West Point Lake Gar Fishing-Jay Moore Land's His First!

Tuesday the 12th, Jay Moore and I hit the lake for a little Gar Fishing on a not so perfect day. It was cloudy and windy which are not your ideal conditions but we were determined to make a go of it. Like Jay said, "we're not working are we", and that makes a great day of well earned relaxation even if conditions aren't on our side. I knew better than to go up river due to the recent rains and heavy stain so we concentrated our efforts in the clearest water we could find for sight fishing, only the sun wouldn't participate which made sight fishing tough regardless of water clarity.

After an hour or two of trying to find our groove Jay's snagged on and the fight was on! Not what we hoped for but still a nice first-time Gar that put on a pretty decent fight. I wasn't so lucky though and only landed a small Gar that jay's could've had for lunch.

After disturbing our spot pretty well we decided to try our luck in the lake area and that was a pretty good idea even if we didn't catch a Gar. We both had several HUGE GAR follow our lures to the boat and I mean big ones! Seeing those big girls gave me great hope for a good Gar Fishing vacation coming up in the next week.

West Point Lake Gar Fishing-2009 Season Got Underway Today!

Debbie and I hit the lake today to get the 2009 Longnose Gar season underway and as usual; it took a little time to get our groove on. After checking our spots down the lake from Georgia Access we decided to go where we normally start catching Gar early season and we headed up river. At our first spot I was able to snag my first of the season, a nice 13lb-7oz Longnose that measured 47 inches. They weren't stack very deep though so we move about 5 miles up river to our best hole but it didn't take long to realize that sight fishing there wasn't going to happen. This place was heavily stained and although I hung one Gar, I let it slip off on purpose because it was only about 10lbs. I really don't like blind casting for Gar, especially on a windy day because if I'm going to go through the trouble to release one and winding up against the bank or way away from my spot I want it to be worth while. If you can't see them you don't feel very good about catching that hog either. So, we moved back towards the lake to a spot we skipped on the way up and it turned out to be the best location of the day. After presenting my lure to great big ole gal that just turned her nose up at me, I was starting to wonder if I was just going to spin my wheels all day, then a saw her; about 15 feet out in front of the boat coming dead at me. I made a cast to the side and behind the gar, sped the lure up and let it drop a little right in front of her and she went after it. It looked like the line got wrapped around her and I let my reel free-spool as the gar darted out into the deep. I told Debbie "I don't think this Gar bit the lure, I think the line is just wrapped around her". I was working very easy because I have caught a few before this way when the line would wrap around the Gar and the lure would get caught in the Gars scales and I'd wind up bring them in sideways, slowly. As the Gar got closer though I could see she was wrapped up tight all right, around that old toothy beak! After about four good long and strong runs she finally gave up and I landed a 16lb-3oz 51-inch Gar to top off the day.

August Was A Slow Month With Weather Changes But September Is Looking Up!

With all the crazy changes in the weather in August, Gar Fishing took an unexpected turn for the worst. It seemed like Gar were scattered all over West Point Lake but out in the middle in 25-40 feet of water. I couldn't find a school to fish so that made sight casting nearly impossible.

Tuesday September 2nd Debbie took the day off and went out on the lake with me and for most of the day we were looking for Gar in all the wrong places. I told Debbie what I should do is start from the beginning since cooler fall type weather was exactly what I was experiencing when I first discovered Longnose Gar on West Point Lake. We took a drive to the first place I saw a big school of Gar and caught my first Gar of the day. I was very small but never the less a Gar. Then after figuring out there were no more to be caught in this pocket we trolled around the corner and ran right smack into a large school of suspended Gar. They were mostly this years hatch sized Gar which by the way, grow a ton it seems in their first year of existence. We only caught two small ones in this school.

