Gar Fishing - Trash Fish Or Overlooked Food Source

Photo Courtesy of the Missouri Department of Conservation

When most people in the midwest think of a gar they don't tend to think about gar fishing, instead they seem to think of a worthless fish that steals their bait and breaks their fishing lines. However, if you were to ask people from the south, say Louisiana, you'd likely get a different answer altogether. I had always looked at gar as a trash fish until last year when I began looking a little closer at this often misunderstood fish.

Gar are opportunistic feeders that are willing to dine on just about any meaty substance that happens to cross their paths.  When fishing for gar, use a heavier pole such as a catfishing rod in combination with a steel leader at least two feet long and any type of meat you might use when fishing for cats.
Some of the most productive areas I've found to catch gar include the back side of wing dikes, below dams and wherever bait fish happen to be swimming in schools.  If you enjoy catching a fish that will put up a good fight while bringing them to shore, perhaps it's time you try your luck at catching some gar.  Just a side note.... be sure you have a good pair of gloves.  Not only are their mouth full of teeth, but their scales tend to be sharp as well.

As an added bonus to being fun to catch, I found that the meat from a gar is rather tasty.  I have heard some people say that it tastes like alligator which makes sense when you consider that they are related.  Filleting a gar is done a little differently than cleaning a gamefish.  To retrieve the fillets from this fish, cut a "u" shape behind the gills.  Start at the bottom on one side working your way over the top of the fish and down to the bottom on the other side.  Next repeat this process near the end of the tail.  After these two openings are made, cut a line along the top of the fish connecting the original cuts at the head and tail (a heavy duty pair of kitchen scissors works great for this task).  Once this is completed proceed to cutting the filet on each side away from the skin and the ribcage.  Remove the filets and discard the rest.  You don't even have to deal with guts using this method.  Note:  Gar eggs are toxic to humans so do not eat them.

- Any day in the outdoors is a good day