I've seen a lot of gar this summer on my home lake (Beaver Lake, AR).  Is that bad for bass?  This lake is by far not a trophy bass lake.  It's doing good to have bass of legal size.  It's also full of striper too which I think eat the smaller bass when they can.

I've seen gar consistently blowing up on shad and I have not caught bass when they were around.  According to wikipedia, they are not aggressive predators towards fish of reasonable size.

How big of a lake are you talking about?

How big of a lake are you talking about?

28,000 acres....she aint small ;D

I don't think it will matter. Presque Isle Bay (in Erie Pa, on Lake Erie) is full of gar, yet it is one of the best bass waters around, also the rivers here in Pittsburgh have gar and don't seem to harm the bass fishing. Then again up here in Pa. we have other (bigger) toothy fish out there, Northern Pike and Muskie, and they don't seem to harm the bass fishing. I have caught Bass on one cast and a Pike or Muskie on the next in the same spot. The only gar I have ever caught got tangled up the my line, never came close to the lure

I have always found were gar are seen, bass are in the same areas.

Matt

I have always found were gar are seen, bass are in the same areas.

Matt

Gar eat bass, that's why!

Absolutely 100% correct Matt. A balanced eco-sytem needs not only good food source, good recruitment, but also good predation. It's called checks and balances. Gar eat bass spawn, bass eat gar spawn: it all works out. Once past the spawn size they live in relative harmony and like very much the same conditions.

I agree with George Welcome, Gar and bass do live in harmony, I dont think gar are the kind of species to whip out another species of fish. I fish a similar area that you fish, which has both gar and bass. I caught a good size bass just a few days ago, and gar so i'm sure you'll catch one too.

Gar are considered a rough fish.    If you skin one, they are very good source of white meat.   I had a coach that skinned and cooked one.    I couldn't tell what kind of fish it was.     Good meat and eating period.

The trick was to skin it over cleaning it.

matt

It 's a matter of population balance, bass & gar have been living together in the same waters for ages, gar eat bass, bass eat gar so both level their population on their own. I 'd be more worried about water turkeys ( anhinga ), those can cause a lot more damage to bass & gar populations.

Gar are bony but their meat is very good and if you deep fry them crispy crisp ( pretty much like pork rinds ) then add salt, pequin pepper powder and a little bit of lemon juice -----> YUMMI !

Now that I 'm thinking about it did the above recipe sound a lil bit too rednecky ?  :-?

Well we can discuss what to do with fresh road kills ......  ;D

Thanks guys.  I've had the same feeling about where there are gar, bass are close by.  It's frustrating because you here a boil on the water or see a fish jump and you think it's a bass but it's only a gar.  They can be pretty aggressive early in the morning.  I had one jump at a topwater bait just before it landed while it was still in the air.

There are quite a few gar in the 3-4ft range in a large cove I fish.  I figured they were eating small bass, baitfish, etc.

The lake is under a huge algae bloom right now so that should help the shad population which i hope will help the bass population and size.

The last gar that came near a boat I was in took a swift blow to the head from my oar. Couldn't believe he went after a spook  :-?

Gross fish. And if they land in the boat, they're usually pretty upset with you

Id say no they dont effect the bass fishing, I fish a dead lake off the Pearl River and its loaded with two things gar and monster bass. When the water level is up enough where you can access this lake from the river by boat its probably the best bass fishing around here and has some true trophys in it, it also has alot of gars but nevers seems to effect the bass fishing. Only if the river was up more, can usually only get in there two or three months out of the year.

The last gar that came near a boat I was in took a swift blow to the head from my oar. Couldn't believe he went after a spook :-?

Gross fish. And if they land in the boat, they're usually pretty upset with you

Ya they are definetly upset with you when you hook up with one of them, they are also pretty aggressive towards a spinnerbait, Ive hooked bunches of them on spinnerbaits and no they are never too happy about it  ;D

Some of the best bass waters I fish have large gar populations.  I think gar go after smaller fish than decent sized bass.  Gar may occasionally eat small bass, but I think they have different niches and don't compete with each other.  

i do agree that gar and bass live in harmony and it many situations share the same water,but,gar can and do live in waters that bass dont,waters w/ low oxygen levels.thats why at times you'll find numbers of gar in areas that dont harbor much else except other trash fish,i.e. mudfish.

Gar are considered a rough fish. If you skin one, they are very good source of white meat. I had a coach that skinned and cooked one. I couldn't tell what kind of fish it was. Good meat and eating period.

The trick was to skin it over cleaning it.

matt

I've always found that gar is best if you never let the meat get on ice.  Seems gummy if you put it in the freezer.

here is a pic of the first gar i caught. My question can you catch are in the fall or winter? thanks

another pic

Lake Champlain (VT/NY border) is one of the premier bass lakes (LM & SM) in this country. It has a fairly large population of gar with no apparent ill effects on the fishery. Results of the Bass Master tourney held there proves this. But I suppose it would be determined by the ecosystem as a whole; size of lake, type of water, spring fed, forage etc..  On any decent sized body of water, I wouldn't worry too much about gar being a detriment to bass fishing.

Here at champlain we have alot of gar, last time I checked champlains bass fishery is doing pretty well  ;D

My home lake is only 125 acres but has miles of shoreline due to narrow sections.

There are some big bass and gar in this healthy body of water.

The lake is catch and release only for all species, and all the guys I know (which is everybody) are very faithful to that rule.

EXCEPT for gar.  

Yeah sometimes when my friends will catch a gar, he will snap the thing in two and throw it back in the water.

Feeding Habits - Young fish mainly feed on zooplankton while larger ones feed on small fishes, frogs and crustaceans. They feed by stalking their prey or lying in wait for it to come within striking distance.

George,    I have witnessed numerous needlenose gar just lying under the surface under a branch overhanging the waters edge lifeless waiting to ambush the small baitfish working the area.

With a nose like that, you need to sneak up on a meal.    The lord sure didn't bless them with a bucket mouth like he did a bass.    LOL

Matt