Gar on the Fly and Bonus Big Blue
Capt. Richard Simms
July 28, 2008
Chattanooga - Freshwater Fishing Report
Troy Basso, a fellow guide and outdoor writer, was kind enough to pay the Scenic City (Chattanooga, Tenn.) a visit yesterday. Troy is a hardcore flyfisherman. He had to cancel out on an April trip for spots, but I told him I felt sure we could have some fun with summertime gar. Yes... I said gar.
Troy is not a "purist." He's like me and just like to feel life on the end of his line. He ties up his own special gar flies and we went on the Great Gar Hunt.
What fun!
Troy is flyfishing machine and had the perfect fly and presentation for the prehistoric beasties. He caught lots of small ones but pegged a couple of monster gar. On a flyrod, they put up a serious fight. It was a blast.
Of course after we played with gar most of the morning, I made him catfish with me a while. We only caught one fish ... fortunately it was the one that counted!
Woohoo!
The Big Blue Tank just about yanked Troy out of the boat on the first run. It was a wonderful battle, and throughout most of it, I think Troy was in shock. He said," When I thought of 'catfishing' all I knew about was when I was kid sitting on the bank catching little cats with my Dad. I've never seen a fish this big in my life... anywhere!" And it was one the end of his line. The bruiser was 41 inches long and weighed 35 pounds.
After watching white bass bust top all morning, doing battle with a dozen or more gar on a flyrod, and catching his personal best fish of his life... I suspect Troy will have kind words for the Scenic City fishery. Which of course means life is good and gettin' better every day!
Target Species:
Gar on a Flyrod and Trophy Cats
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