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NAVIGATION
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Gar: General Information
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The American Heritage Dictionary defines "gar" as:
gar1 (gär) n. 1. Any of several
gadoid fishes of the family Lepisosteidae of fresh and brackish waters of North and Central America, having long narrow jaws, an elongated body, and a long snout. 2. A similar or related fish, such as the needlefish. In this sense, also called garfish, garpike. [Short for garfish.]
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North American Gar Species - Family Lepisosteidae
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Gar of all species have gone pretty much unchanged for the past 100,000,000 years. The dinosaurs, birds, most reptiles, mammals, and yes even man found garfish already swimming & hunting in the waters when these "new" species
finally crawled out of the ooze, stood up and looked around at the face of the Earth.
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Introduction To The Gar Species
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****:THE GARS
The gars are slender primitive fishes, living links between the sharks
and our common bony fishes. They are found only in streams and
lakes of North America. Four living kinds are known. The alligator
gar has a short broad bill armed with a double row of large teeth. The
other three species, which have longer beaks and a single row of long
sharp teeth, are the Long-nosed Gar, the Spotted Gar, and the Short-
nosed Gar. The first of these may reach 25 pounds in weight; the other
two only 5 pounds.
All gars are predators feeding almost exclusively on other smaller fish.
These are taken by a stealthy submarine-like approach, with only the
tips of the fins moving, followed by a quick sideswipe of the long
toothy jaws. The prey is then turned and swallowed, headfirst, at a
single gulp.
Gar eggs are attached to weeds or underwater trash, hatching in the
same places and at the same time as our more abundant minnows, on
which they feed from the very first. The newly hatched gars are about
an inch long and slender as a toothpick. They look much like their
parents except that they have a long vibrating filament on the end of
the tail. They soon lose this but with it the young gars glide through
the water as if driven by a miniature propeller.
Unlike most other fish, in which the air-bladder is a simple
parchment-like sac, gars have air-bladders which serve as efficient
lungs to supplement their gills in aerating their blood. These air-
bladders are spongy, richly supplied with blood vessels, and have a
connection with the throat through which air is exhaled and inhaled
when they come to the top of the water and "break" the surface, as they
frequently do. As a result, gars can survive in water so poor in
dissolved oxygen that other fishes die of suffocation. On the other
hand, gars have such small gills that they often smother to death in
summer if held beneath the surface in nets.
Instead of scales or leathery skin, as in most of our other native fishes,
gars are completely enclosed in a shell or armor of thick bony plates,
so hard that they scarcely can be penetrated by fish spears. It is
reported that in early days the Caribbean Indians used the skins of
alligator gars to make breastplates and cover their shields.
Like sturgeon, the flesh of gars is good when smoked in their shells
and, in the south, the flesh is used to make a kind of fish sausage. The
eggs look enough like sturgeon eggs so that people are often tempted
to make gar caviar. However, they are rank poison. A little bit can
make a grown man deathly sick.
Excerpt from: Forest Preserve District of Cook County
Seymour Simon, President
Roland F. Eisenbeis, Supt. of Conservation @
http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/natbltn/200-299/nb209.htm
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Meet The Alligator Gar - The largest of all the gar species
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 "Texas Alligator Gar"
Lepisosteus spatula /
Other names: Gator gar /
Status: Texas nongame fish /
Description:
Gars are easily distinguished from other freshwater species by their long, slender, cylindrical bodies, their long snouts, and the fact that they are equipped with diamond-shaped interlocking (gadoid) scales. Additionally, the dorsal and anal fins are placed well back on the body, and nearly opposite each other. The tail fin is rounded. Alligator gar may be distinguished from other gars by the presence of two rows of large teeth on either side of the upper jaw in large young and adults. Coloration is generally brown or olive above, and lighter underneath. Lepisosteus is Greek, meaning "bony scale," and spatula is Latin for "spoon," referring to the creature's broad snout. /
Angling Importance:
Gar have traditionally been considered rough fish by the majority of anglers. However, for a relatively few mavericks gar fishing may be quite an exciting and enjoyable sport. In Texas, alligator gar up to 279 pounds have been captured by rod and reel anglers, and over 300 pounds by trotliners.
In the Southeastern part of the state, gar are commonly
accepted as a fine food fish. Alligator gar are often
taken by bowfishers or by anglers using nylon threads, rather than hooks, to entangle the fish's many sharp teeth. /
Biology:
Little is known about the biology of this huge fish. Alligator gar are usually found in slow sluggish waters, although running water seems to be necessary for spawning. They appear to spawn in the spring beginning sometime in May. Eggs are deposited in shallow water. Young fish may consume insects. Adults feed primarily on fish, but will also take waterfowl. This species is able to tolerate greater salinities that other gar species and feeds heavily on marine catfish when they are available. /
Distribution
Alligator gar are present in the Gulf of Mexico coastal plain from the Econfina River in west Florida west and south to
Vera Cruz, Mexico. The species range extends north in the Mississippi River basin to the lower reaches of the Missouri and Ohio rivers. An isolated population also occurs in Nicaragua. In Texas, alligator gar may be found in coastal rivers and streams from the Red River west to the Rio Grande
Photo: Courtesy of Texas Inland Fisheries, Athens TX.
