# Gator Gar Collision and Limits of Trout



## Fishin' Soldier

I had a unique experience this past Sunday in East galveston Bay. I was traveling across the middle of the bay felt a small bump and a sound as if my motor cut out for a second. I looked back and saw a large fish thrashing in my wash. I thought shark at first site but when we circled, we realized I had hit and cut the back 1/3 off a large gator gar. We also caught over 40 trout, 2 flounder and rat red. I was able to give the meat away to a family fishing near the ramp and they were happy. Easily maybe 50# still left to be donated.

Below is a link to the video I shot while we retrieved it. At the end is a great shot of the fish in the sunlight. I was very surprised how clean the cut was from the skeg and prop. 40 mph

Anyone else hit a large fish before? I would think this would happen more often as many as I see out there.

https://www.facebook.com/10000004552...00000045525519


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## SunRay

*hitting large fish with boat motor*

years ago, I was fishing out of the Calcasieu Ship channel in the shallow gulf and had about 3 foot seas.

I was in a deep V hull and jumping the waves when I crashed into something... slowed to check things out, saw nothing so throttled up again... when I'd just about hit planning speed my prop would spin up to high RPM and my speed would drop to nothing.... after about 3 rounds of checking, seeing nothing and doing this over... I reversed, lifted motor and saw that I had impaled a large redfish and it was caught broadside on my motor.

Weird, but true story.


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## Fishin' Soldier

SunRay said:


> years ago, I was fishing out of the Calcasieu Ship channel in the shallow gulf and had about 3 foot seas.
> 
> I was in a deep V hull and jumping the waves when I crashed into something... slowed to check things out, saw nothing so throttled up again... when I'd just about hit planning speed my prop would spin up to high RPM and my speed would drop to nothing.... after about 3 rounds of checking, seeing nothing and doing this over... I reversed, lifted motor and saw that I had impaled a large redfish and it was caught broadside on my motor.
> 
> Weird, but true story.


Wow, thats crazy. Thanks for Sharing.


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## gmullens

*Nice Catch*

Nice catch of fish there.


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## schoalbeast101

Nice box of fish there! After that trip what is your opinion of the talk of the limit dropping from 10 to 5? I am in favor of a temporary drop as I witnessed the hammering the quality fish took over the last 3 to 4 years due to the Trinity Bay flooding of fresh water and pushing the fish into East Bay. I have not fished East Galveston Bay since 1 trip in June of 2017. After the fishery recovers I think it should at least be considered that the limit go back to 10. Thoughts?


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## mccain

wow! heck of a day.


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## Fishin' Soldier

schoalbeast101 said:


> Nice box of fish there! After that trip what is your opinion of the talk of the limit dropping from 10 to 5? I am in favor of a temporary drop as I witnessed the hammering the quality fish took over the last 3 to 4 years due to the Trinity Bay flooding of fresh water and pushing the fish into East Bay. I have not fished East Galveston Bay since 1 trip in June of 2017. After the fishery recovers I think it should at least be considered that the limit go back to 10. Thoughts?


I would have no problem with the limit changing to 5. I don't usually keep over 3-4 fish anyways per trip. I do not like trout that has been frozen. I eat my fish fresh during the next week after the trip. My brother wanted most of these fish so we kept both limits. He does not fish as often as I do.

Do I think the limit NEEDS to be changed? No. The fish are right where they are supposed to be (mostly) and we have had some awesome trips here recently.

I did have the same boat encroach on our wade with their trolling motor twice in one day. Got within casting distance of us. After the bite slowed that morning we left and came back after the tide turned at 1pm. The same boat showed back up and did the same thing. This time even closer. We caught a few fish right out from under their nose and they didn't catch anything. Boat guy got a phone call and told his buddy yeah, we catching a few. I spoke to my brother in a voice they could hear. "You hear this jackwad telling his buddy he catching fish? Nah, he is watching us catch fish!" They didn't stick around long after that and trolled out of the cove.


