Longnose Gar
Type: Other Native
Appearance: Olive-brown along the back and sides, with silver-white bellies. There are irregular, large dark spots on the body. The longnose is distinguished from other gars by its longer, more slender body, and by its long, narrow snout, which is twice the length of the rest of the head.
State record: 41.0 lbs.
BigCatch: To qualify your catch needs to exceed the listed weight OR length (not necessarily both).
Habitat: Widespread in and north of Lake Okeechobee especially in sluggish, poorly oxygenated water. Gar tolerate poor water quality by breathing air through their air bladders.
Behavior: Spawn from December to March in Florida. Adhesive eggs are scattered over vegetation and hatch in six to eight days. Larvae attach to substrate by means of a disk-like organ on snout. Young fish feed on zooplankton and adults feed on fish, frogs and crustaceans.
Tips: Gar are sporty fighters and can be taken on hook-and-line using frayed rope as a lure to entangle the gars teeth, or by snagging with treble hooks. They are popular with bow-fishermen. Seminoles roasted them whole. The roe is poisonous to humans, animals and birds.