Unbeleivable!!! My Daughter Shelley Caught A Black Gar!!!

Selling Cars and Catching Gars!
Ask For Donnie Hinkle "West Point Lake Gar Grabber"


On May 24th 2007 I caught a solid black Longnose Gar and thought it was something special. I thought it would never see it happen again in my lifetime, but I was wrong. Today, June 24th 2007 my daughter Shelley who has never even gone Gar Fishing but one other time ever before caught an ultra rare melanistic Gar!!! I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it! Not only did she catch this black Gar but I caught it on video too! I was so excited that I almost forgot to record it! These two videos may very well be the only footage captured of a Melanistic Longnose Gar actually being caught and just puts the icing on the cake for what has been a phenomenal year of Longnose Gar Fishing on West Point Lake for me, my family and friends!

Shelley and her boyfriend Jason are students at Georgia State University. It was a special treat to have them both with me today for a great day of Longnose Gar Fishing and it really turned out to be a special day for sure.

Jason started the show with a nice 8lb Gar, his first ever. Then Shelley caught her black Gar which was the highlight of the day. As the day grew hotter so did the Gar Fishing with Jason landing another Gar and then Shelley landing a nice FAT Longnose that weighed in at 15lbs-8ounces and measured 47 inches. Her first big Longnose ever. After that, with sun up high in the sky the sight fishing was getting really good. You could see what you were fishing for which makes it that much easier to catch that big one you're looking for. Suddenly Jason and I saw what turned out to be the biggest Gar of the day come cruising by and I tossed my rope out in front of it while we witnessed the big Gar attack the lure before our very eyes! Jason said that was pretty cool seeing how the Gar turns it's body sideways while launching itself at the rope lure. This big boy weighed 16lbs-8 ounces and 48 inches long. Both of the big Gar that Shelley and I caught very fat Gar and a ton of fun to catch!

As the day grew hotter and the jet skis and boats were starting to rock us around, it was time to head to the boat ramp. Gar Fishing on West Point Lake has never been better than it's been this year and I'm looking forward to having Shelley and Jason back in my boat before the season ends. Surely this lucky girl won't catch another extraordinary fish again! What a day!!!

The last two pictures are actually videos shot from my digital camera. Enjoy!

Timmy & Clint Both Catch Nice Gar!

Selling Cars and Catching Gars!
Ask For Donnie Hinkle "West Point Lake Gar Grabber"

We got on the lake early this morning because the weather forecast was calling for thunderstorms from noon until about 10:00 tonight. It was cloudy early on but the Gar were still active. Timmy started the show with a pretty nice 10 pounder. A little later I caught a couple of nice gar too. Meanwhile Clint was struggling a little. I changed locations because I knew it would be easier for Clint to catch his first today but as soon as we pulled up to the next spot yours truly landed another one and so did Timmy. Still no Gar for Clint. I noticed that his rope lure kept getting dirty but I thought it was because he was letting it drop all the way to the bottom before he began his retrieve but I took a closer look and the fishing rig I gave him to use had a 1/2 bullet sinker on it and it was dragging the bottom too much because of the excess weight in such shallow water.

After Clint changed his weight out and we changed spots again, Clint landed his first Longnose of the day. It was a very nice 10 pounder so the monkey was off Clint's back. It's a good thing too because we were giving him the devil!

I decided to change spots again and go to my best fishing hole of the year for big Gar. That was when Timmy landed the biggest Longnose Gar of the day. A very fat 49 inch Gar that weighed in at 14 lbs - 10 ounces.

I shot the first video on my digital camera of a Gar getting caught and published it here in this post. It turned out OK but I hope to improve a little on the next try.

Brand New Honey Hole!!!

Selling Cars and Catching Gars!
Ask For Donnie Hinkle "West Point Lake Gar Grabber"

I got on West Point Lake early today. My plans were to do a little fly fishing for what ever would bite but mainly to sharpen my fly fishing skills since I'm sort of a rookie. I went down river where I use to do some bass fishing with buzz baits. I'm not much into bass fishing anymore but since this use to be a good bass top water spot for me I though the fly bite would be equally as good.

As I was casting about I started noticing that old familiar top water activity that only the great Longnose Gar could make so I went for the bait caster that already had a rope lure attached to it and started making a few cast. Then suddenly I realized, once the sun started coming through the clouds that I was on a shallow flat that was packed full of Longnose Gar! I mean big ones too!!!

It didn't take long to realize that it was cherry picking time! Gar were everywhere and the water was still enough to begin looking for that big one. The first Longnose I caught was 15lbs-2ozs and 50 inches long, so started looking for a bigger one. The next Gar I caught was 17lbs-10ozs and 51 inches, so I began looking for a bigger one. Then I caught one that went 18lbs-6ozs and measured 51 inches long. No doubt that I was in Longnose Gar Heaven!!! I said to myself, if I can catch this many big Gar in one spot I just may be able to find that Georgia state record Longnose Gar I've been fishing four years for. So now I was began being very pick. Besides, I was by myself and I was having to set my camera on timer and run to the other end of the boat for the picture and I'll tell you, I was starting to get tired! As I was trolling along around the bend I came across a large group of Gar all in one spot and underneath then there was a shadow that looked like a big one so I made a cast. That was when I landed the biggest Gar of the day that weighed 19lbs-4ozs and measured 55 inches long.

I'm going to be seeing big Gar in my sleep tonight after today! I'm tired. I thing I'll have some supper a drop dead on the sofa!

Later on in the day I met Jonathan Smith, a fellow sales manager at Mike Patton Auto Family at the landing. By then the Gar Fishing had sort of settled down a bit buy Jonathan was able to land this "Broke Back Mountain" version of a Gar! Leave it to Jonathan to catch this freak of a Gar for his first!