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## hebert51

Fishin' Soldier said:


> I would have no problem with the limit changing to 5. I don't usually keep over 3-4 fish anyways per trip. I do not like trout that has been frozen. I eat my fish fresh during the next week after the trip. My brother wanted most of these fish so we kept both limits. He does not fish as often as I do.
> 
> Do I think the limit NEEDS to be changed? No. The fish are right where they are supposed to be (mostly) and we have had some awesome trips here recently.
> 
> I did have the same boat encroach on our wade with their trolling motor twice in one day. Got within casting distance of us. After the bite slowed that morning we left and came back after the tide turned at 1pm. The same boat showed back up and did the same thing. This time even closer. We caught a few fish right out from under their nose and they didn't catch anything. Boat guy got a phone call and told his buddy yeah, we catching a few. I spoke to my brother in a voice they could hear. "You hear this jackwad telling his buddy he catching fish? Nah, he is watching us catch fish!" They didn't stick around long after that and trolled out of the cove.


Funny how you didnt enjoy having someone fish close to you. When you post a deck full of trout and the location you caught them in youre probably going to get crowded. :headknock


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## Fishin' Soldier

hebert51 said:


> Funny how you didnt enjoy having someone fish close to you. When you post a deck full of trout and the location you caught them in youre probably going to get crowded. :headknock


Surely you are not serious.

East Bay is close to 100 Square miles. If you can gather where I was fishing, then great job. They will be in a new spot next week. I usually do not post reports or give out any info on here because of people like you.

I haven't posted a report on here in quite some time (see above^). Since this report is after the fact, how did this post contribute to us getting crowded? :bounce:


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## hebert51

To answer your first question, yes i am serious.

There are many ways you can brag about your catch without giving your exact location.

I was in east bay Sunday, and had my wade cut off twice by â€œinexperiencedâ€ fisherman 

You mention 100 square miles of bay, but you left out the part that 99% of the people were in 5 square miles Sunday 



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## johnsons1480

hebert51 said:


> To answer your first question, yes i am serious.
> 
> There are many ways you can brag about your catch without giving your exact location.
> 
> I was in east bay Sunday, and had my wade cut off twice by â€œinexperiencedâ€ fisherman
> 
> You mention 100 square miles of bay, but you left out the part that 99% of the people were in 5 square miles Sunday
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


This is why we don't have reports in here ever. How about you go complain elsewhere.


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## Stumpgrinder1

hebert51 said:


> To answer your first question, yes i am serious.
> 
> There are many ways you can brag about your catch without giving your exact location.
> 
> I was in east bay Sunday, and had my wade cut off twice by â€œinexperiencedâ€ fisherman
> 
> You mention 100 square miles of bay, but you left out the part that 99% of the people were in 5 square miles Sunday
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Lighten up Francis .


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## hebert51

johnsons1480 said:


> This is why we don't have reports in here ever. How about you go complain elsewhere.


This is not a report, its simply a photo of dead fish.

No mention of tide, time, lure or presentation used.


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## johnbutte

So if I understand correctly, this report is telling me there are or were fish in east bay, and at some time in the past they were in an area where it is possible to wade.


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## Fishin' Soldier

hebert51 said:


> This is not a report, its simply a photo of dead fish.
> 
> No mention of tide, time, lure or presentation used.


I really only posted this, to show the video of the gar. It was an unusual encounter. The rest was just to help the story and got added because I figured some would like it. This proves why I don't post in reports though. I will tell you everything I did if you just ask.

Sounds like you had a slow Sunday and are begging for help so I will help you.

We caught them on everything we threw. Outgoing tide, 6am-930am. Few fish caught throughout the rest of day. 3.5' of water, mud and shell. Probably not in the 5 sq. miles you are talking about either.


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## hebert51

Fishin' Soldier said:


> I really only posted this, to show the video of the gar. It was an unusual encounter. The rest was just to help the story and got added because I figured some would like it. This proves why I don't post in reports though. I will tell you everything I did if you just ask.
> 
> Sounds like you had a slow Sunday and are begging for help so I will help you.
> 
> We caught them on everything we threw. Outgoing tide, 6am-930am. Few fish caught throughout the rest of day. 3.5' of water, mud and shell. Probably not in the 5 sq. miles you are talking about either.


All the help I need from you is to quit bragging about your limits. Sweet gar fish though....

I could reply with a photo of how my morning was Sunday but then I would look just like you

All proud of a limit of barely legal trout â€

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## johnsons1480

hebert51 said:


> All the help I need from you is to quit bragging about your limits. Sweet gar fish though....
> 
> I could reply with a photo of how my morning was Sunday but then I would look just like you
> 
> All proud of a limit of barely legal trout â€
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


So to be clear, the location is too specific, the report is too vague, you donâ€™t like that he showed a limit, but you donâ€™t have a problem catching and keeping a limit? Did someone shoot your dog this morning?