After wearing ourselves ragged from casting we decided to start heading back to the boat ramp but I decided to make one stop before we left which turned out to be the best decision of the day because this place was stoked with hungry aggressive Gar and we had a hour and a half of some really great fishing! I mean these dudes were hungry!!! They smashed my lure like I hadn't seen since the spring and I was in heaven again! I wound up with two Gar for the G.A.S.S. Tournament on Bob Frick’s website, http://www.longnosegar.com/. One off these hungry brutes smashed my lure so hard it flew up out of the shallows about two feet out of the water in a frenzy and Debbie said, "what in the world just happened?" and I said "that's my Gar!" as it swam straight out of the grass and directly toward my boat with my line laying limp in the water. This was my biggest Gar of the day at 14lbs-10ozs and 50 inches long. It ended up being a pretty exciting day. Too bad I was so tired from trying to find these buggers all day long that I couldn't enjoy it like I should've.

I've only been Gar Fishing for five years now and I've learned a lot over the years. This year has taught me more about the changing patterns of Longnose Gar on West Point Lake from the summer peek to the emerging fall months and tropical weather cool downs. By the time I really know this great fish I will probably be to old to fish for them but I can tell you one thing; I'll be out there after this magnificent species of fish for as long as I possibly can. Hopefully I can teach my grandsons or grand daughters to be as excited as I am about Gar Fishing and they take me fishing when I'm to old or too sick to launch and land the boat. I love the challenge the fish provides and there isn't a fish on West Point Lake that compares...even the largely touted largemouth bass and hybrid bass that get all of the press and attention. I'm not upset with that though. If everyone Gar Fished then this fish would be over fished and under managed, as these other fish and I wouldn't be able to let my clients experience this illusive enjoyment.

Second Biggest Gar Of The Season

My wife Debbie took a day off to Gar Fish with me today and like usual this late in the season, fishing was slow. We started out at my most productive spot of late and there were a few Gar surfacing but not as active as we would have like, so we moved to the spot where Debbie caught her 23lb-6oz monster a week ago. This spot was totally empty so we moved back to the original location. After about 20 minutes a Large Gar surfaced about 20 yards from the boat. I really had no idea which direction it was headed so I just made a cast as close as I could to the swirl and started working the rope lure. I was about to retrieve it back to the boat, in fact just started doing just that when I felt the Gar hit my lure. I free spooled my reel and just felt it out with my fingers on the line and felt that the Gar was still on. As the Gar began to move away with my lure I told Debbie, "I've got it on now but you know how my luck has gone recently with that. I have it on then I don't have it on." I have had a lot of bad luck with Gar hitting my lure, thinking that I have it on, and then, nothing. The Gar just some how backs out of the lure in this fat water and disappears and then I’m left wondering what just happened. Anyway, this one just kept moving away with my lure and after feeling a couple of headshakes I lock my reel down and tighten up on it. I told Debbie that I wasn't sure how big it was and then suddenly this gal started stripping line. I could now feel the heaviness of the Gar and I knew it was at least big, but I couldn't tell how big yet. This Gar just kept feeling heavier and heavier and with every headshake, in my mind it was getting bigger and bigger. I finally pulled it up to the surface, even by the boat and I told Debbie, "This is one of our biggest Gar this year", And then suddenly this thing started stripping line like crazy, on and on until I began getting worried and tightened down my drag a bit. Do you think that stopped this beast; not really because my line on this Ambassadeur 6500, a fairly big reel, was about to become empty so I locked the drag down some more and finally stop it. I don't have hooks so this is a delicate situation and I had to be very careful not to pull the nylon out of it’s beak. The Gar had taken me out into the middle of the lake by then and just seemed to keep getting deeper and deeper and I finally realized it had gone to the bottom and found a stump or tree to try and get lose. Luckily I pulled it off the structure and finally, finally got it up to the surface by the boat, reached out and grabbed it by the beak. At last, it was in the boat and knew then it would challenge Debbie's big Gar of last week. After taking a measurement at 53 inches I then tried to weigh it and the nylon pulled loose and the big Gar fell to the floor of my boat. I told Debbie, "Lets go ahead and get some pictures before I find a way to weight this big girl". After the pictures I found some rope and tied it's beak up and weighed it and fell a little short of Debbie's Gar but weighed 22lbs-6ozs, my second biggest Longnose of the season. A great start to the day but the only Gar caught all day long.

