How about a twist on big game bowhunting? Difference? Well, let’s trade cedar and hollow aluminum arrow shafts for solid fiberglass shafts with a 400 lb. test line attached. Let’s trade the mountains, plains, deserts, and brush for rivers and blinds and tree strands for a boat. Instead of feather and fur, let’s go with scales.

I find myself trolling in an eddy of a major river in Texas on a hot, muggy July afternoon. While gazing at the surface of the water, I can see fish breaking the surface at a distance, but it only peaks my curiosity. Finally, a large foreign object breaks the surface literally between my feet. Out of defense or reflex, I draw my bow and release. I hear a dull thud and watch my arrow zip away in a zig-zag fashion, then submerge. I let the 400 lb. test line feed through my gloved hand, unable to stop the force that is robbing me of line and putting distance between myself and my arrow. Eventually I am able to start regaining line. After 45 minutes of fighting, I get my first glimpse of my trophy—a large Alligator Gar. Several more minutes pass while the Gar’s spirit is worn down, and my guide uses a conduit fitted with a cable noose to secure the monster. I sit down to marvel at this prehistoric fresh water relic known as an Alligator Gar-- which can reach recorded weights of 300 pounds, and the average adult in excess of 100 pounds.

A fresh-hit Alligator Gar is virtually too strong to stop. You just let him pull the boat around the 20-yard wide river until he tires. This Gar, after being measured and weighed, was 7 ½ feet long and 165 pounds, a size that equals or rivals Whitetail Deer. This is truly a big game trophy and provokes the same adrenaline rush—pounding heart, shot nerves and all. These fish are somewhat common in southern U.S. river systems, but I recommend the service of a guide that specializes in Alligator Gar. However, these guides are fewer than the large Gar you seek.

Contact Walt Klein for a guided Alligator Gar Bowfishing experience.