snagging below lock 16

[swampratt]

Webber falls Gore area on the Arkansas river Kerr McClellan navigational system.
Do not know what else you wish to call it.

But I went last Friday evening .got there 20 minutes too late.. shad all disappeared.
Everyone said they were just there.. and the bite turned off.
it was 9 PM Friday Fished until 1AM Saturday and then got out the snagging rod.
I landed 2 paddle fish in the 25-30 lb range and 4 gar.

I lost 2 gar one way out kept pulling line and jumping.

The largest i kept was 66" long..I did not have a scale but me and my buddy held it and estimated it at over 50 lbs..Should have officially checked it in Long nose gar.

But i knifed it's head to keep it from getting away..I think you need to check them in alive.
Anyway it is tasty just the same.
Zataran crab and shrimp boil.


Here is a pic.

 

[swampratt]

SOOOO I went again a couple days ago and got more gar and 3 catfish on shad.
Friends did not like the taste or texture of gar..I would say that family is woosiefied.
Heck the father when we left did not want to eat the cold ham egg and chese sandwich I gave him..Said we needed to go somewhere and heat it up.
OOOHHH NO... Eat your sammich!.

Anyhoo I think I will try to make gar balls today. many recipes out there. I have never made them.
Do you guys have any recipes that you really like?

 

[Eagle Eye]

Those are some monsters, nice haul!

 

[Okie4570]

You could have frozen the big one, then thawed for whoever was going to weigh it officially.

 

[swampratt]

I did not know that.
I snagged a huge one the other day and handed the pole to my buddies father.
He fought it for 10 minutes and made no headway.
He could not hardly raise the rod up to be able to crank back down.
Most of the time the rod was pointing straight out!
I seen the tail when I snagged it and fanned out the tail was about 8-10" across.

Would have been a good one if he had got it in.. it was out 100+ yards and took even more line with it during the fight.
Also fighting the swift current from the gates being open.

I really care less if he lost it , as long as he got some fight from a good fish.
He got more fight than he wanted.. He had to rest for some time after the line broke.
Fun stuff.

Big ones are in there, just got to be there to get into them.

 

[Okie4570]

We've shot some bow fishing in the upper 30 pound range several times, but we've never measured the length on any. Look like dolphins surfacing. What's the record weight?

 

[swampratt]

43 lb 8 oz is the record in Oklahoma on the long nose gar.

 

[Master Carper]

Nice haul on those big gar. That had to be some serious fun!

Still cannot make myself like spoonbill, but I do find gar to be quite tasty. Cut them in chunks and deep fry them after coating in corn meal with seasoned salt, black pepper and red pepper. Most everyone that I cook gar for thinks that it is chicken...

Like you said swamp, I hear of a lot of guys that like it boiled in Zatarans crab and shrimp boil, so that is next on my list to try...

 

[swampratt]

I made gar balls the other day. mashed tatters in them with onions and geen onion tops and all kinds of seasonings,, mixed in food
processor and fish was also mixed in it..
Sticky dough like and then make into patties roll in cornmeal with seasonings and fry it.
WOW good stuff..
I just filleted my spoonbill cut into thin strips fry like regular fish.. texture is different bet plenty good.

Of course I have eaten live june bugs and think they taste like butter.
live scorpions taste like cardboard box(woody)
Grasshoppers taste green.

So I suppose fish does not bother me much. HA!

 

[Master Carper]

Dang swamp, that gar ball recipe of yours sounds good! I will definitely have to give that one a try.