Re: NANFA-L-- Re: Catching juvenile Gar

Prizma-in-aol.com
Wed, 20 Jul 2005 09:52:11 EDT

i raised a spotted gar from a 3 or 4 incher i received in the mail to about
16".
the gar would not eat gambusia but took to dried krill fairly quickly. much
easier to feed! i was chasing after tiny minnows everywhere.
i find them along stream edges or eddies in shallow calm water w/ floating
debris. they can look like little sticks... which i figure is their mode of
ambush.
once i caught several by cupping my hands beneath them and slowly raising
them.
cool creatures. prehistoric. i kept the 16" in my cement pond until i
realized just how many of my minnows, shiners and darters he was eating. i miss
watching him tho. fascinating.
it is not a good idea to reintroduce them back into the wild. disease issues
from exposure to live bait from other drainages are a concern. the released
gar may carry a new disease to the water you are returning them to possibly
effecting other species. think of the indians and small pox. fish are very
much isolated to their water. just across a ridge could be another drainage
system.
good luck... sometimes other members will catch a gar and could send you one
if you pick up the packaging time and shipping. but its fun finding one too.
just gotta do a lot of looking.
casper
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