# Ohio Spotted Gar?



## flyasf (Mar 19, 2021)

This summer I want to catch a Gar but have no clue where they are. Ive heard turkeyfoot lake has them and ive heard the same with rocky river. Does anyone have any other bodies of water or any tips on catching them?


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## BuckeyeFishin07 (Apr 10, 2017)

I believe there are a bunch that hang out around the Clendening Lake Dam in the summer. How to catch them I have no help there, sorry!


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## snag (Dec 27, 2005)

The vermilion river has them and the Ohio river is loaded with them, a big chub under a float can get them.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Carpn (Apr 5, 2004)

Majority of the gar in ohio are longnose gar . 
Spotted or shortnose are pretty rare . 

Lake erie and it's tributaries and the ohio river and it's tributaries hold a good number of longnose gar .


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## DeathFromAbove (Oct 21, 2008)

The Maumee's full of them. Guys catch them on rope flies. Take a piece of yellow nylon rope and shred it all up and fish it as a top water, the rope gets stuck in their teeth. Not sure how all that attaches to a line, but YouTube has a video for everything under the sun


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## FlyFishRich (Feb 3, 2016)

Went fishing years ago down in Duffy or Hannibal Ohio on Rt.7 and fished the Ohio river at night and we had all kinds of longnose gars in front of us due to the lanterns. I caught 2 and had my gear all wrapped around the gar because they like to spin and thrash around like a gator lol. I used a red and white jitterbug. Good luck and have fun....Rich


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## flyasf (Mar 19, 2021)

BuckeyeFishin07 said:


> I believe there are a bunch that hang out around the Clendening Lake Dam in the summer. How to catch them I have no help there, sorry!


where is clendening lake at?


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## flyasf (Mar 19, 2021)

FlyFishRich said:


> Went fishing years ago down in Duffy or Hannibal Ohio on Rt.7 and fished the Ohio river at night and we had all kinds of longnose gars in front of us due to the lanterns. I caught 2 and had my gear all wrapped around the gar because they like to spin and thrash around like a gator lol. I used a red and white jitterbug. Good luck and have fun....Rich


that sounds so awesome


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## buckeyebowman (Feb 24, 2012)

DeathFromAbove said:


> The Maumee's full of them. Guys catch them on rope flies. Take a piece of yellow nylon rope and shred it all up and fish it as a top water, the rope gets stuck in their teeth. Not sure how all that attaches to a line, but YouTube has a video for everything under the sun


That's the technique I read about years ago in a fly fishing story. The thing is, do NOT set the hook, because there is no hook! Hooks aren't much good with gar anyway. When the fish takes just let it chew on that rope to let it get it teeth all snarled up in it.


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## Bass knuckles (Sep 23, 2014)

Not sure about how to catch um but I know for sure turkyfoot has um, seen them while fishing there many times, they hang in the weeds, cool looking fish


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## Bass knuckles (Sep 23, 2014)

Bass knuckles said:


> Not sure about how to catch um but I know for sure turkyfoot has um, seen them while fishing there many times, they hang in the weeds, cool looking fish


I’ve accidentally hooked them w minnows before, if they are hungry I’m sure they wld strike a lot of baits


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## RH1 (Apr 13, 2013)

Portage lakes is definitely where I would focus. The lakes are full of gar. I've seen schools with 2 dozen at a time. 
Calm sunny days bring them up and you will see them over the weed beds


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## flyasf (Mar 19, 2021)

Bass knuckles said:


> Not sure about how to catch um but I know for sure turkyfoot has um, seen them while fishing there many times, they hang in the weeds, cool looking fish


im gonna kayak on turkey foot this summer and try and get one, My friend told me that PLX had gar but i thought he was just playing guess he was for real.


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## flyasf (Mar 19, 2021)

RH1 said:


> Portage lakes is definitely where I would focus. The lakes are full of gar. I've seen schools with 2 dozen at a time.
> Calm sunny days bring them up and you will see them over the weed beds


Yeah once it gets pretty hot out im gonna fish turkey foot a lot on my kayak and see what I can get.


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## Bass knuckles (Sep 23, 2014)

flyasf said:


> Yeah once it gets pretty hot out im gonna fish turkey foot a lot on my kayak and see what I can get.


Keep us posted, curious if you get any!


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## flyphisherman (Jul 7, 2009)

Seems like the gar are into sunning themselves on a good ole hot day. You can see their spotted tails. 

We've caught them on minnows, but it's really a challenge. You have to let them take the bait for a LONG time. They'll hold that minnnow in their skinny little snout and swim with it.....if you set the hook, you just rip it out of bait and miss the fish. You have to wait until they fully engulf it......or use the rope fly, so their teeth get tangled.

