The Fish Whisperer is dropping some knowledge on us once again, but this time it isn't with slow-motion videos showing us how bass strike. No, this time, he's fishing for alligator gar using a particularly unusual approach. Because alligator gar notoriously difficult to hook in the mouth, most anglers stick to live bait on at least a 4/0 treble hook. They'll let them swallow the bait, creating more opportunities for a clean hook set. Others do all of their gar fishing with bowfishing tackle instead of a rod and reel.
Kyle Naegeli is no stranger to alligator gar, either, as he spends a ton of time on the Trinity River in Texas, one of America's most popular destinations for the famous prehistoric fish. He also owns two of his own, which he continues to study as they grow. Here he experiments with a few unconventional tactics, but they actually pay off.
Watch the video below, where you'll see that you can apparently catch an alligator gar with artificial lures.
That first one was all of 6 feet! The second wasn't quite as big, but instead of using a musky lure, he used Whopper Plopper. Who would've ever guessed you could catch one of the largest freshwater species in the world on a bass lure?
Naegeli has only recently taken such an interest in these fish, but hopefully he continues to target them so we can keep watching cool videos like this. It does make you wonder how difficult it would be to actually catch a longnose gar with this same approach. It would seem just as likely that you'd get a strike, as the two species have similar diets. However, getting a hook to stick in the mouth of a longnose gar is all but impossible, which is why most anglers try let them swallow a bait before ever setting a hook.
