Gar on the Kings River

[nickcoleman85]

Yesterday we had a great float on the Kings (Rockhouse/Trigger Gap). One thing in particular that caught my eye was a school of gar swimming against the current and floating to the top and jumping up like dolphins. All were 2-3 feet and I am assuming they were spotted/needle nose gar. I really wish I would have had my camera because I have never seen anything like this. Has anyone ever seen a school of gar do this or why they do it? I see single gar float up all the time, but nothing like this. Anyways, just curious.

[johnnybiggun]

I have seen them so thick on the Ouachita that they would swim out on the bank trying to get away from the canoe....They weren't trying to ,there was just nowhere else for them to go.... Big ones little ones you name it.... Something to do with the birds and bees me thinks...

[creek fisher]

We floated the Caddo last weekend and came up on a hole that was chalked full of them, hundreds swimming against the current, mostly 2 ft males, then every now and again a huge female would swim up to the surface and she'd have like 8 males on her all trying to mate with her. It was some pretty swift current and they would let you get really close to them before they would move away from you. They were all spotted gar and definitely had one thing on their minds.

[Tim Eubanks]

Finally get to use what I learned in Ichthyology and the rest of my training as a fisheries biologist (now I teach high school bio). The term is "pelagic spawners". White bass do the same thing.Theses fish don't make nests, they just spew out eggs and sperm cells, hoping they wil get together. Eggs may stick or just go down stream to calm waters. Larval fish are undetectable unless you have a really small mesh net.

Gar are a very successful design, they' ve been around a long time, predating our favorite sunfish and other "game fish"

Sorry for the "Cadron Boy" rant

[R_Corter]

For some reason in the smaller rivers-creeks they do school more even if there not mating. Buffalo is full of them. I have seen them in every pool I've bow fished in on Buffalo. I've gotten some pretty large ones b/f and seen some that would be in the 20-30lb range all on Buffalo. They surface to get air/oxygen.They obtain over 70% of their oxygen from the atmosphere after water temperatures exceed 70o F.
They are an awesome fish, they can catch supper in they blink of an eye in the muddiest river you can find on the darkest nights(AR River Ive seen m run through a school of shad like pacman!!)! Some people have no clue their in Buffalo and wouldnt swim if they did lol!!! Dont take my word for it but I think Buffalo has 3 gar species shortnose, spotted & longnose.

P.S. Some family and I seen a Logger Head Turtle In Rush Pool (Head of Clabber Falls in the brush on the deep side) one night b/f that was the size of a cummins diesel engine!! If he could talk I bet he would have some stroies to tell. Im guessing he was several hundred years old.

[Half Ton]

Sorry for the "Cadron Boy" rant

actually, you should be proud of a rant that could be comparable to that of "caldron boy". However your post was more of a post and not a rant at all. I think with a little work though you could work your posts into enjoyable "caldron boy" type rants that are very sadly missed....

On another note, I wonder how well the gar will hold up to the snakehead. They seem to be similar in many aspects. I guess we will see. Hopefully gar fry grow quicker than those of the snakehead.

[Tim Eubanks]

Half ton: Thanks?
I'll work on my verboseness? It was more of a post. No ranting. My background is in fisheries biology, don't get a chance to use it much anymore.

[bird dog]

What happened to CB??

[T Yamashita]

There were a pretty good group of the spotted gar on the lower cossatot during the first timers float a month ago. Cool fish!
ty

[DeBo]

Gar are air breathers also. They can live for long periods in isolated ponds. Last summer at Wattensaw we discovered a group lying in a small mudhole in the middle of a dried up lake. We carryed them to the river after a lot of serious mud wrestling. As each was released, they rose to the surface and grabbed a deep breath before darting away. This adaptation allows them to move in shallow water between isolated lakes and streams and survive drouth. They will occasionally jump up and snatch a breath from the surface in order to swim faster.

I got very interested in them and did some reading. Gar used to grow to very large size but have been hunted out of fear and the mistaken notion that they damage game fish populations. One study found that Gar actually improve the health of game fish populations by taking weaker less healthy fish.

They are just amazing animals. I hope they are not impacted by the snakeheads!

[Tim Eubanks]

Gar don't have lungs but have a highly-vascularized swim bladder that pretty much does the same thing. Very successful design. Ichthyology 1983.
Even though the fish are large, they have small throats and can only eat small fish. Taste really bad fried, baked, bbq'd, poached, boiled, smoked, or raw.

[creek fisher]

They don't taste too bad. Taste to me like a run of the mill freshwater fish, just had a rubbery clammy texture that you don't expect when eating fish. I guess that's why those who eat them regularly cut the meat into small strips and make gar balls with hush puppy ingredients. Either way, yummmmmmmmm!!

[Tim Eubanks]

Gar balls! Notgonnamakethejoke. My dad made a batch once, memorable for the wrong reasons.. I've eaten most freshwater fish in the Ozarks at least once, excluding shiners, darters, and sculpins. Think I'll stick with sunfish and suckers given the option.

[fryingsquirrel]

I've heard that the best way to cook a gar is to nail it to an alder plank, then smoke it for a few hours. Once it's been smoked, peel it from the board, discard the fish, and serve the board over wild rice with a sprig of fresh parsley.

[okieboater]

Never ate a Gar fish not many in North Georgia that I remember. Plenty of others tho from the few Trout streams up north, to the catfish down south.

But, I bet one of our Cajun buds could take a cast iron skillet, some spices, lard and make up a mess of Gar Fish that would taste great!!!!