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Alligator gar in Illinois

Started by Guest_BenCantrell_* , Sep 09 2013 09:18 PM

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#1 Guest_BenCantrell_*

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Posted 09 September 2013 - 09:18 PM

This is a pretty exciting success story for hook & line sampling of the recently reintroduced alligator gar in Illinois. The IL DNR has been (somewhat quietly) reintroducing alligator gar to multiple backwater spots along the Illinois River over the past few years. A google search will turn up a few articles about the project.

I've had the pleasure to watch 3 of my friends catch gator gar at one of the locations over the past few weekends. (I'm still working on catching one myself.) When I told my friend at the DNR about the catches, he was quite happy, because he said he was not able to catch a one while conducting a gill net survey several weeks ago.

Each of the fish was released unharmed with plenty of attitude intact.

As long as we treat these fish with respect, they're going to get bigger, and bigger, and bigger. I can't wait to go fishing for 6 foot gar less than an hour away from Peoria, IL!

Posted Image

#2 Guest_JasonGoneFishing_*

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Posted 09 September 2013 - 10:45 PM

Thats awesome!

#3 Guest_Casper_*

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Posted 10 September 2013 - 10:13 AM

I sure don't need to be swimming with those teeth!
I suspect you planted that Sunfish in the gullet. When i had a 20" Spotted Gar he would not eat Sunfish. I suspect because of their spiny width... but an Alligator has a wide mouth so perhaps Sunfish are a common meal.

#4 Guest_Skipjack_*

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Posted 10 September 2013 - 10:24 AM

I bet that was the bait.

#5 mattknepley

NANFA Member

Smack-dab between the Savannah and the Saluda.

Posted 10 September 2013 - 10:42 AM

Boy howdy, that's a lot of teeth, and throat, and stomach! Very cool fish...

Matt Knepley
"No thanks, a third of a gopher would merely arouse my appetite..."

#6 Guest_BenCantrell_*

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Posted 10 September 2013 - 10:52 AM

Yes, bluegill were the bait. From what I've seen that particular lake has mosquitofish, bluegill, LMB, shad, and silver carp as the food base.

Using bluegill we caught gator gar, shortnose gar, channel catfish, and LMB.

Using shad we caught shortnose gar and channel catfish.

Using silver inline spinners we caught shortnose gar and spotted gar.

Using a piece of a nightcrawler under a bobber we caught bluegill, LMB, and a red-eared slider.

#7 olaf

NANFA Member

Posted 14 September 2013 - 03:22 PM

I did a write-up of my first alligator gar expedition with Ben.
More photos there: http://moxostoma.com
Those double rows of teeth are something to see up close. For some reason I'd always thought it might be tough to tell if there were two rows or just one row with a lot of zigs and zags. Turns out there's no difficulty at all!
Thanks again for leading me to the spot, Ben.
Posted Image

Redhorse ID downloads and more: http://moxostoma.com

#8 Guest_BenCantrell_*

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Posted 25 September 2013 - 09:37 AM

Great write up in the Chicago Sun Times!

http://www.suntimes....since-1966.html

#9 olaf

NANFA Member

Posted 01 October 2013 - 10:01 AM

And now a radio show/podcast about gator gar, suckers and the love of native fishes. Ben's mentioned in it, and I'm doing the talking. See the links and/or download the mp3 at http://moxostoma.com/gar-suckers-radio
The radio show has been very friendly to native fishes over the 2-3 years it's been on the air. I know another gar episode is coming soon, and there are other native fish topics in the works.

Redhorse ID downloads and more: http://moxostoma.com

#10 olaf

NANFA Member

Posted 01 October 2013 - 10:04 AM

And this article was in the State Journal-Register last weekend:
http://www.sj-r.com/...ack-in-Illinois
This one was picked up by the AP and has been appearing in papers across the country.

Amazing to see so much attention being paid to a fish that isn't making anyone rich.

Redhorse ID downloads and more: http://moxostoma.com

#11 Guest_EricaLyons_*

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Posted 01 October 2013 - 10:24 AM

Are there any known instances of alligator gar biting people?

#12 Guest_BenCantrell_*

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Posted 01 October 2013 - 10:53 AM

I don't recall there being any officially documented instances in the Rivermonsters episode about alligator gar. Regardless of whether you like the show in general, that episode is pretty good.

Gotta be very careful handling them though. They will gladly bite you when you're trying to get the hook out of their mouth.

#13 Guest_BenCantrell_*

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Posted 01 October 2013 - 10:55 AM

Olaf, thanks for posting those links. The radio show/podcast is especially relevant to NANFA. Nice to hear so many native fish getting positive press among the fishing community.

#14 Guest_sschluet_*

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Posted 04 October 2013 - 06:24 PM

Getting out with a crew researching gator gar is on my bucket list...

#15 Guest_BenCantrell_*

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Posted 07 July 2014 - 08:32 PM

I'm bumping this thread because it's hot as heck in central Illinois, and that means it's time to fish for alligator gar again! One of the DNR's goals is to improve public perception of alligator gar in the state, and we as NANFA members can do that by fishing for them and posting reports that show the fish being handled with respect and showing off how cool they are. Send me a PM if you'd like to coordinate for a day trip this summer. I have plenty of fishing gear if that's an issue. You'll need a one day or annual fishing license, and I'll probably ask you to chip in for bait. I won't post the exact fishing spot on the open forum, but if you're trying to figure out how far the drive would be, the spot is less than an hour southwest from Peoria, IL.

#16 Guest_Sunfish catcher 321_*

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Posted 07 July 2014 - 08:36 PM

Do you know of any spots fartherer north.

#17 Guest_BenCantrell_*

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Posted 08 July 2014 - 10:13 PM

Do you know of any spots fartherer north.

Not that are currently legal to fish.

#18 olaf

NANFA Member

Posted 15 July 2014 - 10:20 PM

Here's another Illinois alligator gar article from last fall:
http://www.sj-r.com/.../News/309299927

Redhorse ID downloads and more: http://moxostoma.com

#19 Guest_BenCantrell_*

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Posted 21 July 2014 - 11:49 AM

The hunt continues! Dale Bowman from the Chicago Sun Times wrote an article about our search for gator gar in Illinois a few weekends ago. Something ran with our bait several times, but we weren't able to hook up once we put tension on the line. That usually means a gar is the culprit rather than a catfish or bass.

http://www.suntimes....ml#.U80dVfldVkh

We'll keep trying! The offer still stands for anyone who would like to come out and fish with us. Send me a PM and we can discuss dates.