Outdoorsman Thread

[jerryd6818]

WB -- Ever pulled one off the trotline that was still alive? I helped my uncle run trotlines several times when I was a whelp and he almost always had at least one Gar on but never alive.

[Miller Bro's]

How about this alligator Gar, they can get up to 9` long

http://www.strangesports.com/content/item/139928.html

[muskrat man]

The creek gar are surprisingly good eating, the river ones were nasty; very strong and muddy tasting. I was going by dimensions given on a website they said to use a 6" long piece of 3/8" soft nylon rope. Cut out the core, shred the end up and tie it off to leave a head about 1- 1 1/2" long. First time out I caught 3 on plain white rope it's a fairly tight area where I'm catching them and they're very concentrated so I think they may have gotten educated because after the third fish they'd follow it but turn away uninterested. So yesterday I made up a few lures and dyed them, made a yellow, orange, green and a crawdad looking brownish orange. The bright orange nailed these.

But to answer your question, yes they latch a hold and their teeth get tangled the more they fight and shake their heads the worse they get tangled up. It takes a minute to untangle them and it best to give them some anesthesia before trying to open their mouths and untangle everything. A lot of gar guys that I've read are catch and release, I've done some catch and release fishing before but I'm more of a catch and eat advocate myself.

No leader is needed since most of their teeth get tangled up and can't cut anything anyway, but a 14-16" spiderwire leader wouldn't hurt anything. There are no hooks, it's completely hookless which is really handy when you flip it too far up on the bank or it winds up in a tree. Don't ask me how i know

I'm using a 6'6" medium rod with a fast tip, shimano open face and 10lb mono.

[whitebuffalo58]

Almost never Jerry, but a few here and there over the years and usually still living.(but not for long ) They tend to do just like an alligator and start rolling wildly. As a result, 99 out of a 100 times, they'll twist a line plumb in half. I've cured most of that by using a double eye swivel just ahead of a 12" steel leader. It's an expensive rig, but does save money on lost hooks. The worst thing is i've had them strip the bait from nearly every hook on a 33 lead trotline. In Gar infested waters, crawdads and night crawlers are a better choice of bait, but not fool proof.
Kaleb, i'll have to give one of those lures a try. I havn't fished for them on purpose before, but have snagged a few and they do put up a pretty decent fight. Might be fun at that. Ever fish for Carp, using canned corn or hominy? I don't care to eat 'em, but they are a ball to catch.

WB

[muskrat man]

I've never fished specifically for carp much, those are bow targets but I have caught a few by accident fishing for other stuff. I was fishing a creek for smallmouth with whole night crawlers along a rock ledge one time. I had a light rig, light action ugly stik lite with a micro (or close to it) shimano reel. My float started dancing like a smallmouth does so I set the hook, but it didn't move. I thought it had snagged up until the line started zipping up and down the creek. I fought him for a few minutes and thought I had a state record smallmouth until a 15 lb carp played out and drifted towards the surface. Ah well, it was fun at least. haha. A good time to get them is when the mulberries are dropping off the trees, find some mulberries that overhang the river or lake and there will be a mess of carp eating those mulberries as they drop into the water. You can pop'em with the bow or drop anchor and hook up mulberries on your hook and get them that way too.

[whitebuffalo58]

We don't have a whole lot of mulberry trees here. I have seen some, but most are small and scraggly. Most of the berries get picked off by birds before they can reach full maturity. We usually just corner the carp up in the marshes during spawning season. Some people around here preasure cook and can them up. They use them like canned salmon or mackrel. I can eat it, but not a favorite.
Grandpa used to make a homemade catfish dough bait that had mulberries in it. Where he lived in SE KS, the mulberry trees were huge. He had one out on the corner of his property that was 3' across at the base. We'd set up in that tree and eat them things until we made ourselves sick. After he died, one of the things I searched high and low for was the recipe for that dough bait, I never did find it. I remember most of the ingredients, but not the proportions used. I wish I could figure it out, because it was excellent catfish bait.

WB

[muskrat man]

I can suckers, better than any salmon patty ya ever eat. I've tried carp out of the river, bad. The grass carp was ok but still not a good flavor, they may be better out of the creeks that have cleaner water. Here's the gar fillets, fish fry at my house

[whitebuffalo58]

Nice haul, bud! Bet I can guess which slabs came from the four footer. Enjoy your feast! Wish I could join ya, somethin' tells me you know how to do it right!!
Grabbin' suckers is kind of a national pastime 'round here. We put on a community feed every spring after the main run. Seldom enough leftover for canning though. Sucker patties are very good eatin'!

