Hookless gar fishing???

[slipbob]

I have never caught or fished these things but there was a show on OLN I saw the other morning where these guys were catching gar from  a boat with lures that had no hooks.  They were called the gargetter and they would let the fish run a while with it and then gently lift the rod and the fish would stay on.  It was wild the bait was some sort of plastic looking squid type thing.  Once the gar came in they would put a glove on and lift it out by the beak and open the mouth and just take the lure out.  Seemed like fun they caught a few gar with the biggest being about 15lbs.  I guess once the gar take the bait for a while you don't need a hook they just clamp down and hold on.  Anybody hear or see this it was pretty cool fishing??

[USMC130FE]

Sounds like they we're using nylon rope.  When the Gar hits it and then swims off with it, the combination of the rope fibers and their teeth is just like Velcro.  Easy for us to remove but not for the fish.  Worked great in Texas!!

Steve

[bobberstop]

Yup Nylon rope. Worked great in oklahoma too

[rgfixit]

I've fished for (and caught many) gar with a snare rig. Its basically a 40lb mono snare loop with a minnow hanging from a small hook and leader in the center of the snare.  The rig is suspended below a bobber. When the gar takes the small minnow the noose closes and they're caught.

Schools of gar just below the surface are a common sight in very warm weather.

Fun to catch, these prehistoric looking fish.

RG

[ice1or2]

I'm thinking some sort of velcro type lure, Iheard of something a little similiar for bass awhile ago, just to give a longer shot at setting the hook

[fishfearme]

i have posted a few times about fishing at night with a green lite for crappies.i have done this many times at Black Lake,NY.one of the things i noticed up there was gars that would swim the outer edge of the light.if you put your minnow over next to them they would swim away.....but if you held your rod up high so the minnow layed on top of the water and looked dead they would take it most every time.most were smaller ones but some were pretty large.allot of fun if the crappie fishing is slow.
Dave

[venisonman]

Yeah they use the nylon rope thing down south too.
For the lure you are looking for check gargetter.com.

I actually made my own this winter.  Check garfishing.com for a link on how to make them. I know a secret spot off of Ontario and plan on trying them out there.

Another spot on Ontario is at Port Ontario, the gar used to "bother" us around the Northern Pike opener.