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## Prizepig

hebert51 said:


> All the help I need from you is to quit bragging about your limits. Sweet gar fish though....
> 
> I could reply with a photo of how my morning was Sunday but then I would look just like you
> 
> All proud of a limit of barely legal trout â€
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Sounds like someone has been getting skunked lately. Maybe next time he will be kind enough to offer the gar to you. As others have mentioned already, this is exactly why the board has lost some members lately. The guy posted a nice limit of fish and a cool story and video to go along with it and all you could do was pick it apart and get everyone stirred up.


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## jdc

> Anyone else hit a large fish before? I would think this would happen more often as many as I see out there.


Thatâ€™s pretty amazing. Iâ€™m trying to imagine how your prop made that cut...

I just started to learn how to fish east bay, so keep the reports coming and PM me all your hot spots. Iâ€™ll set my new Ulterra to circle you. :rotfl: kidding really, I agree about the fish moving... I went to the same spot back to back days. First day, 4 trout and 1 red (keepers). Next day wind shifted drastically and managed 1 trout but it was caught out of the previous hot spot zone.

Jdc


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## GSMAN

Congrats on the limits! Not that it matters but I didn't see you "bragging" about limits. Don't understand why people have to be so negative.


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## Rockfish2

hebert51 said:


> All the help I need from you is to quit bragging about your limits. Sweet gar fish though....
> 
> I could reply with a photo of how my morning was Sunday but then I would look just like you
> 
> All proud of a limit of barely legal trout â€
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Back to your original complaint - how did his post after the fact contribute to his being potlicked before he posted it? Your statement on this topic makes no logical sense. Your other complaints/insults also donâ€™t make a lot of sense, either, for that matter.

I personally found the story about the gar to be pretty interesting, and would hope responses like yours donâ€™t discourage people from posting about similarly unusual experiences in the future.


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## jesseh627

Cool story and nice mess of fish! I hope your prop is ok. Thanks, for sharing!


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## Hawglife

Fishin' Soldier said:


> Surely you are not serious.
> 
> East Bay is close to 100 Square miles. If you can gather where I was fishing, then great job. They will be in a new spot next week. I usually do not post reports or give out any info on here because of people like you.
> 
> I haven't posted a report on here in quite some time (see above^). Since this report is after the fact, how did this post contribute to us getting crowded? :bounce:


Thanks for the report, don't let that dick weed keyboard warrior get to you, awesome day, and keep on reporting!

Sent from my SM-N920T using Tapatalk


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## LaddH

Cool story thanks for sharing. As far as the troll naysayers go-they can go back under the bridge and pee up a rope .


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## troutsupport

I love 2cool. Soldier, good job on the fish buddy. 

Hell those fish are gone the next day in most circumstances. Might be in same area but most people cant' find them from that and I don't think there is anything inherently wrong with sharing areas and patterns, we used to share areas and patterns all the time. 

Good work! and cool on you guys for putting that gar to good work as well.. no need to waste a fresh fish their are people that are in need in every community.


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## Fishin' Soldier

Thanks guys. Hope you all enjoyed the video. 

Someone sent me a PM with Jeremy's instagram profile. A saying about glass houses and stones comes to mind... Seems he is a regular instagram model.


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## Speck-a-holic

Fish'in Soldier- Thanks for the report. I enjoy reading how other folks do. I don't plan my trips around data from reports on the internet. I imagine most here don't either. 
I reported how I did in West Bay Saturday ( rough day) - I guess everyone knows exactly where I was from that detail.. LOL
Keep'em coming and don't let a few negatives affect ya.


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## Jamaica Cove

Nice report and neat about the Gar. Too bad Hebert51 has to be a preek about it. Notice he's the only one complaining and picking on your report.


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## c hook

*sour grape*

there is always at least one sour grape in the bunch. so you guys keep beating him up he deserves it. i guess i'm trying to figure out what he's doing on this site???????:headknock:rotfl::texasflag

oh i almost forgot to say very nice box of fish. nice work


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## Whitebassfisher

Soldier, I have hit quite a few with a tiller 25HP on a jon boat in the Trinity river. I don't know if my prop hit them or the lower unit, but it WILL get your attention and yes you see them thrashing in your prop wash.


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## TroutOut

That is why good fishermen such as RyanLovesFishing stopped posting because of the bashing by a few individuals. I enjoy others reports but sadly they are few and far between these days.


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## BBCAT

Serious or clueless?
Nice catch and green to you for donating the meat.


