Personal Best - Big Catch Longnose Gar 20 lb 8 oz

Last night I was at CS Lee Park with a full arsenal. I brought with me some frozen cut bait and nightcrawlers to get started fishing. Once I had lines in the water, it was time to chum up some baitfish. With oatmeal and small pieces of bread, I threw the mix out in the shallow water by the shore. After 15-20 minutes, I grabbed my castnet to see if I can catch some live bait. It only took a few good casts and I had plenty of mud minnows. I used my light action rod to catch a few live bluegills too. Towards the end of the night I switched over to live bait and nightcrawlers. After the switch, I seemed to get alot more bites on live bait. I missed a few big ones too. One almost dragged my rod in the water because my drag wasn't set right.

Well anyways, it was the end of my night and I had another bite. After I made sure the hook was set, this guy was really pulling. I thought my drag was too loose or something, but no, it was just a big fish trying to get away. This one I fought a good couple minutes. I thought it was a big catfish the way it splashed around in the middle of the river but once I got a good look at it, it was a big Longnose Gar. Still a pretty cool catch since I haven't seen one of these in awhile. It's been a long time since I've caught a Longnose Gar, my previous one was about 9 LB almost a year ago. I can catch Florida Gar any given night, but they don't get any bigger than 4-5 LB. The Longnose Gar, though, can be common in the 5-15 lb range and the Florida record is 41 LB.

This Longnose Gar was 54" long and 20 LB 8 Oz, which qualifies for another Big Catch certificate from the FWC. The minimum requirements for the longnose is 20 lb and/or 50" long. Looks like I'll be sending in another application soon. =)

Location: C.S. Lee Park
Tackle: Owners Light Mutu 5/0 hook on carolina rig - 3 oz sinker

Species: Longnose Gar
Weight: 20 LB 8 OZ
Bait: live bluegill