Hookless Gar Lures 

Fabricated Lures that Catch Fish!

By David Graham

Article Posted: October, 2004
 

In my opinion the hookless method is more effective than live bait! Not the bite ratio but the fact that your likely to loose 10 minnows for every gar you actually land. They are much better than any other artificial out there that has hooks at all. They are so easy to make and really fun to use. They are light when you first make them but dip them in the water and they cast as far as any other lure. It's actually a little more complicated than just casting out and hoping, sight casting is the best method with these lures.

From what I've found in only taking these lures out a few times is that the gar were not always willing to take it aggressively. Perhaps because it has no scent or just looks like nothing they have ever seen. Later I discovered it was partially the direction I brought the lure across the gar. When I cast the lure to a gar that was facing straight away from me and when I bring the lure straight toward the gar it usually scares away the gar. Something swimming directly at the fish scared it. When I cast to one that faces directly at me I have trouble getting aggressive bites. I'm thinking this must happen because when the gar chases my lure and it wasn't moving quickly or trying to evade, the gar figured "ok if its not scared maybe its not a food item"

Gar are intelligent fish and it shows. They have been around for millions of years and know how to get around. When I cast to fish that are facing cross-wise as though if I kept going in my boat I would T-bone the rope-lure. I cast a good 5 feet past it and bring it past the gar a good ways they always hit it good. Perhaps the gar think it was an un-weary baitfish that didn't see it coming?

The retrieve is simple. Slow is better. Slow with a few twitches across the gar and they will spring forward and snap down. When the gar snap the lure they sit for a while with it in there mouth wondering what is going on. If you get lucky they will nibble it a few times or shake their head trying to force the lure to resist so as to make sure its even real. If you can get the gar to not sit there with the lure in front of it and get it to snap and swim, you've pretty much caught it. Open your spool and let it run a bit. Once you're confident it has tangled into the teeth, all you need to do is reel it in and enjoy the acrobatics. Making these lures is very easy and only involves a peace of twisted nylon rope, and a snap swivel.

David Graham is an avid Rough Fish angler and can be reached at the www.roughfish.com forums.
All content is expressed solely by David Graham, through his experience. All photos and words are his.