Gar Fish outbreak

[Snapperking]

I don't know if anyone is trying to fish any of the bridges on the Big G now but I have been to 3 different ones at 4 am and the number of leopard gar is shocking on the corners and under the bridges. I estimate hundreds and they are slaying the minnows that the crappie are going to need this fall and winter. I have seen a gar here and there over the years but never such a massive concentration as on the bridge corners. You cant fish for them as they accidently run into your line then pull you jig into their gills or underside and then you have to either breakoff or fight it till you can unhook it!!! Or they will suck your jig in like they are doing the minnows and then you hope when they jump they will throw the hook! If any of you know any of those bow fishermen send them to the bridges, they don't even have to use a boat , as they could stand on a corner and shoot them all night. They range from about 2 ft to 4 feet in length and hang on top of the water with their top fins out of the water.

[Ditch Basser]

FYI, there's a limit of 1 Alligator Gar a day in Alabama.

Alligator Gar Management in Alabama | Outdoor Alabama

[JimySlabFingers]

A guy that I will see you tomorrow at work is a bow fishing guide. Pm me what particular bridges if you don't mind

[lowe175]

Ditch you are correct but alligator gar are pretty rare in most of the lakes around here.

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[Ditch Basser]

LOL, we fish different areas. Drag jigs in Lilly pond and you'll hook a dozen any day.

I just passed the information on because when I found out it was a major surprise. I though they were "rough" fish like carp.

[warhawk]

Alligator gar and leopard gar are two different species.

[Ditch Basser]

Yep and most small gar seen at the surface are spotted gar or long nosed gar.

I just wanted to pass on the info since I found out about gator gar being regulated when watching a game warden write a ticket to a couple bow fisherman that had three, one over the limit. They didn't know and most don't.

[lowe175]

I fish the Coosa and the Tallapoosa river. I've never seen a alligator gar in either. I know there's probably some in those rivers I've just never seen them. I just assumed that there was not a lot of them around. All gar will stack up in the summer months. And they can really mess up a spot. All the crappie will leave when they show up.

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[Ditch Basser]

Funny thing happens in the skinny water I favor. Since there's no deep water for the fish to move to, often the fish will move to any shade that's available since the water will be a couple degrees cooler. I often find gar stacked under a tree providing a little shade with gills and Crappie sharing the same water often only 12 to 18 inches below the gar. I've learned to cast into the middle of the small gar looking for what's beneath. A little unconventional, but it often works.

I also briefly saw a gar following my spinner in Little Piney Creek a few weeks ago. I didn't get a good enough look for a positive ID, but probably an Alligator Gar based on the length. It was near five feet.

[lowe175]

Yeah I bet you see a lot of things fishing those back waters that the rest of us don't normally see. I do some of the shallow water stuff in the summer but I'm fishing small mountain lakes.

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