Longnose Gar photo

[Butch103]

All I know is that they are not welcome here in the great lakes. They poach on the Walleye and Muskie eggs and young ones. Not good. Although I will admit better than the Sunfish /Bluegills. I wish they would learn to eat the Gobys

 

[Storm]

Neil,

By the looks of your picture it would be a spotted gar. While they seem to be a rarity, they are actually quite common. I have seen them many times in the Rideau and Ottawa rivers, in fact I know of two small shallow bays where the schools of gar are quite large, as are the gar themselves.

I have only seen one while diving, and it was cruising along with the current amidships of the Connie.

They do have sharp needle like teeth in that bony jaw, and can cause a fair bit of damage if they get a hold of you, but for the most part they are not aggressive. They are one of the apex predators in the Great Lakes right up there with the muskie and the Pike.

BTW Nice pic.

 

[DeepBound]

Thanks Storm,
I really thought it was a spotted gar, too, and since it isn't known to live in the st. lawrence, I sent the picture to the Fisheries and Wildlife people for their comments:

=========================================================

Neil - thank-you for forwarding your electronic image of a gar you observed in the St. Lawrence River. Your photo has been examined by several fisheries experts in MNR as well as the Royal Ontario Museum. There was unanimous agreement that this fish is a longnose gar (Lepisosteus osseus).

I have attached a photo of a longnose gar (top) and spotted gar (bottom). The difference in the snout is quite obvious.

You are correct in that the distribution of the spotted gar does not extend as far north as the St. Lawrence River.

Thanks again for your interest.

======================================================
The image at
http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o146/DeepBound/longnosegar_adj.jpg

is most likely a longnose gar based on the length of the snout. This is
a good example of a longnose gar with spots on the snout.

======================================================

Hello Neil,

We are writing the field guide to Ontario fishes, which is planned for
publication at the end of this year. We are looking for images of each
species that helps describe the degree of variation in colour pattern,
shape etc. of each species. It has been suggested that we include, in
the longnose gar account, the image that you sent to the MNR, and
eventually was sent to me. Would it be alright for us to use this in the
guide, and would you have an image of higher resolution?

==============================================

Neil,

By the looks of your picture it would be a spotted gar. While they seem to be a rarity, they are actually quite common. I have seen them many times in the Rideau and Ottawa rivers, in fact I know of two small shallow bays where the schools of gar are quite large, as are the gar themselves.

I have only seen one while diving, and it was cruising along with the current amidships of the Connie.

They do have sharp needle like teeth in that bony jaw, and can cause a fair bit of damage if they get a hold of you, but for the most part they are not aggressive. They are one of the apex predators in the Great Lakes right up there with the muskie and the Pike.

BTW Nice pic.

 

[fire_diver]

Maybe it's a brand new type. A spotted longnose gar. Maybe the 2 type inter-bred.

 

[DeepBound]

Maybe it's a brand new type. A spotted longnose gar. Maybe the 2 type inter-bred.

I think so too. It's snout is long, but not as extreme as the longnose in the photo they sent.

 

[jjones9527]

Heres one that was taken my Tom R of Northern Tech Diver near the Munson earlier in the fall. Hes probably got a few more shots if you want to see them.

 

[DeepBound]

Nice picture. Is that a spotted gar or a longnose gar?

 

[jjones9527]

I don't know, you would have to ask Tom.

 

[RetroDiver Jr]

I scanned some pages from my Freshwater Fishes Field Guide, which may (or may not) distinguish which type of gar are in your pics.

I couldn't figure out how to upload them directly here, so I added them to the photo gallery:

ScubaBoard Gallery - RetroDiver Jr Gallery - Powered by PhotoPost

Hope this helps1

Cheers!

 

[DeepBound]

I scanned some pages from my Freshwater Fishes Field Guide, which may (or may not) distinguish which type of gar are in your pics.

I couldn't figure out how to upload them directly here, so I added them to the photo gallery:

ScubaBoard Gallery - RetroDiver Jr Gallery - Powered by PhotoPost

Hope this helps1

Cheers!

Thank you. Looks like they're both longnose gar.