Catching A DINOSAUR Alligator Gar From Kayak

FlowerOfLife

FlowerOfLife

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Jan 16, 2014
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[video=youtube;xvYOcRbMKRs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvYOcRbMKRs[/video]

Catching an alligator gar near 100 pounds on the trinity river near crockett Tx from my 9 foot malibu mini x kayak. i was using cut carp for bait, the rod/reel used was a shimano trevalla jigging rod rated for up to 200# braid with a shimano tyrnos 16 loaded with 100# braid. the fish swam away healthy to fight another day, alligator gar are some of the oldest fish on the planet with fossils records showing them living during the cretaceous period..the Trinity river is a crazy environment i have fallen in love with i will be making another trip soon.


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found this big catfish with a bite taken out of it, as i took this pic i look over and see a 8 foot gar 5 feet from the kayak at the surface looking at me..ended up hooking it for about a minute..

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I hate hooking those damn things. I have caught a few in the 30-40 pound range and have seen much bigger hunting my bream beds.

Definitely impressive on a kayak. Last time I got one was last summer and it was on an ultralight setup.
 
That is awesome, man! I love fishing from the 'yak but I do mostly bay fishing for speck's and reds. It's a ton of fun.

Thanks for sharing the video. Very cool. :thumbup:

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[video=youtube;tTIBOUQ_zso]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTIBOUQ_zso&list=UU3uKdwg7hdwupgYT0M4koUg[/video]

Missing Two Hookups on Big Trinity river gar, the first fish i hooked in the same spot i saw a monster gar right next to a 15 pound catfish with a bite taken out of it..i fished the spot for 2 hours and hooked a big gar for about 50 seconds..the seconds gar i tried to hook while anchored so i wouldn't get nervous ending up right on top of it..didn't work out this time, but im planning another trinity river trip soon maybe this weekend..hopefully the water will be lower by then.

filmed with a gopro hero 3 on a head mount
 
damn. and I thought catching a 7lb bass from a kayak was fun. I wish we had some bigger freshwater species up here in MA...
 
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the brazos is closer to me than the trinity, thinking about trying my luck there soon..gonna make another gar trip to the trinity this weekend though..also have a 100 pound catfish trip planned..but next week im fishing an offshore kayak tournament...
 
When I lived outside Dallas we would hit the Trinity for gar every now and again. For those of who you have never hooked into one they fight like no ones business.
 
G'day Mate.

Sure was a major hookup and epic battle. :thumbup: :thumbup:

I loved the action shown in the video & the still pics.

IMO, you showed a sensible use of a 1:1 ratio of braid to mass of a potential capture to ensure a successful venture.

Call me crazy, but before I've claimed I've caught a fish, I'll either show it on shore, or before release show it in my hand.

Have I missed something, because I haven't seen either of my criteria to satisfy me that you actually caught it (aka landed it) ?

After all, IMO there really is a world of difference between hooking & landing a fish.



Regards
Mick
 
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as per IGFA rule the fish is landed as soon as i touch the leader, also i spent more time with the gar next to the bank than the video shows

100 or 150 pound braid is the normal for the gar guides on the trinity river, its for a few reasons..
1. the fish you are fishing for can get 300+ pounds and over 12 feet in length, before you set the hook you have little idea if your going to be hooked to a 20 pounder or a 200 pound gar..
2. there are an amazing amount of trees in the trinity river to snag on, it can be a full on tug of war to keep you gar from a tree..
should your gar get in a tree, you have to cut the line and reattach it on the other side of the tree, not easy at all but easier with 100# yellow braid..
3. bigger braid tangles less and is easier to manage on a reel, smaller braid will dig into the rest of the line on the spool under heavy tension..also not looking to dig out birdsnest when a several hundred pound fish could take at any moment
 
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[video=youtube;UMO9EOD5NXs]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMO9EOD5NXs&list=UU3uKdwg7hdwupgYT0M4koUg[/video]

[video=youtube;96X6EFrmu4g]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96X6EFrmu4g&list=UU3uKdwg7hdwupgYT0M4koUg[/video]

i spent the last three years kayaking offshore pretty seriously..i got in 40 trips in a year out of corpus christi tx(mostly fishing for kingfish, cobia, and sharks), the alligator gar thing is new to me, i moved from the coast to more central texas and haven't been kayaking offshore nearly as much, i grew up near where im living now and it only took a few months of catching little bass and catfish near where i live to want to land bigger fish again..i started seeing longnose gar where i was fishing and it ignited my interest in catching them, there are more than a few rivers and lakes that have them within an hour or so of me.
the first alligator gar i ever saw was when i was about 10 canoeing solo down the Guadeloupe near kerrville texas,i was in a 14 foot canoe and looked over to see an 12 foot alligator gar nearly the same size as my canoe.. i have always been fascinated with big powerful fish with teeth so the alligator gar struck awe in me even more so than 10 foot sharks..i tried to catch them as a kid with little luck..having learned as much as i did offshore im now capable of landing some big gar..i have learned a great deal about this prehistoric survivor and have a large amount of respect for them..it is a pretty specific series of events that has to happen to be able to set a hook through their armored face
i am considering starting to guide for them out of the tandem kayak on the brazos and trinity next year, this years season is ended quickly but i think i can get a 150+ pounder on the bank before the end of october
 
G'day FOL

FlowerOfLife said:
as per IGFA rule the fish is landed as soon as i touch the leader, also i spent more time with the gar next to the bank than the video shows.....
Click to expand...

Thanks for the explaination. :thumbup:

We understandably, have different criteria for the term "caught".

Out of curosity did you land it (or "caught it" under my previously stated criteria)?

BTW ,this is in no way intended to diminish the epic nature of your battle with a huge freshwater fish. :thumbup:

Mick
 
i definitely had full control of the fish he was going wherever i chose for him to go with out fighting me, i chose not to remove it from the water because it was bleeding a bit from how i hooked it and the water was pretty high, there really wasnt anywhere for me to try to get it out of the water as well..there are allot of people who kill alligator gar(definitely the easiest way to deal with them next to the boat) i personally am a catch and release fisherman almost exclusively and have little interest in hurting a gar...

looking like im heading back today, looking for 100+ pound gar..hopefully i can get him on a part of the river with a decent bank to it..
 
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