Darrell Sapp, Post-Gazette A closeup of a gar mounted by Sam Stelitano. Click photo for larger image. Fishing Notebook: HEADLINE

The tough conditions that sent bass into hiding on Western Pennsylvania rivers this summer have brought longnose gar to the surface.

Though known for their armor-like scales and sword-like snout, gar also have an unusual swim bladder that connects directly to their throat, allowing them to gulp air and thrive in oxygen poor water. It is highly vascular, so it deliver more oxygen to their bloodstream, said Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission biologist Rick Lorson.

In recent weeks, gar have been seen sunning themselves along the shores of the Allegheny and Ohio rivers, to the fascination of local fishermen.

"I was using a buzz bait trying to draw some bass up around Chartiers Creek and what I thought was a stick came up on the river," said Dan Crane of McKees Rocks, a river angler for 25 years. "On closer inspection, I noticed the squared-off tail was moving. I saw half a dozen more, just laying on top of the water. A few days later, I was throwing a little plug for white bass and something caught my eye at my feet. There was a 25-inch gar just cruising on by. It looked mean as heck."

Gar haven't changed much since the days of the dinosaur, though there were once other types of gar on Western Pennsylvania rivers and Presque Isle Bay -- their native range. Shortnose gar have disappeared from Pennsylvania and spotted gar are an endangered species found only around Erie. But, for longnose gar, the three rivers are nearly ideal habitat, Lorson said, especially as water quality and the number of bait fish improve.

Though they may one day no longer need protected status, gar are still classified as candidate species and should be returned to the water unharmed, said Lorson.

"People think of them the way they think of pike on lakes. Maybe it's because they're not table fare. Maybe it's their teeth. They may wound or kill prey by slashing with their long beaks, but they're no more voracious than other predators," he said. "They live mostly on minnows and shad and don't deserve to be maligned. They help bring balance to the river system."

Though longnose gar are targeted extensively in the South, where they can exceed four feet, around here they wind up mostly on unwelcome hooks. Yet, among anglers who seek an unusual challenge, gar have developed a niche following.

"They really give maximum sport, the way they attack with those long snouts," said John McKean of Shaler. "If you've ever seen a minnow try to get away like crazy and those long snippers going after them, it's awesome."

Until a few years ago, McKean targeted carp, stalking them and jigging for them in ways most anglers wouldn't consider. Then he tangled with a gar, and was hooked.

"Those teeth, there must be a million," he said. "They're much sharper than a muskie's or a pike's. If you get your fingers anywhere near them, look out. Whatever goes in their mouth is history."

The popular method for catching gar involves no hook, only nylon rope that is used to snare them by their teeth. McKean uses ³/₈th inch diameter rope from the hardware store, combing it until it frays, then tying it around a snap and adding a bullet weight or putting it behind a slip sinker, varying the size according to depth.

"Some guys will take a regular jig head and tie on nylon rope, then comb it out and take the hook off," he said.

The key, said Alabama gar guide Terry Smith, whose "gar getter" rigs are sold on-line, is the filament used. "The finer and silkier the better," he said. "We've been fishing for them 30 years and we've perfected the nylon rope method."

Sight-fishing is the easiest way to target gar, who often bask in the sun. "They'll come to the surface to supplement their oxygen supply, and that's the best time to fish for them," said Smith, who guides on the Coosa River chain, where gar can reach 50 inches. "You can usually use a ³/₈ ounce slip sinker and sight cast or work back slow, with an erratic action.

"We used to use steel leaders but found that, not only was the gar's mouth and bill cutting the line, the whole body was like razors, so we went with high tech braided wire, 65- to 85-pound test. When they strike the lure, give them a little slack, a little time to shake their head. That's when they become entangled."

As far as tackle, Smith said, "any bassin' gear will do."

Around here, McKean fishes for gar in creeks where they are known to feed. "You hope you'll see them surfacing, but, barring that, just start casting the banks and keep going. I usually fish near the surface and retrieve slow and steady with slight hops."

He also gar fishes in the Ohio River's back channel dam and the lower Allegheny, but the Chain of Five Lakes in Ohio, where he boated a 47-inch gar in August 2003, is his favorite.

When McKean is fishing for bass in certain waters, he'll have one rod rigged for gar. "They'll come up near the boat and look at the lure. Or they'll come up and make a straight-on poke, faster than you can see. They're as fast as a rattlesnake. It's a bang type thing."

"If you catch them at a distance, where you can't see them, it'll feel like a peck. The minute you feel that, drop the line, you've got to give them time to chew. It'll be a snarled mess inside their mouths."

Untangling them is the tricky part. McKean wears heavy gloves and uses a "gar board" to keep the fish from thrashing. Lorson suggests picking gar up by the tail or the back of the head. Smith said it is critical that every strand of rope be pulled from their teeth, otherwise, their jaws will lock and they'll slowly starve to death.

Smith became intrigued with gar "because our bass waters are pressured to death," and he knew there was more to the fish than its ill-deserved "trashy" reputation.

"The law in Alabama used to be you had to kill a gar if you caught it," he said. "That's changed."

The fish is slowly gaining respect, especially by those who have tangled with it.

"It's not like going out and catching a panfish, that's for sure," McKean said.