# Portage Lakes Gar



## JohnJH (Feb 3, 2015)

A kid I know was bass fishing and caught this gar. Don't know if it's a Gator or a Longnose gar but still a gar outta portage. It was in the main chain and that's all I'm saying.


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## nis1 (Mar 12, 2014)

There's a few in there. Looks pretty good sized. Did he turn it loose?


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## slab slayer2 (Mar 30, 2015)

That is a long nose gar alligator gar have been extirpated in Ohio due to dams in Ohio river and the Ohio river was only place that had gar and mabey it tributaries


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## JohnJH (Feb 3, 2015)

I figured Longnose slab slayer. Yes he did nis1


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## fishingful (Apr 5, 2004)

Lots of them in there. I remember 20 years ago seeing them. Had one on once. It wes 4-5 ft long.But never really fished for them. 

I grew up out there. I have seen pike, walleye and goldfish out there. Goldfish was 12 Lbs. I had a pager back then lol that's how long ago I fished portage hard


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## JohnJH (Feb 3, 2015)

If there was more of them I would probably fish for them but I think it would be lots of effort with minimal pay off. I'm sure catching them is amazing but seems like it would take a long time to figure it out. He was just bass fishing and caught it on accident.


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## Scott M (Jul 1, 2013)

What did he catch it on?


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## JohnJH (Feb 3, 2015)

Scott M said:


> What did he catch it on?



He didn't says judging by the pic is say a white spinner or Buzz bait I'll ask tomorrow at school


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## Bassbully 52 (Feb 25, 2014)

Funny my partner and I were in a bass tourney out on the chain Sunday. We saw a gar in the morning in mud lake. I asked him when was the last time he seen one and he said years ago..me also.
Maybe they are making a come back? Years ago 20 years or more they were everywhere and rolled around during spawn in the shallow water.

Is there anyone here old enough to remember when their were black freshwater eels in the chain? If you do you are as old as dirt like me.


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## JohnJH (Feb 3, 2015)

Bassbully, I honestly really hope they are making a comeback. Until I posted on here everyone we talked to has said they never heard of gar in the chain but it sounds like there was a decent amount at one point. But catching a Gar is on my fishing bucket list and there isn't many lakes around here that provide that opportunity so it would be cool to have a lake with a decent amount of gar in it.


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## amazingslinger (Apr 16, 2009)

Portage is LOADED with Gar, and some BIGGUNS over 5 ft. I see packs of them regularly near the swim beach on turkeyfoot, near cormorant Island in west, and near the Iron Channel. 
I've hooked a few bass fishing, only ever landed one, maybe 36 inches. Fun fish that will breach everytime you hook one.


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## Carpn (Apr 5, 2004)

There are a few places in Ohio with longnose gar. There are no alligator gar in Ohio anymore. The daming of the Mississippi and the ohio stopped that. Lake erie and its tributaries are loaded. The ohio river and its tributaries are loaded till at least the first dam. Portage lakes and Hoover has em also. The Scioto really gets a bunch but technically its a ohio river tributary.


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## TopCat (Sep 27, 2006)

I grew up on Rex Lake and fish all of the Portage Lakes quite a bit. There are still a lot of them in the chain. You can often find them schooling just under the surface over deeper water on sunny days. They also maraud the shoreline at times to eat minnows, bluegills, and shad. They are a blast to catch. My friends and I used to target them when I was young. In the summer we would cruise the lake looking for a school to be sunning, then we'd toss minnows right into the school. They wouldn't hit it on the surface, but if one was hungry it would follow that minnow down. If you saw a big gar dive after your minnow, you gave it about a five second count, set the hook, and then hold on.


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## bdawg (Apr 14, 2009)

Plenty of them in the Portage Lakes. I've seen them in the back side of Mud lake in the shallows when I was looking for spawning gills. Saw a big one chasing minnows early one morning in small bay near the launch ramp. Tried to catch it for an hour but it never hit my lure.


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## WillyDub (Aug 26, 2009)

The Longnose Gar in Portage are always cool to look at. When they start to spawn they will pair off and thats when you will usually get a good luck at the big ones. They swim together and will buzz the surface often.

