.

[@sharond370]

This was a really cool vidio enjoy!!

[@wallaceknifeworkshomestead]

AWESOME!

[@usakiwi5222]

That was truly interesting! MAYBE one day I will learn not to eat lunch and watch these type of videos...Biscuits and Gravy just didn't go down that well John - It's not like you didn't give any warning - HAHA! Can't to see what Wallace Knives does with the skin!

[@Dutch1722]

I want to see the gar sheath video.

[@nevermore4971]

Look at them snappers Ralph.

[@dumpsterd7148]

john I believe in past vids that you don't care for channel cats or any strong tasting fishy fish try cutting the fish into chunks about the size you did the gar place in large bowl or bucket and run cold water over them allowing the water to continuously over flow and squeeze or kneed the chunk fish the water becomes cloudy or foggy looking continue until those pieces start running the water clear this removes the real fishy oils and muddy tastes some fish have and works really well on larger cat fish which in my opinion have strong muddy fishy taste try it out

[@jnull0]

OK dumpster d, I will give it another shot and see if it works for me. Thanks for the advice................J

[@jrobertanselment9048]

Just like Grandpa a few years back,.... He never tossed them back.... either big enough for the trouble or they got the axe!

[@janpenland3686]

How do you dispose of the eggs?

[@jnull0]

I put them in a small bag, then put them in the garbage..................J

[@momdoan]

wow look at that skin!

[@cillaloves2fish688]

That is one tuff fish! Looked lile it tasted good tho!

[@KelliepbAclecticChannel]

yummmmmm I love carp just some people don't know or remember to take the mud streak out of the bak fillet! 💕 😇 ☮ Kellie p-b 💕

[@jonathancowen8003]

Kellie p-b_FAM hi

[@sneak6654]

If you get a really big Garr make some boots out of it.

[@markbrooks5278]

Man thats a tough job, dont throw that other meat away , it makes good bait to put on jug lines for catfish..thanks for the video