i was wondering were i could catch a good sized garfish?i was fishing with a friend in inverness,florida and we couldnt get any we tried using shrimp and bait fish for bait but we couldnt get any still so do you have any suggestions preferably for place south carolina thank you everybody for helping:question:
Lakes Marion and Moultrie, and all the surrounding rivers and canals (esp. within eyeshot of the dams) are loaded with longnose gar.
Your best best is going to be cut fish of any sort (esp. tougher cut fish like bluegill or white perch) and set them under a HUGE visible bobber. Use a short 6-10" steel leader directly under the bobber. Float the bait as close to the surface as you can. Use a 3/0 or even a big treble hook.
Let them run with the bait a good 10-20 yards. They seem to want to grab-n-run before they take it further into their mouth where you can actually hook them.
BTW night time is best obviously but you can catch them easily in the morning and evening as well, and frequently throughout the day.
Caught several on Marion last weekend using live shad. All at night.
do they inhibit salt water. i was fishing a creek in Beaufort and they were all over the place. At first i thought they were tarpon but they i saw them next to my boat and notice that they were gars.
yo
Look up “nylon rope lure” for gars, very effective.
Lake Murray has some absolute pigs!
Depending on what you call a good size I have caught them at th 41 bridge. They are everywhere up there.
Caught a 4-footer last year in Hobcaw Creek - gave the dog and I a real fight on 12# line!
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Got in a school of Gar’s last weekend at Edisto Beach up Big Bay Creek. They were everywhere rolling on top the water. I didn’t know what they were till we caught one.
-There are two types of fisherman those who fish for sport and those who fish for fish.
Sent you a mail.Better off going after redfish.
Stonoman
There are a lot of gar in the wando and a few large ones in teh Stono, too. Lot lots in the upper part of the Cooper and Tailrace, also–giants.
Gotcha Covered,
Lee Strickland
Strickland Marine Insurance Agency, Inc.
https://stricklandmarine.net
843-795-1000 / 800-446-1862
They in the Cooper all tha way to the haaba.
cut bait of any kind. put a submersile light out at night and they will be all over you. they are a extreme nusiance when catfishing at night. catch em all.
“Good things come to those who bait”
There are millions of them in the congaree, probably 90% of the biomass by now. If you catch any at all keep them. Use them for fertilizer or something, but please don’t practice catch and release with them. There are entirely too many!!
freshwater side of bushy park, up foster creek. that place is loaded with garfish.
Up the ashley river also.
1720 KW 110 Johnson
16’ Bonito 65 Johnson
There are some in Lake Marion tailrace and bar pit that look like gators!
J Ford
I agree with Steven, Foster Creek is chocked full. I’ve seen most of them withing 100 yds of the mouth of the creek. Also a couple of monsters @ Lake Mabeline / goose creek resivour . Believe it or not they are delicious, and I served it to plenty of people at a fish fry and it was gone before the catfish was. They taste like gator tail, only downside is you need a Tin snips to cut the Armour off.
My father caught a 3 foot Garfish trolling a crankbait for yellow perch/ Bream.
Here’s a link on how to clean them. Dont touch the eggs they’ll make you sick
http://www.bowfishingmadness.com/Gar-Cleaning.html
I caught a 5 footer in Lake Murray last weekend. Tons of fun!!!
Bob Van Gundy
Marine Designs,Inc.
Custom Aluminum Fabrication
803-727-4069