# Rope Lure



## Sultan of Slime (Jul 13, 2007)

Rick_1971 and I went to the river a while back and we saw a large group of gar surfacing all around us and we were throwing everything in our tackle boxes but we could not get them to hit.I finally got a large gar to hit a white beetlespin but after a 20yd run he  spit the hook.

Since then i have been researching the rope lure and heres what i have been making & using.

(1. Take a 12 inch section of nylon rope and a small zip tie. 
(2. Fold the rope in half and place the zip tie about a half inch from the top. 
(3.Then unbraid the rope and expose the inner core ,cut the core off as close as you can to the zip tie. 
(4. Now brush the nylon with your wifes fav brush  to get all of the tangles out. 
(5. Now i attach a 60lb fluorocarbon leader to the top of the rope with a double palomar knot,and add a bullet weight and a swivel.


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## Sultan of Slime (Jul 13, 2007)

any of you gar fisherman that wanna share some tips ,feel free.
I have been doing pretty good on the smaller gar around my dock and i cant wait to get back down to the river and get me a biggun.


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## Arrow3 (Jul 13, 2007)

Looks good!!


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## little rascal (Jul 13, 2007)

*Now, ....how*

.....do you unhook'em, and is the lure trashed after each fish?


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## Sultan of Slime (Jul 13, 2007)

i have a piece of broomhandle that i pry their mouth open with and pull the nylon out of their mouth.then i just brush it a little and go again.I have caught 11 total  and i am still using the same lure i started with,now granted these are smaller fish i dont know how long they will last with the toofy big boys.


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## Lostoutlaw (Jul 13, 2007)

Priveye dat is one kewl lookin lure you make I know I'm gonna have to try it now.....


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## Sultan of Slime (Jul 13, 2007)

outlaw,

it is the coolest thing to land a fish without a hook!!!


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## Rick_1971 (Jul 13, 2007)

Sure wish we had a few of those when we were on the river. Gotta get back out there soon and go for the big boys.


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## Sultan of Slime (Jul 13, 2007)

Rick_1971 said:


> Sure wish we had a few of those when we were on the river. Gotta get back out there soon and go for the big boys.



get to work!!!

use your wifes best brush she will love that!!!


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## Dixiesimpleman32 (Jul 14, 2007)

there are some big gar where you are talking about.state record is probaly swimming around there.


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## WestPointLakeGarGrabbers (Jul 14, 2007)

Gar are a lot of fun to catch, that's for sure! That's all I fish for now until they disappear for the winter. My goal besides the state record is to learn how to catch them in winter time.

www.westpointlakegargrabbers.blogspot.com


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## Sultan of Slime (Jul 14, 2007)

WestPointLakeGarGrabbers said:


> Gar are a lot of fun to catch, that's for sure! That's all I fish for now until they disappear for the winter. My goal besides the state record is to learn how to catch them in winter time.
> 
> www.westpointlakegargrabbers.blogspot.com



there's the gar guru!! i was waiting to hear from you on this topic.

You know winter catfishing and fishing for gar go hand in hand because i seem to catch alot of gar in the winter time on cut bait and now that you mention it they are really lethargic and dont hardly run at all.its like they almost shut down.so i bet it would be hard to tempt them with anything else.good point!!!


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## Bryan (Jul 14, 2007)

Years ago behind the dam at Sinclair we hooked a large shiner wrapped in a piece of those game bags thats simialar to cheese cloth let'em run with it a while to get those teeth good and tangled and had a ball reeling them in .Used to give them to a guy up there who ate 'em.He said along the backbone was a solid piece of meat simialar to the backstrap of a deer.


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## Sultan of Slime (Jul 14, 2007)

thats what i heard also bryan, I may have to try it.


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## Baklash (Jul 14, 2007)

I make a similar gar lure, but your method of attaching the bullet sinker looks better than mine so I'm gonna copy yours in the future.    I have been using a crimp on type bullet sinker but I like your method better.  I have found that twisted rope is easier to unravel and comb out than a braided rope.  Also, instead of a round broom handle I found a flat piece of wood about 1-1/4 or 1-1/2 inch wide and only 1/4 to 3/8 inch thick.  By being thinner than a broom handle it goes in the mouth easier because the mouth is usually closed and it's hard to get something in there with all those teeth clenched shut.  I can stick it in the mouth flat and then when I twist it on edge it opens the mouth wider.  You usually have to pull the lure out of the teeth because it is stuck so tightly in there.  Sometimes you can actually do this while holding him out over the water and the gar just falls back into the lake without having to touch him or put him in the boat, unless you want to clean and cook him.  But for me it's definitely catch and release.


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## WestPointLakeGarGrabbers (Jul 15, 2007)

It's good to here there are some people out there who think Gar fishing is a sport of sort! It's not for everyone though is it. It can get a little tricky on a 20lber! You think they are just lying still when suddenly they start a ruckus!

www.westpointlakegargrabbers.blogspot.com


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## Atlanta29 (Jul 16, 2007)

Thanks for the instuction tip.