Debbie Catches Our All Time Record Longnose Gar!

Overall, we had a very slow day of Gar Fishing West Point Lake but that didn't stop my wife Debbie from putting one on the West Point Lake Gar Grabber's Record book for all time biggest Gar caught from my boat ever!

There just wasn't a lot of Gar activity today and the boat traffic was very heavy but only a light wind blowing to help cool us off. Suddenly while blind casting a shallow point Debbie say, "I got one!" I asked her if it felt big while she was letting free spool and she said "no, I don't think so", so I said well, "Lock it down and let's see." Then all of a sudden Debbie's reel let out a whine while she held on for dear life as the big Gar stripped what seemed like miles of line out of her reel. I went to the back of the boat with her to tighten her drag a bit while she held on tight. I knew then that this was a beast of a Gar but we still couldn't see it yet. Every time she would gain an advantage on the Gar it would start stripping more line and Debbie was getting stressed a little from trying to hold it back. Exercise class was now coming in hand as she continued to fight this big brute of a Gar. Finally it settled down enough to get it close to the boat and as I reached for my gloves the big ole Gar made another tear and bent Debbie's Rod doubled again. I told here it isn't through quite yet and she needed to let it run a few more times before we attempted a landing. Finally the Gar settle down enough that I made a grab for it and as I pulled it from the water I was amazed at the girth and length of Debbie's catch, and I knew then that it was one of the biggest of the year.

After measuring the Gar it was time to weigh this big girl. I made several attempts to get a weight but either the nylon on in beak wasn't strong enough to hold it's weight or my glove would get stuck in it's teeth and I'd have to lay it down and start over again. Finally I weighed it while Debbie read the scales and it proved to be the biggest Gar we have ever caught on West Point Lake. It weighed 23lbs-6ozs and measured 53-1/2 inches long!

After a few pictures we said goodbye to the big Gar and Debbie and I both flopped down into our seats and grabbed a cold drink and talked about the biggest of all time caught by my Debbie who now holds the all time biggest Gar record to be one day beaten; by me I hope!

Gar Fishing A Little Tough Right Now

Gar Fishing is a little tough right now folks. I went out last week when a cold front was passing through and only caught one Gar that had a deformed beak. I kind of reminded me of Bill Engvall's joke about the Dork Fish that was caught with a corndog. I had my lure topped off in red so maybe it thought my rope lure was a corndog with ketchup on it or something.

Then today I went out for the first time since last Tuesday and snag two nice Gar that didn't get tangled good enough to land but did manage to catch this nice Longnose that went 47 Inches and 13lbs-3ozs. I pretty confident that if I could have stayed on the water I would have caught a few more but Mother Nature took over my fishing day with a big storm that ran me off the lake. I don't like lightning!

Debbie Rules The Day Again!

Today wasn't the most ideal conditions for Gar fishing, at least for me they weren't. It was overcast and very windy and with one trolling motor battery on the blink I spent all day trying to hold us still. It was just the right conditions however for Debbie to catch the biggest Gar again! As I struggled to keep her still for just the right cast, Debbie beats me again. She really can't fish all that good I just can't compete while always working for her. It's just like this all day long, "Here, give me my Gar you just finished wrestling with, grab that camera and take my picture then hurry up and get me retied and back in position so that I can fish again. By the way, don't throw at that Gar, it's mine"!

Here's the truth now. I work like crap to get myself in the best position to catch the biggest Gar all day long and Debbie still comes up with it. Debbie is quickly becoming a Gar Fishing force to be reckoned with. But, if she keeps on beating me she's going to learn to release her own Gar, and I'm not kidding! This is getting embarrassing!!! At least it will eliminate all excuses I have, so what do you say Debbie? Gonna started handling your own Gar now? "Yes Mam, sorry I asked"!

