Inspired by a link posted in the “Trouble with John A. Grindle” thread, I began thinking back to fishing for alligator gar in the brackish waters back of Grand Isle, La., over 40 years ago. A ramshackle fish-cleaning plant isolated in the marsh was the site, and although the plant was working and fish parts rode a conveyer belt to fall into the water churning with gar, we never saw a person emerge onto the dock from which we fished.
We used two methods. One is mentioned in the site called
http://www.garfishing.com/ and consisted of lowering the frayed end of a nylon rope into the water. They tangled their teeth in the strands and, using the rope as a hand line, we pulled them in. More effective was to make a loop with a kink in it out of piano wire and to string a piece of fish on the loop. When the gar hit it, the fisherman pulled hard on the attached nylon handline, and the fight was on.
It was great fun, and a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Lou