Had one 2 springs ago in the early good weather follow a Fluke for about 6 casts, never actually hit it but kept bumping it, was really neat to see.


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## Bassbully 52 (Feb 25, 2014)

I just got back to fishing the chain last year and don't go there allot anymore. In the past 90's they were there but not in the numbers I saw as a kid in the 70's. Its great to hear they are in numbers and like I said I saw one last week and thought it was cool. The Ohio river is full of them and they used to mess up some of my spots.


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## dmills4124 (Apr 9, 2008)

didnt see any last season but every year for I dont know how long they would sun themselfs in the grass in west res...gr8 to look at...very cool


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## fish*FEAR*me (Mar 8, 2006)

Seen the dumpster full of them last Saturday at the new state park ramp. Somebody must have been bow fishing and killed a pile of them.


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## Bassbully 52 (Feb 25, 2014)

fish*FEAR*me said:


> Seen the dumpster full of them last Saturday at the new state park ramp. Somebody must have been bow fishing and killed a pile of them.


Sad are Gar legal to bowl hunt? My father used to do that with carp but at least he gave them away or buried them in my Moms gardens to fertilize.


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## JohnJH (Feb 3, 2015)

They are considered forage fish so it's legal to bowfish, snag, and do basically everything else except what's listed to take them


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## Bassbully 52 (Feb 25, 2014)

JohnJH said:


> View attachment 110745
> 
> 
> They are considered forage fish so it's legal to bowfish, snag, and do basically everything else except what's listed to take them


Thanks for the info. Any of you guys seen those bow fishing boats at night? I saw a couple last year on Springfield and thought is was the SS Akron with all the lights...very strange looking for sure. This is coming from a guy with headlights on his boat


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## dmills4124 (Apr 9, 2008)

the guys on swamp people make what looks like an awesome alligator gar sauce picante.....what a waste


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## laynhardwood (Dec 27, 2009)

Catching gar in the Erie tribs is pretty simple they like to investigate floats so you put a minnow about a foot below your float when the gar comes to investigate and they will just slowly move the bobber which puts the minnow in the gars face and they will eat. I have caught plenty of them while crappie fishing with my nephew.


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## Pole Squeezer (Jun 21, 2008)

I hate it when people just kill something just to dump it into a dumpster to rot. I caught a 3ft gar in Turkeyfoot 2yrs ago, while fishing for "gills", It ran me about 50 yards hugging the shoreline, (I was wading), I was using 4lb line, and couldn't figure why it didn't break my line until I finally wore it out and grabbed it by the tail, and saw my tiny jig had snagged it in the tail, the only place it could snag on a gar. The freakiest thing about that gar was how warm it was when I grabbed it, It was like grabbing a dog, it's a warm blooded fish. It was gulping air and burping.....a fascinating creature. When I lived in Louisiana, people would eat them by the ton in my neighborhood.


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## riverpounder (Mar 28, 2015)

Ya I've heard a lot lately about people eating gar,,ahhh I can't even think about it they give me the creeps!!! They r getting so bad down my way on the o river that guys killing em by the dozens and still don't help!! It's gonna start being a huge problem and already is kinnda... I'm so sick of em in past couple years exploding population can't get in check and they r ruthless killers from the time they t couple months old til adults and I think it's obviously effecting the walleye sauger in my area and I hate it!!! They kill stuff then can't find it with their stupid beak so gotta kill more and more !! I tried contact dnr people about it but I know there isn't anything they could or should do but anyways I wish those bowfisherman would come here and put a slaying on em ... I have with bow


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## Dinger (Aug 24, 2005)

Scratching my head at "warm blooded fish". 

Porpoise Lakes instead of Portage maybe?

Ding


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## riverpounder (Mar 28, 2015)

I don't think there ate any warmblooded freshwater fish,,,gar have air bladders and can't breath outside of water and few other crazy evolution stuff but not warmblooded... Only fish that are a kind of warmblooded are tuna marlin swordfish I believe and they aren't really true warmblooded


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## Pole Squeezer (Jun 21, 2008)

Yeah I know, but when I grabbed it by the tail, and lifted it up, the body felt unusually warm.


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## Stang6060 (Jan 23, 2015)

the bowfishing state record longnose gar is out of portage lakes


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