Forum | Kentucky Lake Toothers

Oh yeah, I want to give those criters another whack!  They fight really well, but are VERY hard to hook!

But if you can hook up, they pull like the dickens! 

No, I grabbed that bugger, clamped down and let her go just as quick as I grabbed her. 

There are pike type critters in KY LK, as I saw one caught on Monday and talked with a shore angler that said he's caught several muskies back in one of the bays.

But to me, the gar will be the king toothy critter of Kentucky Lake!

Yesterday, I was out fishing with two friends from upstate New York, Moe and Larry.

Fishing Kentucky Lake near the Hwy. 79 bridge, I threw out a Carolina Rigged Brush Hog for largemouth.  As I watched the line settle, it started to move sideways.  Thinking a bass had grabbed the lure, I set the hook.

My 7' casting rod bent in half and the drag started to whine as line went out.  At that point, I figured that I probably didn't have a bass on…

My guess was confirmed at the end of the first run when I worked the fish to the surface.  It turned out I had hooked a fairly large gar!

It was a strong fish that made several drag burning runs, but I played it carefully to the boat more than once.

Finally, the fish was tired out enough that I was able to put both hands under her belly and swing her into the boat.

I'm guessing her length at right around four feet and she probably weighed 25 pounds.  She was quickly released after the picture was taken, she was full of eggs and now my boat carpet is too!