Catching Gar @ CampLacupolis

[cake_eater23]

I was at Camp LaCupolis yesterday and near the shoreline, in the backwaters there was a school of Gar. They were pursuing schools of tiny minnows up and down the shoreline, and jumping out of the water all around the boat. We hooked and lost at least 100 of them, but were only able to land a 42in, and a 36in. Both species were present, the shovel-nose and long nose. I was wondering if there is a special trick/method of hooking them that works best? It seems to me like the shape of their mouth's make its difficult to get a good hook set on them. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Also does anyone know whether or not its true that DNR is banning recreational vehicles in the backwaters effective next year? There were 3 hover-crafts just absolutely flying thru the backwaters, and man those things are loud as hell! Also caught a 7lb and 4lb shi**head....aka sheephead.

[MURPHFISHER]

I know people who use rope lures for gar. They do not have any hooks on them at all, just rope strands that get tangled in the teeth. Do a web search on google for gar fishing or rope lures and you should get some results.

[Dan Thiem]

Wow Cake that must have been crazy! Awesome post. 42 and 36 inches. WOW!

I've only caught one gar, I'm not sure what species, but I think it was a long nose. That was a very long time ago. Also in the backwaters, only down farther, by Wabasha.

[hogsucker]

Just curious, where is this Camp Lacupolis? I'm always on the lookout for a good longnose gar bite. My only advice as far as landing them would be to use a hookless rig such as a rope lure or noose rig, or use a small circle hook and let the fish run and stop THREE times before tightening up on them. Still, actually getting one on the beach is always a challenge. ~hogsucker

[Dan Thiem]

It's a fishing camp/resort. It's between Lake city and Wabasha on Hwy.61.

Nice picture by the way!

[hogsucker]

Thanks, Dan. So I assume it's kind of a backwater area on the Mississippi? Are gar generally always around in the summer months during daylight hours? And finally, has anyone witnessed any buffalo activity in any of these backwaters? Sorry for all the questions, but I've really been looking for a location to target these fishes in that area of the river. ~hogsucker

[CrappieJohn]

Hogsucker....

LaCupolis is actually a main channel area right where Lake Pepin suddenly narrows up on the Mississippi. It's referred to as the "foot" of the lake. There are some ares where slack water can be found in the area, but the real backwaters begin a few miles downstream yet.

I've seen gar in this area and in the backwaters during all of the open water season, however they seem to be more present late in the summer and into early fall. The buffalo are here all year and will be caught likewise.

[hogsucker]

Hey thanks Crappie Tom. Looks like I've got a plan forming for the weekend! ~hogsucker

[cake_eater23]

Without revealing my "spot", look for the backwaters directly off the main channel. However, the water levels were way down when I was there, I'm sure with the rain that we've had it probably wont be as shallow. I saw multiple boats who were flying thru the water and not paying attention to the water level get stuck in sand banks. Also, if you can, try an find the schools of feeder minnows because thats what they were feeding on.