killing garfish

[Gottogo49]

I fished with a buddy who used to catch some giants back in the refuge canals. He used a long handle ball peen hammer (no guns allowed in there). He would hit them hard a little lower than between the eyes- scrambled their brains. He had a big one that was only stunned come back alive in the boat, broke a rod and almost knocked him out of the boat before he could administer a second treatment. Gar fishing can be as exciting as gator hunting.

[huntin fool]

Originally Posted by Ray

I fish them in an aluminum boat. Just throw a wet grass sack over them and they don't move much.

When I clean them, I put them on a 2 X 12 with a nail in it, sticking up a coupe inches.
Lay the fish on the board with the nail in it's *** to hold it from sliding. Wipe all slime off and rinse.
Take a sharp hatchet or machette, grab the top rear fin with a pair of pliers and chop forward till you remove a strip off the top, all the way to the head.
Then take a knife and skin it from top to bottom.
Fillet the meat from the bone and put in an ice chest of ice water with a cup of vinigar in it, for a couple hours.
I don't know why, but old folks always told me to never touch the eggs, they are poisonous.

And thats how we do it..

[Marshrat]

It is illegal to shoot gar with a gun and the supposed reason is that people would shoot them and just leave them to waste. Don't know if the reasoning is true but that is what I was always told. My uncle and I both shoot them with a .22 pistol when we fish gar lines. I don't think you will have any trouble as long as you have it on a line if you were to get checked.



Warren

[Feesherman]

Originally Posted by Marshrat

It is illegal to shoot gar with a gun and the supposed reason is that people would shoot them and just leave them to waste. Don't know if the reasoning is true but that is what I was always told. My uncle and I both shoot them with a .22 pistol when we fish gar lines. I don't think you will have any trouble as long as you have it on a line if you were to get checked.



Warren

I can't find it in the regs anywhere.

[wtretrievers]

Originally Posted by Feesherman

I can't find it in the regs anywhere.

It's in the regs under "Methods"

[Ray]

In the spring, when they are spawning and you have a big rain, you can walk around the edges of ponds and see several in a group. You just see the fins sticking out the water.
Walk up to them from the side with a 3/4" X 8' galvanized pipe with a union on one end.
Smack the biggest one on the head with the union end of the pipe.
She will shoot straight ahead like a torpedo for 20' or so and die. Throw her in a pirogue and find the next group. They are easy pickins at that time of year.

[Feesherman]

Originally Posted by wtretrievers

It's in the regs under "Methods"

Under methods of take I see where you cannot use a gun. But, I thought the take part was the hook and line, not the killing of the fish. I think it's a grey area. But I will still cap em.