Alligator Gar Fishing On The Trinity River with Captain Kirk Kirkland

Fishing for the prehistoric Alligator Gar on the Trinity River. An experience of a lifetime with Texas guide Captain Kirk Kirkland.

As Texas began to come out of lock down, we heard from a friend about an opening with the infamous Kirk Kirkland who guides for monster alligator gars in Texas. He is quite the legend and is usually booked a year in advance. As luck would have it the travel restrictions resulted in several of his overseas clients cancelling their trips for fear of the quarantine requirements. This species has always been a bucket list for me and we didn't waste time reaching out to him. A 2.5 hr drive through East Texas put us in Trinity, Texas where after a DQ Steak finger basket, we rested up for the next day’s fishing.

Fishing day started bright and early at 6.15am when Kirk picked us up and loaded our gear into his work horse custom built aluminum boat. We asked if we could use our own gear and he was more that happy to accommodate us. After stopping to gas up, get coffee and kolaches, we were on the water on the Trinity River by 7am. It was a beautiful morning and the river was in near flood stage from the rains the days before so Kirk decided that we should try the flats up river. A 10 minute run later we began putting out baits. It wasn't long before we had our first run. As the Alligator Gar peeled line from the Shimano Tranx loaded with 65lb Fins braid, the size and strength of these prehistoric fish even surprised Hardy Tong (owner of the Happy Buddha Restaurant in Galveston), who was a seasoned offshore tuna angler. The Ironman PE3-6 5 pc travel rod was a perfect match for the fish with its more than adequate backbone. It was powerful enough to control these fish boat side where they tend to get the most angry.

Between the 3 of us, the Ironman rod with the Tranx and the Prohunter Offshore popping rod matched with a Daiwa Isla 5000H, we made short work of 8 of these monsters. We went 8 for 13 fish that day. All fish were of course safely released. We lost 5 of them to snapped lines, broken steel leaders and pulled hooks. Quitting at 2pm for our easy drive home. What a tiring but amazing day! Scratch one species off all of our bucket lists!

We'll be back again soon but next time, targeting these brutes with even lighter tackle and lures only.
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If you would like to get in on this amazing experience, I could not recommend Kirk Kirkland more. He is fun, entertaining and completely accommodating of anglers of all skill levels. See the links below for more information:

Fishing Guide Mentioned:
Captain Kirk Kirkland
(+1) 214 490 0284
duckhuntr35@aol.com
http://alligatorgarfishing.com/

More about Trinity, TX: http://www.co.trinity.tx.us/

More about the Alligator Gar: https://tpwd.texas.gov/fishboat/fish/management/alligator-gar/
"Most people remember their first encounter with an alligator gar. In the world of fishes, their appearance is striking.
Alligator gar get big — really big — and they look like something that should be swimming around with dinosaurs, not bass and crappie. But it is not just their looks that are unique. Alligator gar are like few other fishes that swim in our rivers, reservoirs and estuaries. Even among the four species of gar that occur in Texas — longnose, spotted, shortnose and alligator gar — this species is unique."

Help protect this species: https://texaslivingwaters.org/alligator-gar-texas/

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