How To Dress And Butcher A Gar Fish

[Big7]

We been talking a little about properly butchering a Gar Fish so it's good to eat and easy to do. I know where there are some but I have never dressed or tasted one.

If it is as good as some folks on here say they are, I'm going to start keeping them for the table.

Until here lately, I considered them a trot line and jug raiding trash fish. They do make excellent turtle bait. Been there, done that.

Thoughts? ?

 

[twtabb]

Looks good to me. Let us know how it taste.

 

[Josh B]

I caught and cooked a 45" gar Saturday. Back straps were bigger than some deer I shoot ?

 

[Big7]

I caught and cooked a 45" gar Saturday. Back straps were bigger than some deer I shoot ?

 

[Josh B]

 

[the Lackster]

Good looking gar josh! I catch and cook a lot of gar throughout the year and use the tin snips method. It seems to work very well. For me it's definitely worth the effort.

 

[almoore]

That's gettin it done with pics!

 

[Nicodemus]

That ol boy using the meat cleaver had me flinching with every chop he made.

 

[sbroadwell]

That ol boy using the meat cleaver had me flinching with every chop he made.

Yeah. Surprised he still had all his fingers!
If I ever try that I think I’ll get some tin snips. Need all my fingers for when I go back to building rods.

 

[Big7]

Good looking gar josh! I catch and cook a lot of gar throughout the year and use the tin snips method. It seems to work very well. For me it's definitely worth the effort. View attachment 1155947View attachment 1155948View attachment 1155949View attachment 1155950View attachment 1155951View attachment 1155952View attachment 1155953View attachment 1155954

Recon we know who the Gar Man is.
That's some slabs right there !!!

 

[the Lackster]

Recon we know who the Gar Man is.
That's some slabs right there !!!

I find a few but I'm barely half the gar man that NChillbilly is.

 

[Big7]

I find a few but I'm barely half the gar man that NChillbilly is.

Yep.
He's pretty sharp for a white boy. ?

 

[Josh B]

Yeah I thought Lackster was a catfish guy! Maybe a whatever bites kinda guy?

 

[NCHillbilly]

I find a few but I'm barely half the gar man that NChillbilly is.

Not a gar man by any means, just catch a lot of them on jugs as bycatch, and shoot quite a few with a bow .

 

[NCHillbilly]

We been talking a little about properly butchering a Gar Fish so it's good to eat and easy to do. I know where there are some but I have never dressed or tasted one.

If it is as good as some folks on here say they are, I'm going to start keeping them for the table.

Until here lately, I considered them a trot line and jug raiding trash fish. They do make excellent turtle bait. Been there, done that.

Thoughts? ?

He's going to an awful lot of trouble. I never completely skin them or gut them. Just chop the head and tail off with a machete or axe (or bandsaw,) then split the hide down the middle of the back with some snips, peel the hide down a bit, and fillet the backstraps out.

 

[Hillbilly stalker]

We have an over flow dam below a larger dam. I have seen some monsters in there trapped in pools of water in the rocks. I always wanted a pretty spotted one to make a back quiver with.

 

[the Lackster]

Yeah I thought Lackster was a catfish guy! Maybe a whatever bites kinda guy?

Cut bait opportunist

 

[Batjack]

We have an over flow dam below a larger dam. I have seen some monsters in there trapped in pools of water in the rocks. I always wanted a pretty spotted one to make a back quiver with.

Go to Nickajack tailrace in spring and tie about 8-10 inch piece of yellow nylon rope (fray the tail end half) to your heaviest rod and catch all you want. No hook needed, and they're so thick you could nearly walk across on them.

 

[Whit90]

So how do yall cook it? Fry it, grill it, both?

 

[Whit90]

And I think Ive read that the back straps are boneless. Is this true?