How to Catch Gar - Fishing Tips

Kayak fishing for gar is so much fun! This is the way I rig up to catch the smaller gar species (spotted, longnose and shortnose) I ended catching one gar and hooked several that got away this day. Gar fishing in Texas for alligator gar is a lot bigger challenge, they are a bigger species that require heavier tackle. I love catching these gar from my kayak river fishing, its always so much fun! This is the gar fishing rig and fishing techniques I use most of the time in the fishing the area near me.
#gar #fishing #garfishing #fishingvideos #longnosegar #dinosaurfish #prehastoricfish
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[@AmeerTheFisherman]

18:44 the Fishbrain notification 😂

[@frankmitchell9654]

Make a cut behind the skull with a heavy blade knife, use sheet metal sheers to split the fish down the back, use a filet knife to cut the skin away, remove the backstrap, chunk batter and fry......same texture as gator tail and taste awesome.

[@ReelJedi]

Thanks! I'll try that next time!

[@alejandrozuniga4426]

Yes sir

[@redauerbach2753]

I heard you could chop in nuggets and fry. Is that way any good?

[@rivit7615]

This is the way.

[@justinbandy2610]

I prefer gar out of my cast-iron skillet. Seared up like chicken, little bit of caijun spice, light brush of bbq sauce with a pike of pasta and a cold one. I use a smaller treble hook with two barbs exposed. I can say my numbers of fish landed have increased.

[@broadriverwoodcraft217]

Excellent content my man. Really appreciate your clear and to the point explanations, lots of great info.

[@fishinwithjimgronaw6224]

Excellent info! We are going gar hunting in 2022 and this helps! Bravo!

[@welcometoredneck1407]

Caught my first gar today! Now I want to catch gar each time I go fishing! Thanks man!

[@sunfishassassin5963]

So I told you my sons and i caught our first 5 gar a couple months ago..I missed a couple and watched one of your earlier videos..and hooked up alot better..you make awesome videos

[@ReelJedi]

That's awesome! Thanks bro!

[@joebreaux4520]

Cleaning them was tough. I've used tin snips before, also used a hatchet to chop through armor into 8" sections. Then I used my filet knife to hollow out the meat. Meat is good, I have gar patties and ate like a hamburger. Mixed the meat with mashed taters and chives. Have also heard you can cube up the meat and boil like you would with lobster. Dip it into butter and old bay and I think you'd be set!

[@duckslayertv6079]

Thank you for this video I’m new to gar fishing and finally got the hooks for it and this is gonna help

[@sandiebennett5310]

I'm a catfisher thru and thru. But lately I've really been wanting to try gar fishing. Which I know nothing about. This vid is very helpful, definitely gonna try these tips.

[@thecluelessoutdoorsman916]

Found a school of em in the creek today! Wasn’t equipped for em because never seen gar that shallow! Will definitely be going back to get on em early tomorrow!

[@craigbuckles6812]

Great info I was having trouble getting a hook set. I had to use a small treble hook which is a pain in the ass. Thanks for the tips.

[@evanvr634]

i like your channel better because you explain things better, give more detail, and you tell us exactly what your doing, so we get a better understanding of how we should do it

[@ReelJedi]

Thank you

[@morrisoncody99]

You can cut diagonal through the scales from top to bottom, towards the front and back with a good filled knife, use strong metal sheers or scissors to cut a line down the top of the back, than use the fillet knife to scrape the inside of the skin to lay it down, than you can cut out big back straps

[@joeangiello9784]

You’re really good at this man. Good stuff!

[@TexasBassassinator]

I showed up at a Neches River park early one morning and was greeted by a blanket of green eyes when I turned on my headlamp. There were over 100 gar just at that dock! I decided to have some fun and threw out a 65 Whopper Plopper and caught at least 1 a minute for half an hour until the pack moved on. It was magical. Gar are my favorite fish. They are like cats that think they are dogs but are actually predatory cows. Thanks for the tips. Especially about HOW to hook the bait and why. I love learning better ways to target the fish I am after. Like, learning how to catch the bait the fish you actually want to catch will eat. It actually takes less time than trying to fool them… sometimes.

[@CoastalFeverTV]

Love catching gar, but never tried to clean or cook one. Maybe try a skill saw. LOL! BTW, I gave you a shout out in the video I'm dropping on Monday.

[@ReelJedi]

They taste pretty good, big white chunks of meat, there has to be an easier way tho lol. Awesome bro thanks!

