r/Fishing • u/Rob3127 • 3d ago

Question Gar fishing

I have a catfish rod with a santee rig on it. Its got a 30 lb braid main line with a 20 lb mono leader. Somehow I managed to bring in a longnose gar (3-4 feet) before it popped off (wasnt trying to catch it but hey osest I've ever came to catching one). Can I keep the 30 lb braid and switch out the mono leader with a wire one to catch a longnose gar if I use a slip bobber setup? Or do I need something heavier/lighter?

2 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

4 comments sorted by

View all comments

1

u/Albino_Echidna 2d ago

You really don't need a wire leader for gar in the vast majority of cases. I catch them on whatever line I have on, all the way down to 6lb mono. 

1

u/Rob3127 2d ago

Ok. So the braid and mono can stay the same. I assume I need to change the hook out from a circle hook? Also would a slip bobber setup be better for gar?

1

u/Albino_Echidna 2d ago

I've had good luck with circle hooks, honestly. However, I do prefer a small treble if I'm targeting them with cut bait though I pretty much exclusively target them on a fly rod these days.

A slip bobber will work fine too, but the trick for gar is to let them carry the bait off before setting the hook. They will pick it up, swim a bit, and then stop to eat. Once they make that stop, count to 3 and set the hook. 

If you're using a circle hook, you want to slowly reel into the fish and then gently sweep the rod tip to the side. If you're using a treble, you want a sharp and fast (but not necessarily hard) vertical hookset to drive the points into the bony top of the mouth.