Besides seeing allot of Long Nosed (Needle nose) Gar we saw also saw some Carp, Bass, Catfish, Turtles, Snakes and Alligators. But none of what we were really after, Alligator Gar. After going up stream for 4 hours we turned around and started working our way back to the dock. We were about a 1/2 mile from the bridge when about a 12� Alligator splashed and sounded 10� off our port bow. My cousin was driving and it startled him and he ran us into a sand bar. The boat stalled and the motor wouldn�t start. My nephew and me tried to convince Bill that he needed to jump in the river and we would stay up on the bow and sort of keep a eye out for the Alligator. That went over like a fart in church. Finally Bill was told to take it out of gear and we were back on our way. At the dock I was unloaded then the boat was trailered and back to camp we headed with only a couple Long Nose Gar to show for our efforts. That evening we were invited to Emmett�s & Deb�s. Once there Emmett gave us the tour of his pie shaped 35 acres. He had to show his prize bull, his Grandson�s Deer Stand and his neighbor�s control burn which took out a couple of his trees. While there we also met up with Emmett�s brother, Bob and his wife Edna. After sitting around and telling stories supper time snuck up on us. All the meat was smoked by a Mexican fellow named Cecil and all of it was very good. He offered Brisket, Pork and Sausage personally I liked the Brisket best, but then I�m a beef eater, there were also raves over the Pork. The next day (2) we didn�t even consider leaving till later in the morning. By 9:30 we were going under the bridges and decided to run up the Navidad River. After snaking our way through huge patches of lily pads and dodging underwater stumps and getting a few shots. We could see the dock and according to the map there was a boat ramp but it was so over grown and with all the dead trees in the water we never did find the entrance to the river. After taking our time navigating through lily pads we ended up back on Sandy Creek. Again we had plenty of shots and only a few keepers and those were Needle Nosed.

At 9 the next morning we were dragging the boat trailer towards the gulf to try our luck on some of the river branches below the dam. After about a 15 mile cruise up stream we came on a promising looking river branch. We cruised up it for about a hour and a half when trouble arose with the trolling motor. At first we thought the motor over heated so we dug out the fishing poles and tried our hand at getting some Catfish. A little over an hour later we tried the trolling motor but no-go. We thought it was the motor but we later learned that the battery was completely dead, it wouldn�t recharge anymore. So we got the boat headed down river and eased ourselves out of the shallows. Once we got back into the main channel we could us our outboard to get back to the truck. Then once back in Edna we started hunting around for somewhere to buy us a new battery. I never realized just how fast a Armadillo can run until I chased one. With Bill and Darren distracting him I slipped up to within 10 ft. of that rascal. It turned and spotted me and the race was on. Even with me going as fast as I could he kept widening the gap between my wheelchair and him. Dang those little hard shelled suckers can really scoot.

That night we tried our hand at going night fishing.We cruised up to the 530 Rd. bridge as the evening was growing darker. At about 9 p.m. it finally the stars started coming out and we guessed it was about time to start down river. With the lights out we were pretty much free of bugs but once we turned on our 500 watt halogens those winged nuances showed up in full force. There were very few mosquito but the gnats were so think we couldn�t see and putting the boat in motion didn�t help. They then went somewhere to escape the light wind and that was up our noses or ears or mouths or in our eyes. With the spot lights we were able to put the outboard to work and get back to the dock. So needless to say our night fishing was a flop.

The next morning was the 5th day out and we ran in to nice sized needle nose gar, about 3 to 4 ft. long and weighed in at 10 to 15 lb. We were starting to wonder why we weren�t seeing any Alligator Gar we had to be doing something wrong. At about 11:00 those big bad boys started showing up. A big guy showed up at about 15 ft. to our port (my side) and as he broke the surface to roll I stuck a 5/16th solid fiberglass arrow that is tipped with a hardened steel tip in him and is connected to the bow with 130 lb. test braided fast flight line. It penetrated about a foot behind it�s head in the middle of it�s back (my arrow is half orange). I got the first arrow in him but we knew we had to have more so we brought him in close to the boat with me operating the reel and my cousin Bill retrieving the line hand over hand. When we got him fought in close enough to the boat we tied the line off to the bow guard rail. At that time Darren (my nephew) got another arrow in him so we now had two lines to help us manhandle him up close enough to the boat to get a gaff into his lower jaw. As soon as that arrow bit flesh the fish went wild and broke the line we had tied off. With the first line broke we had to repeat act 1 and tied that line off when we got that bad boy near the boat. This time Bill stuck him with arrow #3 and he did the same as before and broke the line off Darren�s arrow. So again we retrieved the line hand over hand being real careful not to get any of our hands or fingers in a �Brite� that way we were sure to keep all our fingers. When he was brought back up close to the boat and Bill�s line secured Darren was able to retrieve one of the broken lines and got it retied then secured to the guard rail again. Finally we got the gaff in him and was able to get him up on the bow.

After fighting with him for 45 minutes and beating him over the head 12 times with a baseball ball we strained all we had left to drag him on board.

Pulling under a overhanging tree to get out of the hot sun we took a short beer break to get some of our strength back. The sun was still almost directly overhead when we took off again to find those elusive Alligator Gar. We were back on the river for maybe 15 minutes when a even bigger AlGar broke the surface about 25 ft. off our Port Bow. But this time luck was against us and both Darren and me shot but we both missed. It was around 1:30 when the last AlGar showed up this time the fish was about 2 ft. deep and 6 inches away from the starboard side of the boat and sounded a split second after he was spotted. I never saw him but was told he looked to be about a 5 footer. As we were headed back to the boat dock a air boat came up the river looking for us. And guess who was the pilot yep you guessed it Charles (LNRA head) and of course we had to show our catch off. Once back in camp and the fish unloaded out came the cameras to record that big, ugly fish.