[@CoastalFeverTV]

@@ReelJedi That's what I've heard. Next one I catch I'll give it a shot and see if I can find an easier way to clean em'.

[@Mr_Clean]

@@CoastalFeverTV All you need is a pair of tin snips

[@CoastalFeverTV]

@@Mr_Clean 😆

[@General_Junkie]

@@CoastalFeverTV there are a couple of real good channels on here now that do a cleaning and filleting of gar and I'm talking six plus footers too that easily weigh over a hundred pounds. Not trying to be racist or anything either but saying this but unfortunately you have to say things like this nowadays to clarify you're not an asshole but the best channels I've seen are done by Mexicans and a few other Hispanic/Latino or Latin American gentleman who do an amazing job filleting these prehistoric beasts. They get A LOT of meat from them as well. One thing I've noted as well is they say DO NOT EAT any of the eggs you find inside the gar!!! Apparently they are highly toxic and poisonous to humans so avoid them at all cost. Unfortunately I can't give any names of the channels but they aren't hard to find if you just put in cleaning gar fish. It's pretty neat. Most get the armor(skin) off in one piece. Amazing stuff. Good luck!! Tight lines and take it eeeeeeeeezzzzzzeeeeee!!!!!

[@DWDown]

Yeah man a catch & cook gar video would be good! Im not sure on how to clean em tho but Im sure you'll figure it out!

[@Gameplaycrental]

This is helpful because over the summer I’m going to try and catch a gar out of my local creek which is very rare

[@joshwall7584]

Just started catching gar. Enjoyed the video and tips. South ga

[@josephacker5716]

Yes a catch and cook would be cool

[@georgegibson4642]

Tin snips for cutting the skin around the head and down the back then fillet knife to cut the skin away from the meat then cut meat away from the bone...soke the meat for an hour in buttermilk then fry how you like and enjoy

[@JasonFulton-dn8zq]

Visiting Oklahoma and saw some. Didn’t know how to catch them, (only had artificials), now I have an idea. Thanks man..

[@shermrock345]

Gar is one of the best tasting fish. I cook it just like you would fry catfish. I use a rope lure when im targeting gar. They do get on my hook from time to time when im catfishing. But yea i prefer a rope. Its hooks up most the time once they get after it. I keep most of mine so i just leave the rope and just tie up another piece of rope.

[@ReelJedi]

Good tips! Thanks!

[@brianwhite2183]

You mean you put some live bait and then tie the rope to that or you just throwing a rope out there ?

[@zachfarts8904]

you should do another video on bass fishing with live bluegill

[@ksurfiws]

Anyone can catch big fish on live bait.

[@jaredaron5754]

pro trick: you can watch movies at Flixzone. Me and my gf have been using it for watching all kinds of movies these days.

[@lachlandamon6550]

@Jared Aron Yea, been watching on Flixzone for since november myself =)

[@ianjuelz2763]

@Jared Aron Yup, have been watching on Flixzone for months myself =)

[@TylerGoesFishing]

im still after my first gar nice video thank you

[@ReelJedi]

Let me know if u get it!

[@braydonwhite568]

I like to use steel liters with gar and usually a small treble hook but this was a great video I’m def gonna try a smaller hook

[@jamesshockley4311]

I use a pair of metal tin snips to cut shell/ skin Snip down back then snip down one side then use filet knife to get backstrap then repeat on other side Takes bout 5 min to do whole fish

[@cbradquillen]

I remember a video about cleaning gar that I saw years back - the guy used a heavy machete type of knife, obviously really sharp, and he started slicing just behind the dorsal fin (I guess it's called that, it's on the dorsal side of the fish, but way back near the tail). He started slicing away a strip along the top of the gar's body, using a chopping motion like you'd use with a hatchet to remove the strip. He carried this cut all along across the tip top of the gar's back up to his head. When he got the strip sliced all the way up to the gar's head, he switched to using tin shears, like you'd use to cut metal roofing with. He used those tin shears to cut downward toward the gar's belly - he made cuts downward across the full width of the gar's body at both the back of the gar (where the fins close to its tail are at) and at the front of the gar (just behind its gills). After he made those two cuts, he just fileted the skin out away from its body. This revealed two long round cuts of meat kind of like back straps on a deer. He just cut those things out of there. I don't know where I saw the video, but that's sure enough what he did.

[@cbradquillen]

Dude I could probably draw pictures if you wanted to try it. It looks to me like it'd be best done with a helper. He did it as a one-man job but you could tell he'd done it a lot.