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## gabowman (Jul 16, 2007)

priveye....make a couple more and paint the end next to the zip tie about an inch long bright red. I seemed to get lots more bites doing this vrs. using all white lures.


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## Sultan of Slime (Jul 16, 2007)

gabowman said:


> priveye....make a couple more and paint the end next to the zip tie about an inch long bright red. I seemed to get lots more bites doing this vrs. using all white lures.



I was thinking the same thing, i made some red head ones and i am gonna go to the river this week end and try em!


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## crackerdave (Jul 21, 2007)

I just now found this thread -  now yawl got me fired up to try a catch and release gar from my kayak.Any suggestions on how to release one single handed ? I SHO ain't bringin' one of 'em in the kayak with me ! I saw the article in GON and saw that I definitely need gloves - any other suggestions on how to handle one boatside?


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## Sultan of Slime (Jul 21, 2007)

Dave when you get ready to go gar fishing from the yak you just let me know and i will bring the video camera and lots of band aids.

When Rick_1971 and were in the gar real thick a few weeks ago we were gonna play rock,paper,scissors to see who brought it in his jon boat and handled it.

But if anyone can do it in a sit on top yak i would put my money on you!!!


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## JnT (Jul 21, 2007)

From louisianacajun.com Recipe by Capt. Bill Griffith
Gar Balls
Description: 	
Ingredients: 	Deboned gar meat free of gelatinous tissue.
boiled potatoes. ( pound for pound of gar meat )
green onion tops, finely chopped. 1/2 cup/
1lb. corn flour, not corn meal or white flour
Crawfish boil. Premixed type such as Zatarans.
Add no other seasoning as the crawfish boil will supply the seasoning.
Use the real spicy suggestions in the instructions.
Directions: 	wrap gar meat in cheese cloth and boil exactly as you would crabs or crawfish. This renders the gar meat snow white and taste like lump white crab meat. Combine the gar meat,shallots, and potatoes. Mash this mixture until you are able to form patties. Dip firm patties in egg/milk mixture then dredge in corn flour. Deep fry at 350 for approx. 8-10 minutes. Serve with cold beer !
I have eaten these when I lived in Louisiana and they taste like crab cakes. Zatarains is available at Publix , Some Wal Marts, and Krogers. If you can't find it substitute Old Bay and extra  powdered paprika and cayenne pepper.


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## crackerdave (Jul 21, 2007)

Now I KNOW I'm goin' gar fishin' - and I won't have to worry about how to release him,I'll just knock him in the haid and take him home and make "crab cakes!"


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## Old Dead River (May 24, 2008)

i seldom deliberately fish for them but the one time I did I was instructed by a close friend and we tore 'em a new one.

get a large hook (say a catfish or trotline hook) bait it with a large bream head. Don't use any weight. Spot and locate a gar near the surface throw the bream head towards it and it's nearly guaranteed that it will pick it up. if it doesn't pick it up immediately drag it across the surface like a topwater.It's almost like deer hunting or bow fishing in that you're totally sightfishing and throwing your breamhead directly at the target.

once the gar has picked the bait up you just wait. let them take line. they'll usually go back and forth past you again and again. you have to wait for them to get that bream head back behind their rows of teeth and when you're confident they have done so, or if you can see that they've actually got it to the point of swallowing it you set the hook. Even without a leeder we managed to catch a lot of fish using this technique. we were doing this @ the oconee river just a bit downstream from sinclair dam.

heh, I once threw a bream head i was discarding from catfishing( on the conclusion of my trip) into the water in one of the stalls at the sinclair tail race. the bream head actually bounced off the concrete of one of the stalls and a gar literally caught it in it's mouth as it bounced off the concrete - yes like rebounding a basketball.

oh and yes the rope lure is verdad. of course I'm not a devout enough gar fishermen to go such lengths. I sure would like to see someone thin them out in the oconee though as it's become nearly impossible to fish for catfish because of them - close to sinclair dam anyway.


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## Javelin (May 24, 2008)

The few that we have gotton came off the rope like you got SoS and then when we didnt get as many  hook ups we died the end off the rope char.green...If I rember right we just hooked the rope to a hook,we never got into to it real bad just when we were at Bartlets and saw them.


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## Sultan of Slime (May 25, 2009)

TTT for tween the banks.


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## tween_the_banks (May 25, 2009)

Thanks guys, I should be catchin em soon : )


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## Jeff C. (May 25, 2009)

Good lookin lure SoS.


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## Rick_1971 (May 25, 2009)

Talk about a blast from the past.   digging up the old stuff. lol


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## Gut_Pile (May 25, 2009)

Looks great sultan! Hope to see some pics of a giant gar soon!


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## ZachYak (May 26, 2009)

Caught and released two little gar on my kayak on Allatoona today.  I must say it was pretty fun, but if I got anything bigger that 10 lbs or so i'd probably have to drag it to shore to get that rope out of their teeth! 

