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Finally! Thanks to all for the pointers. After many missed fish (including some big ones) my first (during the day on the 22nd) was a modest 32 inches but I was very happy: Also had a bigger one that got off right at the shore. Today I caught this gar about an hour before sunset (fairly similar size). Now that I am starting to dial them in it is only a matter of time and some luck before I get a "bigun"!

Rod

Interesting fish! I still have never caught one before.

Awesome!
Get that big one!


good luck and thanks for Sharing

Awesome, way to go!

Mission success, congrats man. It's always nice when your plans pay off. Keep at it the big one will be caught one day.

Climbing the leaderboard! Caught this 33inch fish this am. 17 inches more and I will be taking on RJ.
Definitely getting the hang of the hookset now. Rod

Congrats, ya got em dialed in now!!

Awesome! I have always wanted to catch a gar! That looks like Britannia park, is that the Britannia pier I see in the background?

Congrats on your first, keep us posted on your progress!

That awesome. Hoping to catch one this year.

That's so awesome!!! You have been working hard on this. Can't wait to get together again!

Congrats on some amazing looking fish! The different colors on all of them are cool!
Keep us updated!

Azabache & junior.

Way to go Rod! I'm not being funny here but over the years I've found the smaller fish way tougher to catch. You'll get a biggun soon I bet!

RJ

I am definitely feel confident now. My ratio is about 1 fish for every two takes which I think is really good. My success is a combo of bait, tackle and hook set.

Bait and tackle: Half a minnow or smelt, preferably the tail end on a small treble. By hooking it on two of the three barbs you have minimal bait hanging over the barbs and you pretty much guarantee that at least one barb of the hook is in the "beak".... I was losing a lot of fish with a whole dead minnow. It was either ripped off by the fish or on the hookset. Three of us pretty much confirmed fishing the other day that the cut bait as opposed to a live minnow was really preferred by the gar.

Hookset: I just cant wait for the long multiple run. I wait until the fish is on a steady first run, allow the slack to disappear and just when the rod tip starts to bend I do an agressive long hookset in exatly the opposite direction of the run. I actually have bruises on my stomach from the set.

I was off today and here is the really pretty fish I caught this morning... Beautiful spots: Rod