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## Whitebassfisher

Another point about gar, my opinion but maybe not right- in cold water they get lethargic. In February I have caught large gar while white bass fishing while using a push button Zebco. The fight was similar to bringing in a bucket. So, possibly they are more likely to be hit in cold weather.


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## johnbutte

I have never caught a gator gar. Is it possible to target them in saltwater? Anybody ever done this?


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## Prizepig

johnbutte said:


> I have never caught a gator gar. Is it possible to target them in saltwater? Anybody ever done this?


We used to fish for them all the time when I was a kid. We would use hardheads for bait that we would catch in Fulton Harbor right before dark. We would then setup on the T-heads on the Rockport side of the causeway going over to Goose Island. Rigged â€˜em up whole on steel leaders with surf rods. I can still hear the clickers on those reels singing now. We would get them up to the bulkhead and shoot them in the head with a 22 before gaffing it and bringing it over. Biggest we ever caught on rod n reel was 6â€™3â€. Had to use a hatchet to clean them with sparks flying as you did. You would get 2 big back strap fillets that were real good on the bbq pit. Good times.......


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## saltwatersensations

ole hebert1 needs to rub one out of his grumpy ***


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## 98aggie77566

hebert51 said:


> To answer your first question, yes i am serious.
> 
> There are many ways you can brag about your catch without giving your exact location.
> 
> I was in east bay Sunday, and had my wade cut off twice by â€œinexperiencedâ€ fisherman
> 
> You mention 100 square miles of bay, but you left out the part that 99% of the people were in 5 square miles Sunday
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


From my experience...the biggest trout and the highest concentration are in East Galveston Bay.

I highly suggest every fisherman shift their focus from POC, East/West Matagorda, and the Chocolate/Christmas areas......East Galveston is where the big girls live....and LOTS of them.

You are gonna need a bigger live well - trust me!!!!!!


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## shadslinger

Whitebassfisher said:


> Soldier, I have hit quite a few with a tiller 25HP on a jon boat in the Trinity river. I don't know if my prop hit them or the lower unit, but it WILL get your attention and yes you see them thrashing in your prop wash.


Good catch, and post FishinSolider. Keep them coming once in a while before people start asking about what you had for breakfast, or some farting guide on this board.
Soldier asked me if I had and I said no, but I must have. 
In all of the miles I have traveled the lake and had pause when there was a whump, and not always look back if I was on my way some where.
Drifting for cats on sunny days the boat will often drift right up to a monster gator gar sunning, they really explode when they realize the boat is there.


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## THA

You think maybe we just found out who was trolling through his wade and got pis-sed off that he could not catch anything and got called on it


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## hebert51

THA said:


> You think maybe we just found out who was trolling through his wade and got pis-sed off that he could not catch anything and got called on it


I can assure you i had already released a limit of trout before the OP set the hook on his first one.

Myself and friend had been enjoying some nice fishing in the area for the last 2 -3 weeks. But now that word has gotten out the bay is full these weekend warriors anxious to post about their trout limits and where they caught them. Let me tell you, ill post limits with the rest of them, but i surely will not publicly say where i did it.

4 Guys in a black haynie watched myself and buddy catch some nice fish for about an hour, and the second we waded down the shore they motored over and hopped out right where we left.

You guys go get them, im done with it for now, i can catch em closer to my house


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## Chuck06R1

Glad someone is catching fish. My only complaint is I can't get the video to load. LOL


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## SeaOx 230C

hebert51 said:


> I can assure you i had already released a limit of trout before the OP set the hook on his first one.
> 
> Myself and friend had been enjoying some nice fishing in the area for the last 2 -3 weeks. But now that word has gotten out the bay is full these weekend warriors anxious to post about their trout limits and where they caught them. Let me tell you, ill post limits with the rest of them, but i surely will not publicly say where i did it.
> 
> 4 Guys in a black haynie watched myself and buddy catch some nice fish for about an hour, and the second we waded down the shore they motored over and hopped out right where we left.
> 
> You guys go get them, im done with it for now, i can catch em closer to my house


Ah the old I'm better at it and fish more than you so it's my water and you are all just weekend warriors so when you do manage to get lucky ( probably because the weekend warrior pot picked you ) and catch some fish don't tell anybody where because then there will be twice as many of you weekend warriors trying to pot lick argumemt........

That gets really old and is why I have not posted a report in a long time.....


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## 98aggie77566

How is the fishing in band camp?