[@eliedube]

I fish at night and I put my bait to the bottom no cork and I wait until they pick it up. I do the hook set on the second run. I use smaller octopus hooks than you do. Awesome video.

[@jonathanlapointe6262]

you can catch gar super effectively using no hooks, only a piece of frayed rope tied to your line. The strings get tangled in their teeth and they can't get off its amazing and really is more effective than hooks! Plus if your not eating them it's a lot less painfull for everyone involved, I got a treble hook through the hand yeaterday😖 to make the lure, grab yourself about 4-5 in of nylon rope, the white one with the very soft strands inside. Burn one end about 3/4" to keep from falling apart then pull the rest apart. Separate them as much as possible, a soft comb like a beard brush/ boar brush works great. Tie to your fishing line and when the gar hits it, it will tangle in it's teeth and can't get off. Use gloves to get your lure back or you'll have a bad day.

[@sunfishassassin5963]

Where you gar fish and where I do...completely different...but it worked this year.....great video

[@ReelJedi]

Thnks!

[@Tightt88]

I catch gar on 4inch jerk baits. I go at sunrise and usually catch 2-3 within and hour or two.

[@RayEveryday]

Good info and fish on thanks for sharing fam

[@ReelJedi]

Thanks!

[@user-jw2de3lv3p]

Best thing to clean gar is tin snips. I eat gar all the time and the best way to eat them is gar balls

[@matthewg8922]

Thanks for the detailed tips. How do you go about catching your bait? I set a trap out with dog food and sometimes bread to catch cichlids for bait. Usually within 10 minutes I have a few baitfish and I use them to fish and see the trap out to catch more. I have the perfect spot. I catch bait the same spot I catch gar.

[@ReelJedi]

Sounds like your in South Florida. The baitfish aren't plentiful in this area like that we have to put in work for the bait here

[@matthewg8922]

@@ReelJedi you hit the nail on the head. The African Jewel cichlids and Mayan cichlids are easy to catch but you do have to find the right spots.

[@FISHONBROS]

Great video bro! Fish On Bros

[@ReelJedi]

Thank you!

[@caydongriffis2985]

Hey man love your vids me and my dad fished at this place called Rutland farms near tifton and you live near that way because you put in at the same places as we do

[@ReelJedi]

Thanks! That's a good place to fish, I need to hit it again soon

[@caydongriffis2985]

ReelJedi yeah

[@nicolekeyes705]

Caught my first gar yesterday. Seen him and slung a dead mud minnow at him. Boom...smoked the bait. Was a lil nervous getting that toothy gar off and back lol.

[@fishingguy2442]

Me and my brother caught gar on floats and cut bait soon as we put it in the water they took it we fried are gars and thanks for the tips

[@tylorhowell5632]

Franchise some tshirts with "gotta hook in em!" Id buy it. Your video has taught me more than any other so far

[@aidengould6019]

1 good tip i use is when you see them come up to the top cast over them, they will take the bait and start to run with it then i wait to see once he swolled it then set the hook

[@ksurfiws]

Great Job on this one! Simple tips and tricks. I Liked it. You are definitely getting better What happened to the rest of that jar of Vaseline tho?

[@ReelJedi]

Thanks! The Vaseline? Uhhh, shhhhh 😂

[@ethanoneal7814]

Caught a 4.5 foot spotted gar the other day in my local creek, on a goldfish

[@DeathIsOhSoBitter]

what?1? thats nice, i helped out my dad catch a shortnose gar on shrimp and we got it on the bank, but when I used shirmp a spotted gar was on but broke me off before i could get a pic sadly

[@christophervela5447]

So much knowledge 👍 👍 👍 👍 👍

[@teamreeldealhighlandstx5075]

Awesome video..

[@fishingmaster99]

Here in vermont we have TONS of GAR!

[@deaganachomarunacathasaigh4344]

Lucky

[@Lemurai]

I’ve caught them on old pieces of rancid steak, idk if the beef blood made any difference in it attracting the fish however.

[@outdoorswithkaden1414]

Thanks man, so I shouldn’t use a wire leader? Was out last night and had a huge run. It took off with the bobber than stopped for a bit then took off across the lake, I figured it had it long enough then set the hook. Had something really heavy but no fish lol.

