Unfortunately I didn't have my fishing gear along I was scouting the area to study the importance of backwaters to riverine fishes back when I was doing fisheries research. A few gar broke the surface, most likely to gulp air, but mostly it looked like they were snatching prey from the water column. Their quick porpoising rolls indicated to me that they were feeding, perhaps on small juvenile fish.
These were good-sized specimens, most about 21â'„2 to 3 feet long. I'd heard of longnose groups approaching 100-plus fish.
I couldn't tell how many there were, seeing about 5 to 10 fish at a time. Soon I realized they were longnose gar displaying group behavior common to this species. It was like missing the spot in the sky while trying to catch a bursting meteor during a Leonid shower.Ĭoncentrating on one spot and hoping for an encore was my best chance at a good look. Then more flashes-figures appearing in a split second and disappearing just as fast. I caught a sizable flash in my periphery. With midday sunlight directly overhead, viewing conditions were good to a couple of feet down, considering the turbid water. Standing on the riprap above, I watched for signs of life in a channel separating a large backwater from the Illinois River.
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