Dogged By A Rookie Today!

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

It was a tough day for me but Clint, on the other hand didn't think so. This lucky son of a gun caught every Gar that was put in MY BOAT today! It started out with wind and clouds, not a great formula for Gar fishing but we found a spot a little out of the wind and first thing, found nice school of Longnosers. Clint and I both hung one at the same time and they both shook free, and the again I hung one and it shook free to, but not Clint. He boated his first Gar of the day, a nice 13lb-15oz Gar that measured 49 inches in length. From that point on, it was Clint’s day and my fall from glory! Every time we changed location, Clint would either hang a big Gar or catch a big Gar as I continued to struggle. His next Gar was a very fat and healthy 15lb-10oz beauty that measured another 49 inches but this one was fat! Clint thought he had caught a Gar of a lifetime, but Donnie wasn't through being humiliated quite yet!

As the weather finally calmed and the sun came out from behind the clouds we moved to a new spot I had located on Tuesday, the spot where I caught my 20lb-1oz Gar that I now faintly remember catching. Just as fate would have it Clint lassoed the big Gar of the day. A very strong and healthy 22lb-5oz Longnose Gar that measured 50 inches in length! What a beast this dude was. I was glad for Clint but still wondering what the heck happen to me, the experienced Gar Fishermen? I threw my lure until I was absolutely sick of throwing it and finally conceded to defeat. I kept telling Clint to savor the moment because he would never step foot in my boat ever again! I mean, what a way to treat a host to a Gar Fishing gift as I treated him with today!

Clint, while I kept ragging you about beating me, I know that you wanted to smack talk me for the sound beating that you put on me today, by a rookie Gar Fishermen as yourself. There is a comments section below since we're not face-to-face and there's no threat of me tossing you out of my boat now, so have at it dude! Just remember I have the authority to publish or reject!

Garrasic Park!

Selling Cars And Catching Gars!Ask For The

"West Point Lake Gar Grabber"

Boy did I stumble onto some good Gar Fishing on West Point Lake this week. Monday I had one of my very best days of Gar Fishing EVER!!! Here are Mondays totals:

12lbs-7ozs & 51 inches
19lbs-3ozs & 49 Inches (A bowling Ball with a tail and beak!!!)
10lbs-5ozs & 45 inches
17lbs-7ozs & 49 Inches (Another Georgia Fat Boy!)
16lbs-1oz & 15.5 inches

Man what a great day! I was on cloud 9 and ready to come home and share my success then tragedy struck! I had my camera and tripod standing up on the back of my boat and another boats wake made it topple over and I lost everything in about 15 feet of water! man was I disappointed, so a made of a picture of my biggest Gar so you could get a idea of what it looked like.

I thought you'd like that! We'll my wonderful wife Debbie drove me to Wal-Mart and bought me a new camera, tripod, 2GB card, and a camera bag and said here is your early Fathers Day present! I love this woman. I was so depressed because I had taken the whole week off to Gar Fish when this accident occurred and she jumped right in there and made it all better for me. I still wish I had those pictures though but I ended up with 5 times the camera I had before for the same money we paid 4 or 5 years ago. Gas should be like technology and get better and cheaper with time!

So I hit the lake with my new camera and tripod which was anchored down like I had cemented it to the back of my boat, right back to the spot I called Garrasic Park. To my surprise there wasn't a Gar to be found! So, I started looking around to try and figure out where they went too when I saw another point with the same characteristics as Garrasic Park and I hit the mother load! Landed my second heaviest of the year that went 20lbs 1oz and measured only 51 inches long. Another big Georgia Fat Boy! Here are the totals for the day.

20lbs-1oz & 51 inches (Fat Fat Fat!)
13lbs-4ozs & 47 inches
17lbs-5ozs & 51.5 inches
14lbs-10ozs & 49 inches

All but one was extremely health Longnose Gar. I was going to take the day off today but Timmy called me and said that today is the only day he can fish so I'm off to the lake again this morning! They are having a Longnose Gar Masters Tournament on http://www.garfishing.com/ , AKA G.A.S.S. (Gar Anglers' Sporting Society) on the web and I have some pretty healthy competition, especially this villain Bob Frick from Alabama who is hosting the competition. I hope to give Bob a run for his money while doing a lot of smack talk in the process! One guy Bob from Wisconsin said that he might have to hire me for a guide trip to compete! Georgia and especially West Point Lake does have some might fine Gar Fishing if you know where to find them!

Day 1 Of My Annual Gar Fishing Vacation Week

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

Today was the first day of my week long Gar Fishing Vacation and my wife Debbie hit the water a little late, around 11:00am. This day was a strange one indeed and left me feeling rather anxious about what tomorrow may offer me.