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Texas Longnosed Gar
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 "Longnose Gar"
Lepisosteus osseous /
Other names: Needle nose gar, billfish, Billy gar /
Status: Texas nongame fish /
Description:
Lepisosteus is Greek, meaning "bony scale," and osseous is Latin, meaning "of bone." Longnose gar are distinguished from other gar species found in Texas by the long snout whose length is at least 10 times the minimum width. /
Angling Importance:
Longnose gar may be captured by entangling the teeth in nylon threads, or by bowfishing. In Texas, specimens in excess of 80 pounds have been landed using a bow and arrow.
Biology:
Spawning activity occurs as early as April, in shallow riffle areas. Females, typically the larger sex, may be accompanied by one or many males. Although nests are not prepared, gravel is swept somewhat by the spawning action itself. Each female may deposit a portion of her eggs at several different locations. The adhesive eggs are mixed in the gravel, hatching in six to eight days. Yolk-sac fry have an adhesive disc on their snouts by which they attach themselves to submerged objects until the yolk sac is absorbed. Fry feed primarily on insect larvae and small crustaceans such as water fleas. Fish appear in the diet very early. Longnose gar are typically associated with backwaters, low inflow pools and moderately clear streams. They often do very well in man-made impoundments. /
Distribution:
Longnose gar range widely throughout the eastern US and north into southern Quebec. The species is especially common in the Mississippi River drainage and in the Carolinas. It may be found as far south and west as the Rio Grande drainage in Mexico, Texas and New Mexico. Longnose gar appear in most Texas rivers
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Spotted Gar - Small but very feisty
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 "Spotted Gar"
Lepisosteus osculates /
Other names: None /
Status: Texas nongame fish /
Description:
Lepisosteus is Greek, meaning "bony scale," and osculates is Latin, meaning "provided with eyes." This last is probably a reference to the many dark spots on the head and body. Spotted gar may be distinguished from other Texas gar species by the dark
circular spots on the top of the head, the pectoral fins and on the pelvic fins. /
Angling Importance:
As with other gar species, spotted gar may be captured by entangling the teeth in nylon threads or by bowfishing. In Texas, bowfishers have landed spotted gar up to 15 pounds. /
Biology:
Spawning activity occurs as early as April, in flowing water. Fry feed primarily on insect larvae and small crustaceans. As with other gar species, fish appear in the diet very early. Adult diets may be comprised of over 90% fish. Spotted gar are less tolerant of turbidity than
Shortnose gar. They are typically associated with aquatic vegetation, or timber, in clear water. /
Distribution:
Spotted gar are found from central Texas east into western Florida. The species range extends north through the
Mississippi River drainage into Illinois and the lower Ohio River. Populations also occur in the Lake Erie drainage
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Shortnose Gar
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 "Shortnose Gar"
Lepisosteus platostomus /
Other names: Billy gar, short-billed gar, stub-nose gar /
Status: Texas nongame fish /
Description:
Lepisosteus is Greek, meaning "bony scale," and platostomus is also Greek, meaning "broad mouth." Shortnose gar may be distinguished from other Texas species in that they lack the double row of teeth in the upper jaw of the alligator gar, the long snout of the
Longnose gar, and the spots of the spotted gar. /
Angling Importance:
As with alligator gar, Shortnose gar may be captured by entangling the teeth in nylon threads or by bowfishing. Shortnose gar up to five pounds have been brought in by anglers. The Texas state record, captured with a bow and arrow in Lake Lavon, weighed in at 7 pounds and measured 30.5 inches. /
Biology:
Shortnose gar spawning activity may occur from May into July. Females are often accompanied by more than one male. Yellow eggs are scattered in vegetation and other submerged structures, usually hatching within eight days of spawning. The fry remain in the yolk-sac phase for another week, at which time they begin to feed on insect larvae and small crustaceans. At little over an inch in length, fish appear in the diet. Sexual maturity is usually achieved when fish reach about 15 inches in length. Shortnose gar are more tolerant of high turbidity than other gar species. They inhabit large rivers and their backwaters, as well as oxbow lakes and large pools. /
Distribution:
Shortnose gar are present in the Mississippi River drainage from the Gulf Coast as far north as Montana in the west, and the Ohio River in the east. In Texas,
Shortnose gar may be found in the Red River basin below Lake Texoma.
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Keep Checking Back On This Site
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 We are constantly upgrading and adding information, photos, recipes, links, & products to this site. Please check back often and see what is new on the site. Thanks for visiting "All About Gar". We hope that you found the site interesting enough to come back real soon. Please feel free to contact us @ any time with comments, questions, photos of gar species, or just drop us a line and say hello, Thanks for being here, WT aka "Elpescador" 
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Seadrift, TX 77983
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