6 replies to this topic

[olaf]

The day after the convention last year I got into some of the most exciting fish action of the entire year. I just put up a post about it on my site:
http://moxostoma.com/garfrenzy
 
Lots of photos and a video.
 
Take a look, and if you have anything to add to my speculation near the end, please comment there or here.
Thanks.
 
A few photos:
 

 

 

 
And the video is at https://youtu.be/ZiLlAAeEQXw (Can't seem to embed it here.)
 

[Matt DeLaVega]

The link is not working Olaf. I am looking forward to your speculation on this behavior.

[olaf]

Ah crap!

I typed my own site's name wrong. (fixed in the original post as well)

Try this:

http://moxostoma.com/garfrenzy/

[gerald]

I posted this hypothesis/question on your site:  "Perhaps the jumping gar already caught their shad a few seconds earlier and are jumping to avoid another gar trying to steal it? Did you see any evidence of them trying to grab prey from another gar?"

[mattknepley]

Love those pictures, Olaf! Gerald, that sounds logical.

[olaf]

I posted this hypothesis/question on your site:  "Perhaps the jumping gar already caught their shad a few seconds earlier and are jumping to avoid another gar trying to steal it? Did you see any evidence of them trying to grab prey from another gar?"

 

Here's my response to your comment, in case you don't go back to see I responded.

It had not occurred to me that the jumps could be separate from the capture of the shad. Thanks for that. I did consider the possibility that competition of some sort was involved. It could be that the sheer number of gars present made speed an advantage, and that momentum carried them out of the water. Avoiding theft is definitely a possibility. We have seen them swimming on the surface with beak and prey held out of the water (it looks like they’re showing off their catch), and I’ve wondered if that might be a way of keeping a freshly caught meal out of the sight of other gars until it’s positioned correctly for swallowing, or at least until there’s no question that the grip is good. Perhaps there is a window after catching a shad when it is most likely to be able to flop free, becoming an easy meal for an adjacent gar. I didn’t see any competitive behaviors or attempts at theft, but that would have happened below the surface. Snorkeling or deploying more underwater cameras further from shore might show some cool stuff.

[mattknepley]

I'll add this to muddy the water; at Orlando Wetlands Park (a man-made wetland filtration system that finishes off partly processed waste water) in Orange County, FL the gar are stacked like cord wood where the water exits the system at a final dam. You know when prey has gone through because the water boils and there's as much fish out of the water as in,it seems. Much akin to throwing pellets into a tailrace at a trout hatchery. Except, the gar all seem to be trying to get low in the water, and the ones up top are losing out. Probably because in this case, as the dam isn't an overflow deal but one where the water exist from the bottom the struggle is to get lower than the next guy,not above them.

That was 15 years ago, though. Not sure what it's like there now. But here's a link for anyone who may be interested. http://www.cityoforlando.net/wetlands/It's really a neat place, especially for those NANFAns who may also be hikers, herpers, and birders. (On one spring trip I say a Yellow Rat Snake eating a Yellow-rumped Warbler, a Great Blue Heron eating a large snake I couldn't i.d., and a few medium gators and turtles.) Apparently they are doing a demucking job in part of the park, but it's over 1600 acres,so you can get away from the work. Also looks like it's open 365 days a year; used to be closed in winter. A little out of the way, but it was one of my favorite spots in Orange County, and one I hope to revisit.