How to Catch Gar From the Bank With Rope Lures

Gar can be difficult to catch and untangle – they have an unfortunate habit of shaking their heads so hard they tangle your entire lure up in their mouths!

An effective rope rig for gar is simple and cost-effective: take a length of nylon rope, burn one end, unbraid it and thread your line through it.

Casting

Nylon rope lures can be an extremely effective way to catch gar, particularly if you can sight fish. Grab some 3/8″ rope, burn one end into a mushroom head shape, unbraid it until fluffy and straight then brush out using a wire horse hairbrush before tying directly to your line with a skinny bobber or other suitable device (small split shot may help slow sink time); but for sight fishing purposes simply using a simple treble hook will do.

When encountering a gar, throw your bait just ahead and slightly beyond its path, then slowly retrieve it while twitching occasionally. While gars can sometimes chew and swim off before swallowing their prey completely, giving them at least four to five minutes is recommended; otherwise they might just spit it back out later on! It may be easier if they shake their heads out before swallowing too quickly though!

Retrieval

Sometimes your lure can snag on something solid like a tree branch or stump and become caught. Instead of trying to retrieve it by pulling hard on it, wait until the lure swings away from you before giving one short tug. In many instances this slingshots over the branch and releases your lure – this method works great whether in a boat or wading!

At other times, lure retrievers may be necessary. There are various models on the market; I prefer one with collapsible metal coils which you slide down your line. Combining this approach with head shaking usually gets your lure free from an animal’s mouth; otherwise you may need to break off branches or snags using gardening gloves to free it.

Catching

If a gar hits and makes a dash for it, it is crucial that they are left alone without pulling on it as too much force could break your lure or further bury its hooks in their mouths. If this occurs it may lead to unnecessary injuries as pulling too hard could potentially break off hooks from their heads and sink them even deeper in its throat.

Sometimes the best way to free your lure from a snag is to direct the rod tip directly at it while holding taut line; doing this often causes it to shoot away and free your lure from underneath rocks, branches and plants.

On occasion, a quick, vigorous yank will suffice in freeing snags, particularly at the bottom where hooks have become embedded in weeds and grass. But be wary when using this method on brushy terrain since yanking may tangle your line around other branches and thorns which could prove impossible to unravel without physically breaking branches or your lures.

Release

Gars are ancient fish with primitive lung organs. You’ll often find them swimming deep pools of large reservoirs or rivers throughout summer, sometimes breaking the surface to breathe air from their primitive lungs by “porpoising.” They can often be seen rising to the surface to gather air for consumption as hunters.

Cut shad and minnow make great baits for gar. Rig them with short leaders and skinny bobbers for optimal success – tension-sensitive gar will quickly reject the bait out of their mouths if tension arises during taking.

When a gar takes the bait and runs after it, let it continue its journey while periodically releasing slack line between bites. This method has enabled me to catch some of the largest Gar seen in Missouri; these fish often run, stop to swallow their bait before continuing running again – when done correctly this allows the hooks to penetrate deep enough and hold tighter onto their prey.