Yours is bigger than mine!

Colin poses with the four-foot longnose gar he caught in the Ottawa River.

Experiencing the thrill of catching my first longnose gar on the Ottawa River.

“Yours is bigger than mine,” I quipped when my friend Colin Cameron landed a four-foot longnose gar during our recent fishing expedition on the Ottawa River. It was an exciting moment and the highlight of many memorable moments that day. Minutes before, I caught my first gar–smaller than the specimen Colin landed but a gar. Catching the gar was a big thrill for me as I never expected, I would have the chance to land one. I remember the gar as a species of freshwater fish caught my eye when I was in grade four. I saw an illustration of the gar in a book to identify the freshwater fishes of North America by Herbert Zim. From that moment on, I dreamed of catching a gar. I had no idea they were found in local waters until recent years. That knowledge gave me hope that I might catch a gar someday, but the hope remained remote. Colin and I had a great day out on the river. Along with the gar, we caught several smallmouth bass, a couple of channel catfish, two pumpkinseeds and a northern pike. The bass, pumpkinseeds and pike were caught using an unorthodox technique devised by Alex, another of Colin’s fishing buddies. The day was not without drama, as you will see as you read on.