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The gar thrives in the Mississippi river basin, from Southern Ohio and Illinois to the Gulf of Mexico. Mostly found in the freshwater bodies of Texas, Alabama, Louisiana, and Arkansas, the alligator gar is a distinctively Southern fish. As with many things, the biggest are generally found in Texas. The Henderson Swamp west of Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Lake Pontchartrain, north of New Orleans, are populated with Alligator Gars. So are the Pearl and Pascagoula River in Mississippi, the Mobile, Tensaw, Tennessee, and Tombigbee Rivers in Alabama, and the Escambia, Choctawhatchee, and Apalachicola Rivers in the Florida panhandle. Texas rivers such as the Colorado, Trinity, Guadalupe, Sabine, and other main channels are most frequented and have the largest record gars to date, as well as the largest known populations of alligator gar. A "dead lake" is a lake that is inundated by an adjacent river when the water is high, but is landlocked when the river is at a normal level. This is the perfect kind of place to fish for gar. Secure permission to fish this water, and whatever licenses are required in the jurisdiction you are fishing in. You will need to have access to fish your choice of locations, so if there is no bank access, you may have to secure a boat. The alligator gar is just one species of gar, a long-nosed, sharp-toothed, distinctively prehistoric fish. They can weigh over 250 lbs and can survive up to two hours above water. The gator is the largest species of gar, and is the largest exclusively freshwater fish in North America. It can be as long as eight to ten feet, and the current world record for the largest alligator gar caught on rod and reel is 279lb 0oz. The largest taken by Bowfishing is 365lb. If the gar's snout is more than twice the length of its head, and is no more than a few inches wide, it's probably a longnose gar. Florida gars and spotted gars have shorter snouts and are covered with distinctive, brownish spots. The alligator gar--your target--is the largest of these fish. It has a broader nose than the long nose, with two rows of teeth where the other gar have one. It can be quite large. The gar spawns in brackish waters in spring, around April, but the best time for hunting them is in late summer, when it is hot and dry. In July and August, alligator gar can be found in deep river bends adjacent to relatively shallow pools. The deep water is where the gar congregate, and the shallow water will allow you to spot them more easily when they come up to feed.
Head to the American South. Find a slough or backwater. Learn to spot the 'gator gar. Know when and where to look.