My friend caught this gar while we were bass fishing in Erie and we didn't know if it was a Longnose Gar or a Spotted Gar. They are both in Erie and from my research, it looks like it could either be a Longnose Gar with a little more spots than usual or a Spotted Ger with a little less spots than usual. Thanks for your help!

looks like a long nose

It's a longnose, a spotted will have a shorted nose like a shortnose gar.

I was not aware Gar were in Lake Erie?  Interesting...I have always wanted to catch one.

It's a longnose, a spotted will have a shorted nose like a shortnose gar.

Exactly

The mandible of a longnose gar is at least twice the distance between the eye and pectoral fin (partially blocked by your hand).

On a spotted gar, the mandible is about 1-1/2 times that distance. Gar are usually difficult to hook, and in Florida which is lousy with alligator gar, we bring the occasional gar to the boat by unintentionally lassoing the mandible.

Roger

I used to catch plenty of gar when I lived in Florida. Want to catch them? Take a 1/0 hook and whip tie a 4" piece of white nylon rope to the hook eye area, like fly tying. Varnish or superglue the thread after tying. Then fray and unravel the rope. The gar's teeth get tangled in the rope 8-). Their bony mouth is almost impossible to set a hook in. You really don't need the hook on this lure for gar, but you may get a strike from a bass or crappie, and then you'll want that hook ;D.     Happy fishing.

~B.A.S.S.~N.A.F.C.~BoatU.S.~N.R.A.~A.M.A.~

Hey Denea, If you want to catch a gar you should come to were im at, we got more than i can deal with. The other day i was bass fishing and a 15 lb. alligator gar bit my brush hog, when i set the hook it felt like i set it into a dock. I found out it wasn't a dock when he started stripping line on 14lbs. of drag from my JM sig. series. He then proceded to drive my jon boat down the river. But I eventually got him to the boat.

Bow fishing for Aligator gar is a good time as well. We do that at night here in Tx, useing spotlights.

Gator