Discover The Largest Longnose Gar Ever Caught in South Carolina

South Carolina is an angler’s paradise. The state has many amazing lakes that have yielded world-record fish along with easy access to saltwater fishing. The longnose gar is a challenging target for fishers. The fish is also one of the few species that can be caught on a line or by bowfishing and still make the record books. Today, we are going to explore the largest longnose gar ever caught in South Carolina. Find out how large it was, where it was caught, and how this record fish compares to the biggest one ever caught in the U.S.

Learn About the Longnose Gar

Longnose gars are fish with long bodies, a cylindrical shape, and exceptionally long snouts. Their tail fins are rounded, and their dorsal fin is located far along their backs. They can appear in many different colors, including gray and green on the top and sides along with silver or white along the bottom. This species will often have black spots along their sides and on their fins. They also have a noticeable brownish mid-lateral stripe that runs the length of their bodies.

Typically, the species grows about 28 to 36 inches long on average, and they weigh about 4 to 7 pounds at those lengths. However, the species can get much larger, weighing more than 40 pounds and growing over 60 inches in length!

The longnose gar prefers to live in slow-moving freshwater. They often live in rivers, bayous, and reservoirs. The species has a wide distribution that extends from the northern United States in areas like Wisconsin to the northern parts of Mexico. The species lives as far west as New Mexico and along most of the Atlantic coast. However, they’re not found in every part of each state.

What Was the Largest Longnose Gar Ever Caught in South Carolina?

The largest longnose gar ever caught in South Carolina weighed 28 pounds 8 ounces, and it was caught by a man named Hunter Neeley from Chapin in 2015. He caught the fish at Lake Moultrie, one of the most widely recognized places to catch record-setting fish in the state.

Unlike some places and organizations that do not recognize bowfishing records as state records, South Carolina embraces the bowhunting tradition. The state allows people to use bows to catch several freshwater species of fish including carp, gar, and catfish in their waters. State officials also encourage people to use bowfishing equipment to take out snakehead fish as well.

Where Is Lake Moultrie?

The record-setting longnose gar for South Carolina was caught at Lake Moultrie. This large, man-made lake is in Berkeley County, eastern South Carolina, about 30 miles north of Charleston. It is the third-largest lake in the entire state.

Fishing is a very popular form of recreation at this lake. The lake includes swampy regions that hold a variety of fish that prefer those habitats. Aside from the longnose gar, a few other record-setting fish have been caught in this lake.

The largest blue catfish in the state lived in the same lake. Fishers using a trotline caught an even larger one, but the trotline disqualified their record. The large and deep lake has just the right conditions for fish to grow old enough to become record-setting fish.

Is South Carolina’s Record Longnose Gar the Largest in the World?

No, the largest longnose gar ever caught in South Carolina is not the largest one in the world. Instead, there are two sources for the largest member of this species in the world. According to the International Game Fish Association, Rock Shaw caught a 43-pound longnose gar in the Trinity River in Texas. He set the record on May 7, 2017.

Meanwhile, the Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Game and Museum lists Don Henson as the record owner. He caught a longnose gar weighing 48 pounds 1 ounce in Mississippi’s Sardis Lake. The International Game Fish Association has not listed his record despite using a rod to catch the fish.

People have caught many other larger longnose gar, including one weighing 56 pounds 2 ounces and measuring 63.5 inches long. Jacob Fischer shot the massive longnose gar with a bow at Lake Palestine, Texas in May 2022. However, using a bow disqualifies the record from the International Game Fish Association. However, the Bowfishing Association of America accepted the fish as the world record.

What Other Fish Do People Catch in South Carolina?

South Carolina is a great place to go fishing because it has tremendous saltwater and freshwater areas. Anglers seek a wide variety of fish in lakes and rivers and out on the ocean. Although the state is great for catching longnose gar, many other species live in the area. A few of the best fish to catch in South Carolina include:

• King mackerel
• Blue catfish
• Crappie
• Muskies
• Blue marlin
• Smallmouth bass
• Largemouth bass
• Trout
• Black sea bass
• Bluefin tuna

These fish are some of the ones that serious anglers pursue in the waters in and near South Carolina.

The largest longnose gar ever caught in South Carolina was rather large, weighing 28 pounds. Although it was not the biggest one caught in the country, it was still a very impressive specimen. The state could post future records for fish. After all, people fishing on Lake Moultrie and other bodies of water in the state keep catching exceptionally large fish. We’ll have to wait and see what the next fishing season brings!