Bass Fishing Guide Busts Louisiana Gar Record

Jake Ormand holds up the new state-record longnose gar. Louisiana Sportsman / Instagram

It was mid-afternoon on July 17 and bass pro Jack Ormond of Sterlington, Louisiana was giving a fishing lesson to a young angler in his boat. The two were on a big oxbow lake off the Ouachita River near his home.

Ormond, who’s also a guide, saw a huge gar roll on the surface of the lake and cast out a flutter spoon designed for bass. Ormond figured if he hooked the heavy gar, he’d hand the rod to the young angler in his boat and he’d enjoy the fight of his life.

But then he changed his mind.

“I was going to catch [the gar] just to show that kid,” Ormond told Louisiana Sportsman. “I knew it was a big one. I’d hooked a big one on a crankbait on the same point three or four days before, but I broke him off. I saw him roll and figured it might be the same fish I’d hooked before. I had a big flutter…