# Gar in Chesapeake?



## canadian taz (Dec 29, 2003)

Years ago I was fishing off one of the piers at Cherrystone Campground (eastern shore) and there were several large long fish which appeared to be gar (at least 5' long). They were feeding on tiny baitfish just near the surface. The only way I could get them to bite was to use a 1" minnow on a very small hook fished just under a bobber. I hooked into several of them but after a short acrobatic fight they said goodbye. I'm pretty good at fish identification but apparently not good enough to tell what these were. Any suggestions?

Taz


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## Kimoslobby (Jun 18, 2001)

On our last trip to the Oceanview jetties, Jake Ace and I saw what we believed to be a gar tucked in close to the rocks right under where we were fishing.

He was roughly three feet long and we didn't attempt to catch him as it appeared that he had lost a portion of his upper snout and we were too interested in watching him...and catching flounder--flounder--and more flounder!!!!!!


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## Tom Powers (Aug 2, 2001)

Hound fish. The poor man's marlin. Some of us actually target them using light tackle at areas like Poquoson Flats. I have never seen an inshore fish swim fiaster. However, it is really a pain to set a hook in that bony mouth.

They also are known to frequent chum slicks set for cobia.

A picture can be found in the saltwater anglers guide. Here is the link to the 2 MB .pdf flie.

http://www.mrc.state.va.us/vswft/angler_web_guide.pdf

Tom


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## sand flea (Oct 24, 1999)

Yup. Tom's got it. Bony mouth, a pain to unhook, jump like crazy. Houndfish.

Weird thing is they also stink. When you take them out of the water they release a scent that makes you gag.


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## shaggy (Jun 18, 2003)

If not mistaken, local paper this way did a writeup of a guy who found a dead one on the rocks I think Middle River area near Baltimore. Gar in the bay dolphin or porpoise in the Magathy, what next, Tog at Matapeake? Ooops, never mind, been done.  

Have Jeep.


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## canadian taz (Dec 29, 2003)

Never thought of them being houndfish. I've caught them down in the Florida Keys before. If so they were definitely at the top end of the size scale.


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## Hat80 (Sep 22, 2002)

*When I was a kid,*

raised in Deale Md. We would catch them right off the pier in Rockhole creek. They were all over the place, 3' to 4' long and Flea's right, they stink to high heaven. Their still in the Bay. We see them at PLO under the lights all the time....Tightlines


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## landlocked (Jun 10, 2001)

I camped at Cherrystone about 7 years ago and most nights the only thing I could get a hit from was the gar. Most were about 36 inches and hit a squid strip under a bobber.


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## BigJeff823 (Oct 14, 2002)

Waters too salty for Gar down there;it could be a needlefish or a houndfish.Needlefish look exactly like a big Gar.


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## canadian taz (Dec 29, 2003)

Rumour has it they're houndfish.

Actually the fishing off those docks blows, unless you're looking for short spots. There are some good spots nearby for late night specks.


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## eamakatu (May 2, 2004)

*Gar*

Here's how I catch a GAR fish. 


I take a baby croaker (2-3") long and put it onto a #1 hook through the back. Put a bobber 18-21" up from the hook. 

When the bobber goes under, I WAIT 2-5 minutes before reeling. The GAR takes that long to hook itself. It's tempting to try and set the hook when you see the bobber disappear, but that's the wrong thing to do.


GARs have a long nose with teeth. A real prehistoric looking fish.


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## ruthless (Sep 5, 2003)

The smaller fish are Atlantic Needlefish, they can get up to 25 inches long. Hound fish are the larger species that is somewhat broader in the sholders than the needle fish and can get up to four feet long.

As for Longnosed Gar (freshwater) I have seen these caught in haul seines in the area of Chesapeake Beach, which is the Chesapeake Bay Proper. They can surface and breath air so the salinity is not an issue for them.


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