[@brianwhite2183]

That same thing happened to me today only it happened twice. They took it under the same log twice ! 😂

[@outdoorswithkaden1414]

@@brianwhite2183lmao probably a gar or a lil cstfish

[@tjplaystop1094]

I caught my first gar today it was about 4 feet long I caught it with a whopper plopper so do gar usually go for bass lures

[@brianwhite2183]

That's pretty rare in my experience. I have seen it happen but the gar were unusually aggressive that day so I think something was going on with them. Maybe mating or something idk

[@ComeOnRedsFishing]

Hey now youre talkin my language

[@ReelJedi]

Sweet! I figured this one would get your attention lol

[@loganbeddard7122]

Tin snips is you best bet

[@egyptianwolfgod]

I would love to catch a gar but not too sure if any in chickasawhay river

[@ReelJedi]

One way to findout

[@mudassirfishing]

Awesome nice video liked, thanks for sharing. Greetings From Fishlocker India..

[@ReelJedi]

Thanks!

[@grandwonder5858]

Do you set the hook only when you no longer feel them chomping on the bait because I have the hardest time at hooking them no matter how many bites I get! Extremely frustrating!

[@FormerlyYBMT]

I typically wait until I see it stop moving for a several seconds, and then apply some pressure. If it takes off again, I wait until they stop. Then I repeat. If they don’t take off, I try to set the hook. It’s about 50/50 for me.

[@MaadSteve]

Tin snips are great for cutting the skin, then use a good filet knife to cut the meat off. Cut the meat into little nuggets and throw it in some fish fry. You won’t be disappointed

[@hotactioncustoms7008]

ive been wanting to catch n cook on one. chop his head off use a pair of tin snips to go down his back and pull out the top loins like a back strap. either make a fish cake/gar ball or just fry it up!

[@Lanlordcan]

So many far near me, haven’t caught one yet, I try everytime

[@massimothetrog7111]

my dad use to use a short piece of nylon rope...no hook just a piece of frayed rope. they can't let it go once the bite it.

[@brennanhuff268]

i have so many gar in my lake i always see them but they are always uninterested in what i’m throwing

[@ibrokemytoe23]

Ppl kill gar when they catch em, but I like catching gar. I like catching whatever I can. Gar fight so hard and I like to throw em back after I catch em.

[@fishing9007]

Today I caught my firsts gar and I'm hooked to it don't want to stop fishing for them

[@aidengould6019]

When using a lure what do you recommend, I just want to catch any gar

[@ReelJedi]

nylon rope

[@frostizz2072]

Going on Saturday to a place that has gar, hope I catch, water is as brown as the one in vid

[@nathanponthieux4365]

what line could i use so they don’t break me pff

[@sunfishassassin5963]

The gar are the best...tin snips...i used my knife like a can opener

[@YawehthedragondogofEL]

I couldn't find my tin snips the other day and it turns out may little garden shears work even better. That's with a spotted gar anyway.

[@SlackerHead83]

What kind of fishing lure do you recommend for catching gar.

[@Mike-lt6sj]

I just caught a bunch on whopper ploppers in the Missouri river. Very strange fishing.

[@loganbeddard7122]

Iv been confused this whole time on what a mud fish was. Just a old blackfish. Where you from brother

[@ReelJedi]

Georgia

[@matthewmcpherson4435]

Tin snips and a some what flat spoon and of course knife

[@iankenison9962]

Interesting that fish was something else. We’ve only got pike in the uk.

[@alejandrozuniga4426]

No steel leader? I had 5 gar on the line in 3 hours and every single one broke lose, next week went prepared with leader and caught 3 big gar, i think is a must

[@brianwhite2183]

I agree for sure! If I'm ever fishing for gar or any other fish with teeth any larger than a bass I'll use a steel loader.

[@dustinjuneau3720]

Metabo is what we call em where I'm from. Others call them angle grinders with 4_1/2 inch metal cutoff wheels.

[@718fishingandtrapping2]

I love gar a good way to clean them is take a hack saw behind the head and then Tinsnips down the spine then cut away with your fillet knife and cut the back straps out or the fillets however u wanna say it

[@michaelharris6232]

you are great

[@user-fz4xq5jt9v]

Easiest way to clean a Gar. Cut the head off and take a pair of Metal snips or Tin snips and cut a straight line down the back to the tail. Next take you a sharp knife and scrape the inside to cut the outter layer of the shell off and you will see the two back straps. Simply cut them off and boom.

[@hanzsolo5460]

im in oklahoma and people call catfish mudfish here. Never realized that was an actual species till you caught one, damn lmao

[@brianwhite2183]

People here in Mississippi call them grenel dog fish or bone fish. I think it's alot of the names are just country slang.