Here's some pics


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## Sultan of Slime (May 26, 2009)

ZachYak said:


> Caught and released two little gar on my kayak on Allatoona today.  I must say it was pretty fun, but if I got anything bigger that 10 lbs or so i'd probably have to drag it to shore to get that rope out of their teeth!
> 
> Here's some pics




Sweet
thats about the size I get around here.


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## ZachYak (May 26, 2009)

There were some pushing 3 or 4 feet breaking around me, just couldn't get them to bite.  That'd be a fun ride!


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## dognducks (May 26, 2009)

How do you fish that thing? looks good


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## ZachYak (May 26, 2009)

I attached a hook to mine and put a minnow on it then just threw it into a school of gar and waited.  I think you can work just the rope like a jerk bait and get bites that way too.


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## Toffy (May 26, 2009)

*Gar are a hoot on a rope*

When they are breaking or rolling, they are more difficult to catch than when they are sitting dead still on top.
If I see one sitting still, and I can cast past it, I expect to catch it.
Cast well past the gar, then reel the rope fast right up to within a foot of his nose, and then just kill the rope.
As it sinks, the gar will roll on it and take.

Just tighten up and the fight is on.
Big gar really fight hard in hot weather and watch out... on occasion, they jump!

As to releasing them, you can just ripe the rope out, but that often leaves rope in the teeth and the fish may be unable to open its mouth.

I wear leather work gloves and grab the gar by the snout. Using needle-nose pliers, I wedge open his mouth and "thumb" the fibers out of his teeth before dropping him back, none the worse for wear.

As to eating them, I really want to try them but I have not talked to but one person who had figured out how to clean those fish. Their hide is soo tough that I hear Indians used the scales for arrow points.

The one guy I know froze the gar whole and straight, then used a band saw to steak the gar and remove the medallions of "tender loin" on each side of the backbone.

I am sure it worked but I do not want to have to clean that saw. Gar are one of the stinkingest fish around.


So I am back to needing a lesson on how to clean them. Any experience here???


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## FERAL ONE (May 26, 2009)

http://forum.gon.com/showthread.php?t=305074&highlight=gar

there ya go, cleanin' and eatin' !!!


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## HacksawJimWagons (May 26, 2009)

man thats AWESOME!..i love this sort of thing..


so my ol pal from Honduras, he's around 87 years old or so, he says that he can catch ANY FISH in the ocean with a white piece of fabric......oh, and a big hook....


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## Sultan of Slime (May 26, 2009)

FERAL ONE said:


> http://forum.gon.com/showthread.php?t=305074&highlight=gar
> 
> there ya go, cleanin' and eatin' !!!



After seeing this way back when, I tried it and have been eating the REDNECK LOBSTER every since!!!


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## georgiasportsman (May 30, 2009)

Looks good, i have caught alot of gar on russel and clarke hill striper fishing. caught them on rattle traps, live bait, and one on a redfish magic (large bettle spin.) becareful tho i got my thumb bit trying to to the hook out! lol


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## sasquatch hunter (Jun 1, 2009)

*popper*

I caught some one year using a big pop-r, just remove the front hook and tangle a little bit of that nylon rope in the back hook.

My buddy was bragging about how hard they fought, so I fixed that lure up and cast it to one.  He drilled it then just sat there.  I slowly pulled him to the boat from about 20 yards away and he never moved.  

Then when I got ready to reach down and remove the lure, all  H.  E.  double hockey sticks broke loose.

Good Times


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## Alan in GA (Sep 1, 2010)

*Big gar...........*

I've seen some that looked to be about 4 to 5' in Allatoona. This was a half dozen years ago, but they were in Little River close to where it meets the Etowah channel. I threw broke back Rapalas but it was difficult [rare] to get a hook into their mouth.

I've also seen some nice size gar in Sinclair about 1/2 mile from the dam [lake side].
Now to try the rope lure!


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## whchunter (Sep 1, 2010)

*Beat me*

Someone beat me to the red trick. I like to add red color from top to end of about 1/4 strands.  As to the broom handle remover....take a broom handle or similar round stock and leaving enough round for the handle, put it on a band saw and taper to end leaving the end about 1/2 inch or half thichness of stock. Then round the end..fire and harden. It gives you a comfortable handle but will also give you the taper and leverage to pry open the mouth. I've caught black/mud fish/grinnel on them too.


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## nytcrawler (Sep 1, 2010)

Can't wait to try this.  Thanks.


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## Nugefan (Sep 1, 2010)

If y'all are catchin' em , I am looking for jawbones and large scales ....


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## GaMudd (Sep 1, 2010)

I can't believe the timing ya'll digging up this old thread.  Last weekend I was on Jackson and saw the gar all over the lake.  I had one grab onto a buzz bait, but that lasted all of about 3 seconds before he snapped the line.  I think I'll have to tie one of these rope lures on for the next one I see.  I'm still a little iffy on the whole getting it out of his mouth part.


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