After 49 years, the Madisonville Gar Rodeo in South Louisiana has become a staple event for alligator gar fishermen, along with local families and communities. This year’s rodeo had a huge turnout, and it featured some of the biggest gator gar ever caught in the state, including one nearly 200-pound fish that would have smashed the state record.
“This year was the best ever for our Gar Rodeo,” event organizer Casey Revere tells Outdoor Life. “We had nice cash prizes in several categories for big gar, plus lots of food vendors, a mullet toss, and at the end of the fishing we cleaned the gar and served them up to plenty of hungry fishermen.”
Revere says 372 anglers registered for the rodeo, which took place on Lake Pontchartrain in July. As in past years, they fished with juglines instead of rods and reels. Jug-lining (also known as jug fishing) is where anglers suspend baited lines under floating jugs and then return periodically to check on them and haul in what’s been hooked. The practice is a lot like running a trapline on the water, and it’s more common in the South and Midwest, where it’s a time-honored technique for catching gar, catfish, and other big bottom feeders.
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The heaviest gar caught during the one-day event was a 195.6-pound alligator gar, which Revere says is the biggest fish ever brought to the rodeo scales. The fish also outweighed the current state-record gator gar by nearly 20 pounds. But since it was caught on a jugline and not a rod-and-reel, it doesn’t qualify for a Louisiana record.
The team that landed the giant gar and took home a $2,500 check for winning the adult jug division included Scott Watts, Abram Martinez, Bryson Martinez, and Austin Palmer. The same team landed the second-biggest fish of the event, a 143.5-pounder.
The event also featured a youth jug division for kids between 10 and 15. Lucas Talley took the top spot there with a 105.3-pound gator gar.
Revere says that besides getting fishermen together for some friendly competition, the chief goal of the Madisonville Gar Rodeo is to raise money for local charities. She says the annual fundraiser has brought in close to $100,000 over the last decade.
“We’ve tried to make the Rodeo a festival event everyone can enjoy,” Revere says. “Next year will be our 50th annual Gar Rodeo. We’re already making plans for it.”
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