Alligator Gar Distribution

There are nine different kinds of gar in North America, but only three are taken with frequency by anglers. They're the longnose gar (or billfish) the short nose, and the alligator. Probably more alligator gar are taken on rod and reel than all the others combined.

Alligator gar are found throughout the larger tributaries of the Gulf of Mexico, northward through the Mississippi system as far as St. Louis. They're found in large numbers at times in the river shallows around New Orleans, but the Arkansas rivers have become a sport fishing front for gars.

Almost anything is edible, if prepared properly, and garfish are no exception. In Southern Louisiana, smoked gar sells well. Like an alligator, a gar's eggs are large. There's one bad thing about them, though. They�re poisonous.

Gar scales are used by the ornament industry. They are so hard that pioneer farmers used them to cover their wooden plows when steel plowshares were not available. Indians used the scales for arrowheads.

I have never heard of an angler having an alligator gar mounted by a taxidermist, but don't be surprised if you see this sort of thing in the future. Old Longnose has a decided place in the sport-fishing world, and he rates as a trophy (if large enough) when taken on rod and reel. He's a scrapper from the moment the barb sinks until the bullet or the gaff goes home. More and more big-fish hungry anglers are seeking out these 'gator heads, and we haven't yet talked to one who was disappointed. Old Longnose today isn't known by enough people, but he will be. Sure as tomorrow, alligator gar fishing will be around for a long, longtime!

More Alligator Gar Fishing Info

Fishing for Alligator Gar

How To Catch Alligator Gar