[@johnbaron1886]

Straight cut tin snips taste a lot like gator tail

[@sos-ll7mv]

Ive thrown spinner baits right in front of them and they either just ignore it or get spooked by it

[@luckyflu0706]

Caught gar on shrimp..what a fight

[@faisalmadroi1892]

wow amazing 👍👍👍🎣🎣 say hello from indonesia angler 🎣🎣

[@ReelJedi]

Thanks!

[@gpatarra]

tin snips

[@Dieggooo.11]

This was helpful info for next time I go fishing, because someone released one in a pond where I go fishing and it’s killing off the game that is there so I need help trying kill him asap

[@vincenjohnson6046]

Oh boy I am going to bayou nwa

[@sunfishassassin5963]

2 on cut bait 3 on live bait....small cork. Let him run. And stop....it is hard in the Rapids but we did it.

[@chumbsychavis2641]

Set the depth on a skill saw

[@ReelJedi]

Ill try that

[@constructexploration7470]

Mudfish jumped on the air particals

[@jasonhebert9366]

To clean a garfish: use very sharp knife and cut the skin off of it to the white meat ; use a hatchet or meat cleaver ( I use a machete) to cut the head off and pull the guts out... I then wash the fish off and put it in a vacuum sealed bag and pull a vacuum to seal it (with no water) and freeze it... when you are ready to cook it take it out of the freezer and defrost it by just putting it in the sink or on a plate on the counter ( DO NOT USE WATER TO DEFROST) leave the fish in the vacuum sealed bag... when it is fully defrosted take the fish out of the sealed bag... then use a spoon to scrape the meat off of the bones... the only thing g that will be left to the fish will be the back bone and ribs... once the meat is off the bones boil a small potato without the skin... once the potato is boiled and cooled down mash the potato down and put the garfish meat in with the potato and season to your taste( I add minced garlic and green onions to mine) once that's all done you can cook that mixture 2 different ways... #1: make little meatball shaped balls and roll it in egg wash and batter it with fish fry( flour and cornmeal) and deep fry it until golden brown or #2 make ball shape again but press them down into patties and light the BBQ pit.. lay a piece of aluminum foil on your grill and place fish patties on the foil opposite side of heat on the pit so that the patties get a light smoke flavor to them... there you have it.. garfish balls or garfish patties.... but here's the kicker... ITS THE SAME EXACT PROCESS FOR CHOPIQUE ( MUDFISH, BOWFIN) CLEAN,PREP AND COOK IS THE SAME PROCESS FOR THE MUDFISH... IM FROM SOUTH LOUISIANA.. WE CALL THE MUDFISH CHOPIQUE( SHOE-PICK)... TRY OUT MY RECIPE AND LET ME KNOW HOW YOU LIKE IT...(Instagram @ datboybear82)

[@avenmiller7597]

I did not know there was different species of gar

[@hayespalmore4623]

I wanna fish with I

[@evamain3128]

found you on black tip h

[@ReelJedi]

What video?

[@michaelmeyer9872]

Bro if you want to catch a gar hang a minnow from a bobber 10 yards from the bank of a small river that channels into another big river

[@michaelmeyer9872]

Why do gar taste so good?? They eat live fish

[@mjoutdoors3662]

I caught a 10 pounder gator gar off of a bass hook and a peice of kfc chicken

[@jimklement6099]

Good eating fish, good texture, very flakey white meat, pain to clean but worth it, those scales are armor, almost bland, use Cajun or Italian breading,

[@malcolmgilbert8750]

BE AWARE ALL! GAR fish eggs are very TOXIC to humans and animals. SO during spawning season stay away from them . As for cleaning a gar TOUTUBE has some great videos. Take your choice. This is a wonderful video this guy is right on top of it from the BRAZOS RIVER IN TEXAS.😵‍💫

[@jobspivey3898]

Use an oscillating saw to cut through the back of the gar takes 30 seconds

[@hunterostrand6564]

Metal cutters

[@hayespalmore4623]

I meant I wanna fish with u

[@stonerguitarist4690]

Want to fish whith me I got the best space big fish front yard

[@bass.buster3633]

The next gar that I catch :I will target: I'm gonna clean and dry its skull

[@tarhlfn]

c'mon man when you forget the rag you just wipe it on your pants. if you go home smelling like fish you're living right ! we love catching gar