I started out at a spot that is usually pretty stacked with Gar but nothing at all in sight and no strikes, and then I moved to another productive location and did manage one Gar that went 15lbs-11ozs and 48 inches. This was a chunky Gar but the picture for some reason didn't do it justice. Maybe it's because the guy holding it is getting too big and it's making my Gar look littler. Any ways, it turned out being the biggest Gar of a rather disappointing first day.

Then We moved to the spot where I caught my biggest Gar of the season but nothing, so we decided to take the long ride up river where the Gar are always plentiful. When we arrived, to my surprise my most productive Gar hole was totally empty. I was stunned at the lack of activity at what seemed to be a tailor-made Gar weather day.

Then we went back up to my "Old Faithful" Gar hole and found them finally! Debbie landed the first that went 14lbs-6ozs and 50 inches in length. The weather started getting a little turbulent, no rain though, just a brief threat that got the wind up so that sight fishing became impossible.

Then the weather straightened up a little and we moved back to the original place that we started at and I caught a small 44 incher. Then Debbie landed our last gar of the day, this one her biggest upwards of 14lbs that turned into one big pain in the, you know what. It was very rambunctious while in the boat and tail slapped my rod and reel out into the water, so I dropped the Gar and made a lunge for my fishing pole and grabbed it just as it was going out of sight! Lucky me! That was almost $150 down the drain or down into 10 feet of water in West Point Lake.

Biggest Longnose Gar To Date - A Fat 22lbs-3ozs & 51 Inches Long

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

The Gar Gods were smiling on ole Donnie today!!! Today I'm a happy man! I landed the biggest Longnose Gar I've ever caught on West Point Lake to date.

I took Chris Smith from Mike Patton Auto Family Gar fishing with me today. I try to take Chris at least once a season. My way of thanking him for all the help he provides me with throughout the year with computer stuff.

The day started out pretty good with several nice Gar landed but as the day grew on I kept seeing good-sized Gar and I would tell Chris, "That's a nice Gar but it's not what I'm looking for." You see, after catching a few nice Gar I always settle into a big Gar sight-fishing mode. I will comb the waters for the largest Gar I can see and toss a rope at him. So after Chris and I both caught a few nice ones we started cherry picking.

We changed location on numerous occasions and at one spot I hung what would have been the big Gar of the day. After a few huge line-stripping runs I was able to work the Gar to the boat and suddenly it charged beneath my boat and broke the line off. I was pretty upset for two reasons. One, I had my drag set way to tight and I should have played the Gar longer until it gave out some before trying to boat it, and two, I know that there’s no way the big Longnose will survive. That's 3 Gar this season that have broken off on me. I'll have my drag set lighter from now on to prevent this from happening again I hope.

Now for the good stuff! After fishing this location a little longer we changed places and went to the spot where I've caught my biggest Gar of this season. I know I always have a shot at a nice one there. After being on location for only a few minutes I saw one surface and I said, "man, that one has a head like a buffalo." The big Gar was moving away from my boat, not the most ideal cast to make but I did make a good cast and the Gar circled around and launched himself at my lure and the fight was on! This big Longnose Gar striped more line from my reel than any this year and I was afraid that it had the line in it’s beak like the last one that broke off earlier, but to my surprise it came straight back to the boat and made a hard fight seem easy, for a moment that is. After a few more brief runs and with the help of Chris Smith who shoved a glove onto my right hand I grabbed it's massive beak on the first attempt and held on for dear life as the Gar nearly shook my shoulder loose from the socket. When I dragged it into the boat I knew it was a Longnose Gar of a lifetime for me on West Point Lake. Chris got two good pictures of it then on the last shot where I was holding the Gar underneath it's head and gut the beast started cutting up, I dropped it and then it shook itself to freedom back into the water to where it came from. What a blast is all I have to say and I'm sure my face in the pictures shows what a thrill it is for me to catch a big Longnose Gar like that one.

Thanks to Chris Smith who helped me land my biggest Longnose Gar to date as quickly as I did and for taking the pictures that would been very difficult to do so alone. Thank you Chris!

Julie and Debbie Out Fish Me!!!

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

I'm a little upset at today’s Gar Fishing trip. I let two girls out Gar Fishing me.

After I got started in my usual winning ways, landing a few nice Longnose and on my way to another great day of out fishing the competition in my boat, it suddenly all came un glued! Julie Lands a nice 14lb-10oz Gar and takes the lead. You would think I would be able to overcome this travesty, but oh no; then my wife Debbie takes the lead with a nice 15lb-50 inch Longnose. Only 10 minutes later Julie takes the lead with a very nice 15lb-11oz whopper that measured 52 inches long! Julie just out fished me all day with big Gar after big Gar, all day long! I'm not sure I'm taking my daughter-in-law Gar fishing with me anymore. What do ya'll think I should do? Leave a post below and tell, should I take her again or not. I think not. My pride is way too big to get beaten by a Gar girl again.

