Trip report July 2, 2021
On Friday my wife Erin and I got a rare chance to escape home without the kids and fish together. It was a good opportunity to put my recently restored canoe in the water and try to find some big fish.
In the last year I have mapped out a few areas where I can catch BIG longnose gar in South Florida. Historically, i've never had much problem anywhere I have ever lived in finding longnose gar, but South Florida's population is mysteriously slim. South of Lake Okeechobee the majority of Florida's water systems are artificially controlled through manmade canal systems for flood control and farming purposes. I think this disruption just doesn't bode well for longnose gar for some reason.
Still, the areas I have found that sustain longnose gar in South Florida seem to hold very BIG ones. We set out in the afternoon with a bucket full of mudminnows in hopes of landing something over 50 inches.
I chose mudminnows this go, because they seem pretty hardy in all conditions... and they have a good habit of swimming DOWN when on a hook. That means the depth I set the bait suspended below a float is true for the most part.
Erin and I managed to land multiple longnose gar - several of which were near or at 50 inches... but this area holds fish nearly a foot longer. I am convinced state, or even potential world record class fish exist here.
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