Gar in the Delta?

revrat · Post by **revrat** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 9:50 am

I was talking to a co-worker and he had heard somewhere along the line that there were alligator gar showing up in the delta. I did some Googling and found a record of one caught in the Clfton Court Forebay back in 1991, but we can't locate any other info. Have any of you Delta rats found any gar in the river, or heard of any gar sightings or catches in recent years?

JFEARN · Post by **JFEARN** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 9:55 am

I've never seen one. I kinda doubt they'd make throught the winter.

mac (Doyle McEwen) · Post by **mac (Doyle McEwen)** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 11:01 am

Hey Jeff, I don't think that the winters here are near severe enough to hammper a gar..I know they live through the winters in North Texas and a good many other places that have a lot tougher winters than we have around the Delta..I have never seen any in the Delta though..

mac

rocksetter · Post by **rocksetter** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 3:14 pm

I think you maybe mistakening the Sacremento Pike, or skaw fish for a GAR. I have caught many of them over the years.

scott h · Post by **scott h** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 3:48 pm

I caught a 40+lber last year at the bassmasters open championchip tourny and let me tell ya I have never seen one on the delta and dont want to!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The one I caught was kind of silvery on the back and white on the sides with black spots like a dalmation. That was one dd22 that I didnt want back, oh yeah and when they get close to the boat they roll, also cost me a lamiglas cranking rod!

TomAtkeson · Post by **TomAtkeson** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 6:59 pm

I'd think it would be pretty hard to mistake a 3ft member of the minnow family for a 300lb toothy critter like a Gar, they have drasticaly diffrent body features mostly the head and tails are completely diffrent. However some people see a fish and lose all sense of logic and reality so maybe it is afterall a possibility, I wouldnt doubt it if there were Gar in the delta from people buying them as "pets" only to toss them in the delta when they get too big. Ive seen big ornate Koi in the delta. Seen pictures of tiger shovel nose catfish cought out of local ponds saw some people dumping 3 dozen fancy guppies into contra loma (can we say Rainbow Trout bait?) and hears plenty of crazy storys about people catching odditys in the delta.