HikerJP Posted May 16, 2016 Share Posted May 16, 2016 I have been to Post Oak Creek a few times now and always had fun, but this trip was especially interesting. I was trying to make my way up creek via the shallow parts of the water. It was higher than I expected so I was trying to keep from getting stuck in the mud and going in waist deep water. I glanced over to the side of me and saw a gar about two feet away from where I was crossing. After a moment of shock I quickly got on the bank. I had no idea a gar would be hanging out right there. I was in that spot for about 4 hours and he just sat there with me the whole time. My goal was to head up creek some more, but the water was deeper and I was not going to take the chance of stepping on one his buddies. I had no intention of shaking hands with him (or fins for that matter). He finally swam up creek when I entered the water to go back to the bridge. He was about 3 feet long. Here are some teeth I found that day. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixgill pete Posted May 16, 2016 Share Posted May 16, 2016 Great picture of the gar. Looks like a longnose gar. Don't believe he (or she) would have bothered you.I would not be so sure if it had been an alligator gar. 1 Bulldozers and dirt Bulldozers and dirt behind the trailer, my desert Them red clay piles are heaven on earth I get my rocks off, bulldozers and dirt Patterson Hood; Drive-By Truckers May 2016 May 2012 Aug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 Oct 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted May 16, 2016 Share Posted May 16, 2016 Nice pics and trip report. Thanks for posting. Regards, Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolmt Posted May 16, 2016 Share Posted May 16, 2016 A beautiful fish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HikerJP Posted May 16, 2016 Author Share Posted May 16, 2016 (edited) He really was a neat fish. I never saw him come up for air, so are pretty resilient creatures. I read that they can survive most low oxygen environments that other fish can't, hence the shallow creek I guess. Here is better picture of him. Edited May 16, 2016 by HikerJP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David E. Posted May 16, 2016 Share Posted May 16, 2016 Whoa...that was a surprise. I've never seen a gar in POC so that's something to keep in mind going forward. Nice selection of teeth you found as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darktooth Posted May 17, 2016 Share Posted May 17, 2016 Nice finds you got! I like Trilo-butts and I cannot lie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffrey P Posted May 17, 2016 Share Posted May 17, 2016 Gar are really cool looking fish! I wish I could find a fossil of one. Great pictures and report. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted May 17, 2016 Share Posted May 17, 2016 Cool fish! RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Pocock Posted May 17, 2016 Share Posted May 17, 2016 Nice finds and a view of nature in the raw Thanks for the images and report Regards Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaleoRon Posted May 17, 2016 Share Posted May 17, 2016 Interesting being in the company of a living "fossil" fish while looking for fossils. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted May 17, 2016 Share Posted May 17, 2016 I hand grabbed a 30 incher in the shallows after cold snap a few months back while collecting...thermal shock worked to my advantage. Too bad I didn't have a cooler to throw it in, so back into the drink it went. No gar backstraps for me that round. Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khyssa Posted May 17, 2016 Share Posted May 17, 2016 I actually stepped on a gar a little smaller than that while fossil hunting in a creek in south Florida not too long ago. I'm not sure who was more startled, me or the fish! Thankfully it just smacked me in the leg with it's tail before taking off. I also found quite a few fossil gar scales in that same creek that day. Not sure of the species I encountered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyc Posted May 17, 2016 Share Posted May 17, 2016 They are surprisingly delicious! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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