With Hurricane Ike messing with our greatly detailed plans, Realtor Ron (the most famous person on Ido that never posted) and I ended up shortening our gar trip with guide Capt. Kirk Kirkland http://www.texasfishingguides.org/kirkland/ by a day. We fished with Kirk this last Monday. With a 10 mph breeze and partly cloudy skys it was a gorgeous day in central Texas!
The photo is of the catch of the day.
We started out the morning launching Kirk’s flat bottom boat on the steepest cement ramp I’ve ever seen. My photo’s didn’t do the inclination justice!
We motored around a couple bends to just the opposite place that I would fish…an inside bend. It’s easier to hold a bait in the slack water it was explained to me.
The rods we were using made my Flathead Catfish gear look like walleye gear. Shakespeare rods, Penn spinning reels and 150 pound PowerPro line. Attached on the business end of the PowerPro was a couple foot length of wire leader and a Mustad treble hook in about a 4/0.
Kirk used a large float too. The float wasn’t to detect strikes, it was used when a gar went into a snag. The line was cut and when the float came back up on the other side of the snag, the PowerPro was tied back together and the fight was on!
For bait we used a type of White Sucker. It looked more like a carp with a sucker nose to me. We used the head and body sections.
Once the bait was cast out a short distance into the slack water, we placed the rod holder alarms in the bank. The banks were so muddy that we wouldn’t try to step on them.
The back rod holder was a metal rod with a holder shaped to fit a rod handle. The front was the same but with a screw on strike indicator. The rod was placed into the holders, the bail opened and lastly the line was pulled to ensure every thing was working.
Once a gar picked up the bait, the very audible line out alarm would go off. We would be waiting snuggled up against the shore line hoping the gar would continue down river with the bait.
It’s thought that they do this to take the bait way from other fish.
We would watch the float go down stream as we picked up the rod from shore. Kind of reminded me of Jaws. The float would head off down stream, then sometimes from the center of the river to the shoreline and back. Sometimes the float would disappeared and in Ron’s case reappear right in front of the boat.
Then for only reason’s Kirk knows…it would be time to reel up the slack and set the hook…and HOLD ON!
After about 20 minutes of boat pulling and turning fun, we were still wondering who was going to win. It has to look crazy when the boat is being turned every which way then up stream and down again!
Continued in the following posts…
Once the gar was at boat side and tuckered, Kirk would use a rope and drop it down the line past the business end of the gar and behind it’s fins. This rope was then used to hoist the fish over the side and into the boat.
Kirk is pictured here gettig ready to place the rope in the correct spot.
Once Kirk lifted the gar into the boat, all ‘ell broke loose. She was still and angry fish! The three of us were up standing on seats, coolers or just about anything that would keep us off the floor while she was showing her displeasure of being in the boat.
Once things settled down, Kirk would measure the gar, then tag it using a Pit style tag and then it was photo time!
Link to gar landing<<<<<
Kirk used a chart to determine the weight of the fish. He recorded the info to be turned into the biologist to help study the fish. Out of over 300 fish, he’s only had four recaptures.
There is nothing like a 140 pound fish to make you forget everything you were thinking of! I think that shows in Ron’s smile!
>>>>ADVERTISMENT<<<<<
Ron Robinson
Keller Williams Premier Realty
MN Cell: 651-769-5744
WI Cell: 715-222-1506
“I grow my business… one yard at a time”
>>>>>ADVERTISMENT<<<<<
Once the photo’s were taken, the beast was lifted over the side of the boat and she swam away. I said a quiet little thank you to her as she dropped out of sight in the murky water of the Trinity River.
Quite a beak on those dinosaurs!
It was an amazing trip. Capt Kirk has something very special going there. Catch and release only and it sounds like the bow hunters will be limited to how many they can shoot.
By looking at the Trinity, a person would have a hard time believing that there were any fish in it, much less 200+ size Gators.
Photo is of another “slimed” Float Tech life jacket!
As I mention in another post, our last night in TX wasn’t so pleasant.
Ron was taken to the hospital to find out he had pnemonia in both lungs. They wouldn’t release him to go home, but seeing the doctors and nurses working with him, I know he’s in good hands.
His wife will be flying down to “collect” him on Friday.
Before I left, I asked Ron what food he hated the most…he said peaches. So I made sure the nureses knew that peaches were Ron’s favorite food and he would eat them morning, noon and night.
Hey? What are friends for?
The photo is of Ron getting his doc’s orders.
Glad your feeling better Ron! Hurry back..we have some fish to catch!!
Congrats on the fish!
Tuck, you know the fabled “Jackalope”.
Take a gar and put an alligator head on it…these things look unreal!
Good report Brian. It could have been worse for Ron, he could have left his PC logged on with you around(inside joke)
Those gar are a nasty looking creature—that mouth is all business!
Wow….awesome read and pictures Brian, what a fish
Get well soon Ron
That fish is truely a “BEAST ” of a fish for sure.
have a speedy recovery Ron
Great report….. By the looks of Kirks shirt…. He must be into hand wrestling those beasts.
Hope Realtor Ron has a speedy recovery.
First off get well Ron.
Now that picture of him and the gar looks PhotoShopped. What a fish!
Simply Awesome
Great report Brian
Great Story, Thanks for the report. That is definitely on my “To Do” List.
Get Well soon Ron
Why is Brian always helping Ron? Can he not catch a fish down there or what?
Get better soon Ron.
Ditto, for my to do list also
Get well Ron! Bk has that effect on people,heard you were doing much better once he left.
I may have a little extra time in the garage next week. I will get the screw gun out and give that a try!
Do they still have aligators at the Como Zoo?
Now thats what I call a FISH! Nice report, glad you guys hooked into one. I’m jealous.
Wow, what an adventure!
I don’t know much about gar. Is it true they have “lungs” that allow them to breath above water?
Sully
We touched on that Sully. From my understanding they are not exactly lungs…but they do “gulp” air and blow bubbles. It helps them in the murky waters. It also gives a person extra time out of the water while taking photos.
They have holes on the ends of their noses very similar to an alligator.
As for the gar that I caught…the photos are on Ron’s camera and in TX…which is a good thing. She was all of 20 pounds…less than two years old according to Kirk.
This might sound hard to believe, but just being there and watching a fish like that coming into the boat was satisfaction enough for me. It was so exciting I don’t feel that I missed anything…unless I would have hooked into a 200 pounder.
That is crazy!! Great report – chaulk up another line on the “To Fish” list…
What a great trip! Get well soon Ron!
Jeremy
Holy shnikees! Next up Wels cats!