Black Lake, NY Forum

Heading up to Black Lake this weekend. Have gone up for 3 years now and have a blast every time but would love to catch one of those long nose gar. Any suggestions on lures/baits or tips on catching one?

Try a 3-5" shiner about a foot under a bobber. Fish over weeds or weedlines and good luck. I have caught a few fishing for crappie I think if you wanted to target them use a bass/pike sized shiner and a light wire leader.
They easily tangle in nets as their teeth get caught up in the mesh. Better to release them at the side of the boat.
I have seen some big ones "sunning" near the surface. Maybe over three feet. Biggest I have caught have been 20".

My customers have to deal with gar a lot when I'm guiding them with shiners under a float. More so in Florida when they are killing their $2 shiners. Black Lake has plenty of them too though. They are hard to hook because of the beak. If I were to try to catch one, they say to put yarn or old rope on your hook shank, hook a dead shiner or perch in the side, and when they pick it up and swim with it, the yarn or rope will tangle in their beak. They tend to be on the surface on hot days.