I've caught them in the rocky, grand, chagrin, vermilion, and beaver creek (near columbiana)


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## DeathFromAbove (Oct 21, 2008)

There's a lot of them at Wiers Rapids


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## bdawg (Apr 14, 2009)

I've seen 2 huges ones in the bay at Old State Park north of Turkeyfoot Lake. I think I even had one on last night while crappie fishing there! It broke my hook! When they are sunning themselves, they are not active and probably won't bite. They are most active at night and early morning. Use a shiner or minnow and let them run with it for a LONG time before setting the hook.


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## flyasf (Mar 19, 2021)

flyphisherman said:


> Seems like the gar are into sunning themselves on a good ole hot day. You can see their spotted tails.
> 
> We've caught them on minnows, but it's really a challenge. You have to let them take the bait for a LONG time. They'll hold that minnnow in their skinny little snout and swim with it.....if you set the hook, you just rip it out of bait and miss the fish. You have to wait until they fully engulf it......or use the rope fly, so their teeth get tangled.
> 
> I've caught them in the rocky, grand, chagrin, vermilion, and beaver creek (near columbiana)


I fish rocky river a lot for steelies but this summer I plan on going and targeting some smallmouth and hopefully be able to catch some gar too.


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## flyasf (Mar 19, 2021)

bdawg said:


> I've seen 2 huges ones in the bay at Old State Park north of Turkeyfoot Lake. I think I even had one on last night while crappie fishing there! It broke my hook! When they are sunning themselves, they are not active and probably won't bite. They are most active at night and early morning. Use a shiner or minnow and let them run with it for a LONG time before setting the hook.


really you can catch them at night?


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## polebender (Oct 29, 2011)

If you don’t mind traveling, Hoover Reservoir in central Ohio is full of them. In the summertime in the north end of the lake you can see them swimming everywhere. They swim around in groups. We catch them crappie fishing all the time. Guaranteed you’ll be able to catch them there!


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## climbingsponge (Nov 7, 2008)

flyasf said:


> where is clendening lake at?


It's in Harrison County. It's part of the Muskingum Watershed. I've never caught (or seen) a gar there, but it's a great lake. I don't go there often, but the times that I did have been very memorable.


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## JayW (Apr 12, 2015)

I used to find longnose in the Grand, sometimes in numbers when the water was low and clear and they were easy to spot in the slower pools. I saw a pair of giants once, hovering in a pool below Mason’s landing, on a summer evening maybe 12 years ago. I made some rope lures and managed to get one once, it was cool until I had to untangle the rope fibers from its teeth. Bring a leather glove that you can soak and wear to hold them while you work.

They’re very pretty fish with their red/orange tails. Look in slack water, bridge pools, backwaters etc in any Erie trib from May-July and you’ll likely see some pods of them. Look up how to make rope lures, they’re a much surer bet than hooks.

Just a PSA, spotted gar are a state listed endangered species, if you catch one for Pete’s sake make sure it goes back in unharmed. If you see one, leave it alone. They’re easy to tell from longnose, since they have large brownish spots all along their bodies while the longnose have speckles mostly concentrated towards the tail-which is Orange in longnose and grayish with brown spots in the spotted.


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## RipitHard (Sep 28, 2014)

Lots of Gar, cruising around Put-in-Bay island on Lake Erie. Schools of little ones. Very visible when the water is calm. Hard to catch. Try a minnow on a slip bobber, floated very shallow. They tend to swim near the surface.


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## DHower08 (Nov 20, 2015)

Portage lakes are full of them


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## flyasf (Mar 19, 2021)

DHower08 said:


> Portage lakes are full of them


Im gonna take my kayak to turkey foot soon with a rope fly and see what i can get


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## K gonefishin (May 4, 2004)

I was casting off the vermillion pier 2 nights ago and saw 3 of them swap by right in front of me by the rocks, I guess the Rocky has a bunch, low clear summer conditions you can see them and alot of them, (per my friends)


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## The Shack (Aug 20, 2020)

Tuscarawas River. New Philly Exit. River broke thru and the lake it created has a ton of them in there


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## DHower08 (Nov 20, 2015)

flyasf said:


> Im gonna take my kayak to turkey foot soon with a rope fly and see what i can get


I consistently see them schooling at the entrance to the speed zone at turkey foot


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## flyasf (Mar 19, 2021)

DHower08 said:


> I consistently see them schooling at the entrance to the speed zone at turkey foot


Im gonna get one there soon, thats my closest body of water with them in it.


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## Floatnflyfishing17 (Mar 26, 2021)

you can find a lot of gar in the ohio river. any tailwaters or discharge areas will be your best bet. when its sunny you will see them come up continuously to gulp air and expel gas. ive caught them fishing blade baits vertical jigging, and ive caught them using flukes. as some have mentioned above, yarn flies will yield success. their mouths are extremely bony so it would be difficult having the hook penetrate their mouths. they will readily gulp shiners down also. if you see schools of shiners on a hot day, chances are the gar are right there also.


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## DHower08 (Nov 20, 2015)

If looking for a road trip east harbor is also full of them. Along with gar you'll catch a ton of bass as well


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