If you are interested in testing your tackle against a 100 pound, prehistoric-looking fish, and have access to the turbid slowmoving waters of the lower Mississippi River drainage area, the Alligator Gar may be just the fish for you. Here are some tips for trying this toothy fish on for size.

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[edit] Steps

Choose your weapon. Many southerners will tell you the preferred method of fishing for gars is bowfishing! They take to the slow-moving backwaters of rivers in the Southeast United States with compound bows and fishing arrows. Here, however, we will look at the possibility of actually hooking the gar.
Make sure your rig is up to the task, we are talking about a fish that weighs in up to 250 pounds, with dozens of sharp, needle-like teeth. You may consider the following some pretty good tackle set-ups.
- Large open-faced or spinning reel capable of hold 150-200 yards of 30-100 pound test monofilament line.
- 7-9 foot stiff-actioned graphite or composite rod.
- 3 foot steel leader, 60-100 pound test.
- 2/0 treble hook
- 1/4 oz. slip sinker, with a split shot sinker to keep it above the hook.
- Plastic or cork bobber (float), capable of keeping your bait and rig suspended near the water's surface.
- Gaff, or where legal, a 22 caliber rifle, for subduing the toothy fish when landing it.
Pick a good-sized live bait. Some people in the lower delta waters near the Gulf Coast prefer 10-12 inch mullet, and often suggest removing the scales before using them, but any legal baitfish, such as shiners, shad, or suckers are on the gar's menu.
Find a slough, backwater, or dead lake (a lake that is inundated by an adjacent river when the water is high, but is landlocked when the river is at normal level). Secure permission to fish this water, and whatever licenses are required in the jurisdiction you are fishing in. You will need to have access to fish your choice of locations, so if there is no bank access, you may have to secure a boat.
Set out on your expedition. If you have elected to fish from a boat, have someone accompany you if you choose to fish unfamiliar waters, and make sure you have all the required boating safety equipment with you.
Watch for schooling baitfish, like shad, shiners, or freshwater mullet (saltwater mullet, if you are fishing a brackish water locale). When you spot a school of fish breaking the water as if they are being herded by a hungry carnivore, you are probably in gar country. Rig your bait, and cast into the school.
Keep an eye on your float. When it begins to torpedo across the top of the water, or just plain dives towards the depths, lower your rod toward it, wait for the slack line to disappear, and just before it becomes tight, pull the rod up forcefully to set your hook. The Alligator Gar has a hard, bony plate in its mouth (the reason fishermen prefer treble hooks), and considerable force is needed to penetrate it.
Assess the fish when you feel the tension on your line. Very large fish will require a substantial fight to land, and you may find it necessary to adjust your drag to wear it down. Try to keep the fish steered away from logs, brush, or other snags to keep him from becoming tangled, where you will almost certainly lose him.
Fight your fish until it is exhausted. Never try to force even a smaller gar into the boat while it still has fight left in it. The Alligator Gar has been known to bite aggressively in self defense. For very large gar, it may be best to gill gaff them, so that the head (and teeth) can be steered away from occupants of the boat before bringing it aboard.
Be extremely careful if you choose to release your catch. Removing a treble hook from a mouth full of needle like teeth requires a very long-nosed pair of pliers, and cutting the line will leave the treble hook embedded in the fish's mouth, leaving it little chance of survival.
Consider taking any fish you catch home for dinner. This may raise a lot of eyebrows, since most people simply choose not to eat gar, but their flesh is edible, and some sources say it is quite tasty.

[edit] Tips

Give serious consideration to hiring a guide for your first trip fishing for these fish. The time a guide will save, as well as the safety considerations should make your trip much more enjoyable.
The best states to find them in are Mississippi,Louisiana,Arkansas, Alabama, and Florida.
They can weigh over 250 lbs. According to the Florida Museum of Natural History, the largest recorded alligator gar came from the St. Francis River, Arkansas in the 1930's, and weighed 350 lbs (159 kg).
The Henderson Swamp west of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Lake Ponchartrain, north of New Orleans, Louisiana, are populated with Alligator Gars, as are the Pearl and Pascagoula River in Mississippi, the Mobile, Tensaw, Tennessee, and Tombigbee Rivers in Alabama, and the Escambia, Choctawhatchee, and Appalachicola Rivers in the Florida panhandle.

[edit] Warnings

Respect the teeth of this fish, never stick a hand, even with leather gloves, into its mouth.
Watch for a flying hook or other terminal tackle if the fish gets free, the tension on the line turns these into dangerous missiles.
There are stories (somewhat substantiated) of Alligator Gars biting feet that are dangled in the water off of piers and riverbanks.
You can injure your back by picking it up by yourself.