Hot summer nights are a great time to target Longnose Gar
My favorite fish to target changes throughout the year. During mid-summer, from July 4th until some time in August, it is the Longnose Gar. Up here in the Northland we are on the upper fringe of this fish's range, and locating and catching one is always a challenge. I have found a pattern centered around a vast sand flat on the St. Croix river, during the heat of the Summer. First the White Bass come in and destroy Shad for about a week, and let me tell you that's some fun action. Suddenly the White Bass will move out, and then the table is set for the ancient armored beasts to invade the flat.
I headed out this evening with a flyrod and a spinning rod, bringing with me a dozen 4-5 inch white suckers for bait. It was a beautiful summer evening, and I waded around the sand flat tossing flies and scanning the water for a White Bass frenzy. A week ago we really got into them, fishing over a school of hundreds upon hundreds of these scrappy fish. They were busting Shad on the surface, and would inhale a clouser minnow on the first strip. Tonight, however, nothing showed. The White Bass had moved on apparently, and I began to wonder if that meant my long-snouted friends would come out to play tonight. At dark, I fired up the lantern and tuned my transister radio to the Twins game. The Twins were in the late innings of a double-header with the White Sox, and had outscored them 32-14 combining both games. Manager Ron GARdenhire just took out pitcher Matt GARza. I hooked up a sucker, waded out into the darkness and lobbed it out into the river. Wading back to shore I let line out, then propped the rod in a forked stick and set the baitrunner. Another rod was similarly deployed.
|
This is Longnose Gar fishing for me. I am usually alone, sitting on a dark beach under the stars. The Gar do not always cooperate, either. Many times I have fished into the wee hours of the morning only to come home skunked, with only a few runs and mangled baits to show for my efforts. Some nights I catch only turtles. But it's Summer, and there's nothing like beaching a big Longnose Gar. It's always worth the effort. My lantern attracts clouds of various insects, and my legs are crawling with mayflies of every color and size as I sit and wait.
|
The baseball game is over. Twins win. Suddenly, I hear the whine of my baitfeeder and pick the rod up. Line is being taken out at a fast rate, straight out into the darkness. This is no catfish or turtle. I let the fish run, worrying a bit about the amount of line left on my spool. The fish stops, and I can feel him chewing on the bait. Another, faster run now, and I decide to tighten up on him. Fish on! He leaps and crashes down way out there somewhere, then I begin slowly gaining line. This is a good fish. Finally close to the beach, the fish starts fighting for real. I try to slide him up on the sand, but each time the fish gets into this shallow water it flips it's snout out and gets leverage with it's tail, thrusting it's powerful body back out into the river and runs off 50 feet of line. He pulls this manuever four times, then finally I am able to pounce on him.
|
 What a fish! This Gar is far heavier than any I've seen, and I scramble to get a few photos. The stars and moon glint off it's giant eye, and the fish sucks in air loudly. A quick measurement puts the fish at 45", then I let the great fish swim off into the blackness of the sandbar. I follow him for a while with my lantern, wading next to the fish as he slowly makes his way along the flat. The way these fish move through the water is such a cool thing to watch. It is obvious to me that they are very comfortable in just a few inches of water. Eventually he makes his way out of sight, and disappears. I wade back to shore and re-bait, then lob another cast out and sit down. I'm happy now. Any day you beach a big Longnose Gar is indeed a very good day.
|
Andrew Geving, Roughfisher at Large
|
|
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
|
|