It was said that he might be a new record fish for that Lake but that is as far as it went.

Not only does this fish stink (Catfish stink bait smells good in comparison) but it is slimy(snail slime doesn�t even hold a candle compared to this slime) and it is very UGly (Note the capital UG).

plus it has a mouth full of very sharp teeth.

Even though this critter looks vicious it has never been known to attack a person. Oh it might bite you if you�re dumb enough to put your hand in it�s mouth. It eats Fish, Snakes, Turtles, Birds, small Mammals and even has been known to eat Alligators. Cleaning that badboy was a job all to it�s self. My Dad was the first one to the cleaning. He grabbed a 8 inch hunting knife and was going to cut it open along the backbone. The knife alone wouldn�t penetrate so he grabbed a rock. Still it wouldn�t work so out came the sawzall. Who ever heard of using a reciprocating saw to clean a fish well at least I have pictures to prove it.

To give you a idea of how tough the skin/scales are Indians used to use the scales as arrowheads. Then a hundred years ago or so the farmers wrapped a piece of fresh skin around their plow shears to let the scales help to reinforce the plow. Now adays the scales are used in jewelry. Despite its UGliness and it�s being called a �trash fish�. I along with many others find it very good eating. To me it has a taste very much like Cod. The meat on the one�s under 60 or so inches has a fine texture but on the larger ones (6 + feet) the meat is a bit more gristly but still delicious. Those smaller fish in the pictures are Long Nosed Gar. They were very plentiful and gave us allot of targets ranging in size from about 4 ft to maybe 18 inches long. Their snout have a couple of rows of teeth and all of them are needle sharp.

Even with the dead ones you are very careful on where to place your hands.

Ever since I was a little boy it has been a family tradition that whoever catches the biggest fish has to buy ice cream. But this time the tradition changed I had to take all of us out to dinner and a MacDonald�s or a Taco Bell wouldn�t work. It had to be a nice sit down place but I didn�t really mind. I got to say Thanks to all my helpers, cousin Bill and his son Darren for helping to land and drag that �bad boy� into the boat. To Bill�s wife Linda for helping to wrap the meat and putting it in the freezer. And last but not least to my Dad, Ernie, for cleaning that stinky boy.

Day 6, our last day, dawned on us and like all the previous days it was warm and clear. As we neared the boat ramp we had to stop and let a Alligator run across the road. He was a youngster and only about 4 ft long. I tried to talk Darren into going and grabbing him by the tail but he didn�t like any part of that idea. By 10:00 the boat was launched and we were headed back up river and yes we did see some more Alligators. After a half hour boat ride we were back in the Honey Hole from yesterday. With the sun almost straight up the Needle Nose Gar were plentiful but we all didn�t want to mess with those �little boys�. Then off the bow and out of bow range we saw the first of 4 Algar. He looked to be a pretty good size about a 6 ft. Then about 20 or so minutes later we saw an even bigger Algar off our stern. But like the fellow before him he was way out of bow range. That�s when we decided to try to get us some of those small boys.

As the prime shooting time was drawing to a close we saw a couple more Algars but they must have figured out our shooting range because they knew how far away to be just to tease us. As the shadows started to grow we headed back for the dock and boat ramp. With the sun still high in the sky they went to work getting the boat lined up correctly on the trailer for the long ride back to California. Darren got to play �Captain� while Bill was up on the bow winch.

Linda was waist deep on the port side guiding the boat on the trailer and of course I was sitting back watching. And I had to be my normal self and holler to Linda � Did you see that whopper of that Alligator?� She waved her finger at me and said something that only she knows. The next morning was overcast with a light sprinkle of rain. That part of Texas was in a drought and could use the rain plus the Lake was about a foot below normal. As we were leaving the campground we had to stop while a doe nursed her fawn in the middle of the road.

We stopped in Edna to meet up with Emmett & Deb at a cafe to have breakfast and say good bye. While we were in there the rain clouds decided to dump. So we waited for a break in the storm to scurry to our trucks. It rained off and on all the way to Beeville at times it came down so hard that seeing the road was very difficult. That night found us at Choke Canyon Lake where we planned to do some fishing the next morning. But plans change we stayed to long at Lake Texana and we didn�t want to push ourselves but we had to be in Los Angeles, CA in a few days. The first stop was at the taxidermist in Camp Wood, TX. to pick up our "Christmas Ram" mounts and from there we made it to San Angelo where we spotted more deer in the KOA. We stopped for lunch at the KFC in Clovis,NM and Linda wanted one of those chicken bowls but didn't want any gravy on it. Well the overly intelligent counter worker insisted that they had to put gravy on it. The manager was called and he agreed that gravy had to be put on the Chicken Bowl. That along with the guy who ordered a pizza and was asked if he wanted it cut into 4 pieces or 6. He said "you better cut it in 4's because I don't think I can eat 6". Proves "They are among us" and they're allowed to vote. Somewhere along the way we managed to get a nail in one of our trailer tires. By the time we almost made it to Cline Corners, NM it was flat, but only on the bottom. Out came the jack, the impact wrench and a spare tire.

Soon we were back on the road and that night put us in Albuquerque, NM. From there we chased the dotted white line to Laughlin, NV where at 3pm it was still 113� and of course we had to hit the casinos and their buffets then took a walk along the Colorado River. Seeing all those big Carp in the River had us making plans to return to the Colorado some time in the future to shoot Carp. The next day put us in Mohave, CA where Bill and family split off to Bakersfield and us to L.A. That was a great trip and plans are in the works to make the trip to Lake Texana a annual event.

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