LMAO


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## charlie23

TroutOut said:


> That is why good fishermen such as RyanLovesFishing stopped posting because of the bashing by a few individuals. I enjoy others reports but sadly they are few and far between these days.


yeah I missed that dude, he's a fishing machine


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## acoastalbender

hebert51 said:


> I can assure you i had already released a limit of trout before the OP set the hook on his first one.
> 
> Myself and friend had been enjoying some nice fishing in the area for the last 2 -3 weeks. But now that word has gotten out the bay is full these weekend warriors anxious to post about their trout limits and where they caught them. Let me tell you, ill post limits with the rest of them, but i surely will not publicly say where i did it.
> 
> 4 Guys in a black haynie watched myself and buddy catch some nice fish for about an hour, and the second we waded down the shore they motored over and hopped out right where we left.
> 
> You guys go get them, im done with it for now, i can catch em closer to my house


Thank you for your report!!!  ... and the speed with which you were able to catch and move on for the benefit of others less fortunate ... :biggrin:

.


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## Fishin' Soldier

98aggie77566 said:


> How is the fishing in band camp?
> 
> LMAO


I am not sure what he did to get banned but I was finding this quite amusing.

A quick look back through his other posts show how hypocritical he is to what he said in this post. One even asking on a report "What Bay System". I'm not sure what set him off, but it appears he is fairly new to fishing and odd that he would come in here and act like that.


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## mccain

Fishin' Soldier said:


> I am not sure what he did to get banned


he got feisty and chippy


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## 98aggie77566

Fishin' Soldier said:


> I am not sure what he did to get banned but I was finding this quite amusing.
> 
> A quick look back through his other posts show how hypocritical he is to what he said in this post. One even asking on a report "What Bay System". I'm not sure what set him off, but it appears he is fairly new to fishing and odd that he would come in here and act like that.


You beat me to the punch LOL.....I came to post the same thing!

He posted pics of his fish....and God forbid said he was on Sabine.

And then he chimes in on other posts and asks folks where they were fishing.

Hilarious

I did my best troll job above to try and get a rise.....guess my hook was showing LOL

I also don't understand why he was bent that someone came in and fished "his spot" when they waded on to a new place?

Last time I was out, I was hammering the trout (small but almost every cast). I passed a man and his young son about a 1/2 mile away and I stopped to tell them where to go. I hope they had as much fun as I did. Those fish were probably a mile away the next day so who cares!


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## Fishin' Soldier

98aggie77566 said:


> From my experience...the biggest trout and the highest concentration are in East Galveston Bay.
> 
> I highly suggest every fisherman shift their focus from POC, East/West Matagorda, and the Chocolate/Christmas areas......East Galveston is where the big girls live....and LOTS of them.
> 
> You are gonna need a bigger live well - trust me!!!!!!





98aggie77566 said:


> I did my best troll job above to try and get a rise.....guess my hook was showing LOL


Hell, you almost got a rise out of me! Like whoa whoa! Lets not go overboard haha :biggrin:


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## 98aggie77566

Fishin' Soldier said:


> Hell, you almost got a rise out of me! Like whoa whoa! Lets not go overboard haha :biggrin:


LMAO!

While I certainly enjoy fishing with my 300+ new friends in my neck of the woods....I certainly wouldn't mind if they spent some time policing Hebert.

:biggrin:


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## Snookered

Fishin' Soldier said:


> Hell, you almost got a rise out of me! Like whoa whoa! Lets not go overboard haha :biggrin:


LOL! all good, keep posting...folks like shadslinger, 98 aggie, stumpgrinder, gsman, Laddh and others know exactly what to do with trolls...

rile them up and let them spool out till they put themselves in banned camp! LOL!

good report, but your link was broken to the gar video for me.....those things are tough!
snookered


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## Fishin' Soldier

Snookered said:


> LOL! all good, keep posting...folks like shadslinger, 98 aggie, stumpgrinder, gsman, Laddh and others know exactly what to do with trolls...
> 
> rile them up and let them spool out till they put themselves in banned camp! LOL!
> 
> good report, but your link was broken to the gar video for me.....those things are tough!
> snookered


Wonder why it messed up? Try this link.




__ https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=2269906503020845


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## charlie23

so how did the gar taste?


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## Fishin' Soldier

charlie23 said:


> so how did the gar taste?


We gave the gar away. I am sure it tasted great. Good white meat. The big sucker sure did stink though.


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