Bowfin...gar, odd request.

[CrappieKing79]

Reelfoot Lake in Tenn. has a lot of Bowfin. Rough River has a lot of gar, don't know about the different colors but has some huge ones. Saw about a hundred or so in one small area last week some around 4 ft long. Can't figure out why you want to target either of these species though.

[JD7.62]

Reelfoot Lake in Tenn. has a lot of Bowfin. Rough River has a lot of gar, don't know about the different colors but has some huge ones. Saw about a hundred or so in one small area last week some around 4 ft long. Can't figure out why you want to target either of these species though.

Have you ever caught a 4 foot crappie that leaps clear out of the water thrashes about when hooked? What about a 10lb pound crappie with teeth and muscle to rip a spinner bait to shreds and test the best of tackle? No? I didnt think so, and that is why I target these fish.

A fish doesnt have to taste good (as a side note Amia calva (bowfin) eggs are now being harvested and marketed as Cajun Caviar and the industry is booming right now!) to be a fun fish to catch. Dont get me wrong, I love tossin out a bobber and a fat head to load the cooler up with some slabs for a fish fry as much as the next guy, but I will bet ya you cant tangle with a monster gar or bowfin and NOT have a smile on your face!

Also, as stated in my original post, I'm looking to add the rare color morphs to my collection and to give you fellas the heads up that any oddball colored fish rather it be a bass or a gar can be worth thousands of $$$!!!

BTW CK, have you ever caught a black nosed crappie? The crappie with the "racing stripe" from their chin up and over to their dorsal.

[kyfanatic]

How'd you like to snag this?

http://www.kogt.com/TEMP/big%20Gar.jpg

[JD7.62]

How'd you like to snag this?

http://www.kogt.com/TEMP/big%20Gar.jpg

That picture never gets old to me! Too bad the gator gar dont come up the Ohio like they use to. The amazing thing is, gator gars can get even bigger!

Here is a picture of a golden gar. This particular one is simply a common shortnose gar, just with a genetic mutation. I wouldnt blink an eye dropping $2000 on a fish like that!!!http://www.fishingfury.com/categorie...alligator-gar/

[kyfanatic]

Can't speak for a bowfin,but I've ate roast garfish Cajun style when I lived in Louisiana several times and it tasted just fine to me.Of course I drank plenty of beer in those days too.

[coombro]

Can't speak for a bowfin,but I've ate roast garfish Cajun style when I lived in Louisiana several times and it tasted just fine to me.Of course I drank plenty of beer in those days too.

"Boy Howdy" on the beer! Lived down there myself for nine years wasn't a big deal to have transom full of empty beer cans. Use to go out an fish specifically for gar and a fight indeed. We'd fight more of them than we'd catch as the trick was getting that hook set. Ate gar fish on many occasions. Cajun lady would beg us to bring em to her and she'd cook it up.

[crappiepappy]

.... have you ever caught a black nosed crappie? The crappie with the "racing stripe" from their chin up and over to their dorsal.

Yes, I have. I actually caught one out of Cedar Creek Lake, a few years back. I also catch them out of Watts Bar Res. (E Tenn).

They are also reported to be in KY Lake & Dale Hollow ... but the cream de la cream lake for Blacknose, is probably Center Hill.

They are simply a Black Crappie, that occurs naturally in some waterways ... with a variant pigment gene that creates the stripe. They were originally used by biologists, to test small impoundments for stocking to see the results of growth & predation ... since they were easily identified vs the native fish. I believe they were originally found & taken from a section of the White River, in Arkansas ... but, there are several other states (13 of them) that have naturally occurring populations.

.... pappy

[kygorski]

Gar! Cumberland river, all the creeks have the short nose gar in them, Dale also has a lot of gar. Hook quite a few of them trolling for crappie on hotntots, but landing them is something else. .When we were in Louisiana, a coon---,showed us a trick that really worked.!/4 oz jig, white twister tail, and a piece of red nylon yarn fluff it up, it tangles in their teeth for a second giving you time to set the hook. The yarn thing I forgot about, but we used yarn with our spawn sacks for the same results when drifting baits for steelhead.Bow fin or grinnel, maybe barren river, saw a few caught there.Yes they will tear up a rapala or rouge.