Check out the pictures and a couple of videos on GAR GIRLS. Look to the right for the link.

Gar Bite! This Is Why We Wear Gloves!!!

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

This video was taken on a Gar Fishing trip my daughter Shelley and I made on Tuesday May 13th, 2008. Shelley just happened to be taking a video shot while I was landing this Gar when it suddenly struck at my hand like a rattlesnake! It kind of startled me because I've never had one to intentionally bite me before. On this particular day all the Gar were very aggressive and I left the lake that day with a back injury either when I snatched my hand back from the Gar or while trying to tame one on these brutes in the boat. Anyway here is the video and I hope you enjoy it. Feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of this post.

Click Image To View The Video

Gar Fishing Is Heating Up On West Point Lake!!!

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

Gar Fishing is really heating up on West Point Lake folks! Today I took my daughter Shelley with me. Many of you probably that last year we both caught a black Gar exactly 1 month apart from each other. Well I've got to tell you, Shelley is a very patient and good Gar Fishergirl and today she out done her dad one more time with the Gar of the Day. This brute weighed in at 16 pounds 8 ounces and measured 52inches in length. I pulled up a distant second with my biggest at 15 pounds and 3 ounces and 50 inches.

The Gar today were highly aggressive. The big one that Shelley caught was snagged around the head with no rope in its mouth. When I went to reach for the big Gar it reached out and tried to take a chunk out of my hand! It grabbed my glove and gave it a big snatch as if it was trying to draw blood. All I can say is that the gloves work or I'm quite sure my hand wouldn't be working today if not for the gloves! Shelley caught it on video so after a little editing to try and capture the incident in slow motion, I'll have it up on my website. We ended up with 9 Gar total with all of them well over 10lbs each.

With Gar season getting hotter and hotter it would be a great time to schedule a Guide trip with a chance for a 15 pound plus fish or better!

Just email me at dhink256@charter.net or call (706) 333-3876 to take advantage of the prime time Longnosse Gar Fishing!

Nathan's First Gar Fishing Trip

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

I took Nathan on his first Longnose Gar Guided fishing trip today on West Point Lake. Nathan has wanted to go for a long time and we finally were able to land on a date that would accommodate both of us.

Things started a little slow at first with the cool morning but when the sun got high and the water surface temperature started warming the Gar started rising just below that water surface all around us. I mean some whoppers too!

I snagged the first Gar of the day and what a big ole Longnose Gar it was! It fought very hard including one athletic thrashing jump! When I got the Gar to the boat it had a very healthy set of snappers on it and as I was trying to grab it and close it's big jaws at the same time it made a huge rush right out of my grip and unfortunately cut my line with it's teeth and swam away with a mouth full of nylon. It's very upsetting to see this happen especially considering the fact that I had it for a moment before it broke wild on me. I wish I had have just gotten a little bit better grip on it. This fish would have easily cracked 19lbs+ and 56 inched. Just a massive Longnose Gar. Luckily Nathan snapped some pictures of it as I played it to the boat. What a waste.

Later on I spotted a nice Longnose just underneath the water surface. With the sun getting higher and higher we started seeing Big Longnose Gar all over the place. This was a very fat and health specimen of Longnose Gar that weighed in at 17lbs-3ozed and measured 52 inches long. Nathan was still trying to hone his casting skills as I coached him how to make the right cast. As Nathan continued to lose opportunity after opportunity he quickly realized that it's a good cast at first that gives you a chance but it's also how you present the lure as well.

The next fish was a real fighter that gave the thrill of several long digging line stripping runs. The big Longnose just kept on stripping line from my Ambassadeur 6500each time I thought it would give up. This big boy weighed 15lbs-13ozs and measured 48 inches long and fat, but not as fat as Gar number one.

Now it was time to give Nathan all the opportunities for the big ones because I wanted him to come away with a Gar to remember on his guide trip. He could have caught many Gar of smaller or medium size but like me he would pass on them for the chance for that fish of a lifetime.

After Nathan's repeated attempts at casting at some real monster Gar, time after time he either couldn't get the lure in position or when he did get it there, either the presentation wasn't correct or the Gar would snub it's nose at the rope lure. I don’t think I was a very good coach that day because it was killing me to pass up the big Gar to allow Nathan a shot!

After such an unlucky day of Gar fishing I'll owe Nathan a return visit at no charge to redeem himself. Just let me know when you can go Nathan, because no one deserves the kind of luck you had today! At least you got to hold my biggest of the day, right? Not the same I know Nathan so we'll get great big fat one for you next trip. I think on our next trip instead of wearing sight fishing glasses I’ll wear a blindfold though because it was killing me to watch some great opportunities pass you by but that's just life for a Longnose Gar fishing guide! It takes practice.