WB

[muskrat man]

How ya'll catch them suckers in your neck of the woods?

[whitebuffalo58]

We use drag lines. Couple of different riggins' but if you've ever been spoonbill'n, it's the same technic. We refer to it as grabbin' but technically it's snaggin'.

WB

[FRJ]

When I lived in Provincetown, Mass. you could fish East Harbor for carp. Too many carp. I dont think I ever caught one over 5 or 6 pounds. There was a little canal of water that drained out of the pond and some times you would see a carp in there. The water was an average of 15 inches deep or so and clear. A couple feet wide. Of course the carp test everything with their mouth so with my salt water gear I would drop a big ol bare and barbless stainless steel hook in front of them that they were always courious about.
Man oh man, would you have your hands full when that hook set. Lots of fun.

[muskrat man]

spoonbill is something i really wanna try, before they outlaw it completely.

[whitebuffalo58]

Does sound like a great time Joe!
Yah, I know whatcha mean Kaleb. It only takes a few idiots cuttin' out the caviar and leavin' the fish, to mess things up. I really don't understand it, spoonbill is a premium fish. I know it's all about the money, but how stupid can people be?

WB

[muskrat man]

Man can be a wasteful critter when he gets blinded by money

[whitebuffalo58]

I reckon so. Several years ago, we met up with a guy down south of Miami, OK who was harvesting the eggs, but atleast he was giving away the fish to anyone who wanted it. I've seen 30-40 pounders thrown up on bank that had their bellies cut and left to rot. That's not greed, that's insanity!!

WB

[JEARL]

Here is a picture of a buck I caught on the trail camera last year. I just put out the trail cameras this year and he is back. Not very big but unique none the less.

[caddyman1973]

spoonbill is something i really wanna try, before they outlaw it completely.

Oh yeah!!!!Now there is some good eatin'!!!!

[treefarmer]

Those are some unique antlers growin' on that little feller! If you let that one walk till another year or so he might be really somethin'. But if you have the same problems we have, somebody else will kill him when he crosses the fence so if he's legal he's in trouble in our neck of the woods. Looks like he is enjoying a little mineral block there in front of him. Treefarmer

[JEARL]

Treefarmer, I dont think he is going to mount to much. I let him walk last year, and to be honest I really didnt expect him to make it to this year. I was getting pics of him until the rut kicked in last year and didnt get another pic until late Dec. I will probably let him walk this year also, just depends on how I am feeling at the time. Your right about the mineral block, I have had good success with the apple flavored block. Usually they will stay around long enough to get a few pics.

[TripleF]

Awesome pics Jearl!! Man, I miss hunting.

[Old Hunter]

Scott, do remember that you have an invitation to come up and hunt with me in eastern NC this fall season. Bruce

[zp4ja]

Just picked up this gun. SIG SAUER 2012 P226 9mm aka MK-25.

I bought a SIG P226 about 20 years ago. Shot literally 15,000 rounds thru that gun. Not a typo on the amount, 15 thousand rounds. Still has all original parts including the barrel. Very dependable, not a single jam.
Picked up the 2012 model. Current Navy Seals issue gun (hence the anchor on the slide). Not cheap in cost but a gun you can count on always.

Here is a link in case anyone is interested.

http://www.sigsauer.com/CatalogProductD ... -mk25.aspx

When it comes to semi-auto handguns, only manufacturer I buy. Not that the others don't make a quality firearm, but given my previous 226 experience, i am sold on the high quality and performance.

This week I am looking at the SIG 556 rifle. Trying to decide which model I want. If anyone wants to give their input on which model they think I should consider, here is the link.

http://www.sigsauer.com/CatalogProductL ... ig556.aspx

Jerry

[ironmage]

Trip out west.Got no game the hole trip but did git some good pic's of the good old USA.

[whitebuffalo58]

Scott, do remember that you have an invitation to come up and hunt with me in eastern NC this fall season. Bruce

Home video of Scott and Bruce's hunting trip.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=en ... WIYTs&NR=1[/youtube]

WB

[TripleF]

Scott, do remember that you have an invitation to come up and hunt with me in eastern NC this fall season. Bruce

WOW, just saw this. I am honored you'd make that offer. Truly honored.

Unfortunately it isn't possible. Thank you very, very much for offering.