Another Big Georgia Fat Boy Today

I finally got back out on the lake today for some Gar fishing and my honey hole for this year was stoked with big fat Gar. Being a Sunday the boat traffic was awful at best with big waves rocking me all day. It's amazing to me that these Gar stay so close to all of this boat traffic with tubers, skiers, big boats and jet skis passing by all day long and the Gar know exactly where to go to stay out of traffic. I'm sure that if these people knew about the big Gar living just a stones throw from where they fall off their tubes at they would probably think twice! I know that the Gar would harm them but just knowing would run some of them off.

Anyway, while being tossed back and forth, left and right for about 3 hours, I was able to get in some Gar fishing. I seemed that right after the waves would die off the Gar would resurface. I threw at some monsters today and had several big Gar follow my lure to the boat but no takers. I've got to figure out what will make them bite more often and I'm determined to find a way.

Today I brought four spinner baits with me, and before I left the house I cut the end of the hook off of them and bent the spoon out and out of the way of the nylon rope I will later attach to it. I remembered that I way using a spinner bait the first time I ever saw Gar on West Point Lake and they were biting at it then so why not with some nylon attached to it. After rigging it up on my first cast i got a follow from a big Gar. I got several more follows and put it down and picked up my normal rig. Later I cut the nylon shorter, from about 8 inches to maybe 6.5 inches. I think that made a difference too because shortly afterwards I landed this nice 17lb-4oz Longnose that measured 49 Inches long. Not that long but very fat! All of the Gar this year has all been very fat and not very many over 50 inches. It's always a good day when you catch a big Gar, even if it's only one.

Heaviest Longnose Of The Season - 22lbs-11ozs But Only 51 Inches Long

I finally broke my drought in style today. Timmy and Julie went out with me today and from 8:00am to 12:30pm we saw Gar early then saw no Gar from about 10:00am until I let them off at the boat ramp. Timmy had worked all night and really wasn't up to it but Julie fished her heart out the whole time. Just as I was letting them out I asked Julie was she sure she didn't want to stay on for a while longer. I told her I was going back to the whole where we saw plenty of Gar early on but couldn't get them to bite and she said she was through. As luck would have it the sun was high and Gar were feeding big time! On my fourth cast I hung into a 22lb-11oz monster that measured 51 inches in length. I hung another nice one that pulled loose but still ended up with one more nice Gar that went 17lbs-5ozs and measured 48.5 inches long. I just didn't want to give up and I wished that Julie had stayed with me because I knew Timmy had to get some sleep. Maybe she would have caught that Gar of a lifetime!

Debbie Beats Me Up Big Time!!!

There's just something about a Girl who Gar fishes. There's also something to be said about one who has gotten good enough to beat me; and beat me she did. The second half of my Gar Fishing vacation hasn't been the greatest for me but if you're with me Longnose Gar Fishing, now that's a different story. You are bound to catch big Gar and at the same time listen to me whine about not catching them. That's the way it's been for me since Wednesday this week. I can be a much bigger baby with her than I can other company too but that didn't stop Debbie from putting a pounding on me yesterday. For Debbie, yesterday was filled with line striping, hard fighting Longnose Gar action as she caught three very nice Gar. It has become evident to me that the girls I have taught to Gar Fish have learned very well; well enough to beat me quite often now. A question; if I get beat by these girls, shouldn't they start tying their own lures on, landing there own Gar and releasing them on their own by now? We Julie is doing that very thing. She only needs me for my boat, but Debbie still has me serving her the whole fishing day. Here's answer; wonderful woman let's be loose hundred's of dollars in camera equipment and then takes me straight to Wal-Mart to replace it that evening, I gladly tie her lures, and handle all of her Gar from now on. I only ask that she let me win occasionally. I love you Debbie!

Here are the pictures and video from yesterday.