the funny thing is just about every lake has one or two. these guys got lucky to see and shoot one. m my friend has jugged one almost this big in the river close to the house it was almost 7 feel long that was the trip when he decided to start shooting them in the head after he clubbed it and it stopped moving he tried to load it in the boat and then it came back to life lol a whole boat full of gar and a big one thrashing on the side lol it almost sunk him 
I can relate to that. On my first Gar fishing trip, Tommy shot about a 3 1/2 - 4 foot Needle Nose. It went limp in the water. Tommy hauled it in and lifting by the arrow and the tail, he tossed into my end of the 12 ft flat bottomed boat. As soon at the fish hit the boat he went ballistic!
Tommy still likes to tell the tale of my Danish Jig trying to avoid that fish. Those little needle teeth sticking out of his mouth cut the heck out of my boots. We both had a 357 Mag, but the fish was in the boat!!.
While I was playing hop scotch gar style, Tommy managed to get us to the shore of the river.
Using the line attached to the arrow that was still sticking through the fish, he hauled it up on the beach. Where, promptly I shot it in the head 6 TIMES!!... (Not taking any chances with that baby....)
Tommy laughed saying he wished we had brought a camera... I guess the look on my face was something to behold... He teased that I probably could see in the dark...
After that, we would shoot all of them in the head while they were still in the water, and leave them on the side of the river for the scavengers.
Damn, you guys are bringing back some fond memories.
Thanks for sharing your stories.
Steve
