When I was a teenager living in Florida my friend and I used to fish for bowfins. Frequently gars would strike our baits and occasionally we would land one. Gars put up a great fight and jump like crazy but they are hard to hook because of their hard bony mouth. After some experimentation I discovered a great way to catch them. Tie about a 3 or 4 inch length of white nylon braided rope to a hook near the eye , then fray and unravel the rope. When fished it looks like a minnow in the water and when a gar grabs it the frayed rope gets tangled in their teeth and they can't spit it out. The hook is really unnessesary for the gars but you may get a strike from a bass, crappie, or bowfin, and then you'll be glad you have that hook. Happy fishing.