Gar?

[thmyorke1]

Nyle and I went out to the raritan river around Piscataway today. While fishing, I spot a thin fish. I assume it was a lamprey. Odd looking since I never saw one on the top of the water column rather than just hugging the bottom.

Later I see the same thing again, there I noticed it wasnt a lamprey. Three key features I noticed:
Long and needle nose.
Silvery color but couldnt notice much of a pattern- maybe a dab of black around the backside.
When swimming, the tail was just sort of paddling side to side but the body was pretty still.

Around the same spot later, Nyle now sees it for himself and confirms what my eyes saw. It actually went for his floating rapala as he told me. The 2nd time I saw it I tried the same but that's when I spooked it. It was about 8 inches.

http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/chkfish.htm

"Longnose Gar Lepisosteus osseus EX (Extirpated)"

[Eskimo]

.


It's theoretically possible it was a Longnose Gar.
Here is a range map:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qh8tCaYudOE/VfKk2Ygo7TI/AAAAAAAAA7M/LrutuhB_NSk/s1600/longnose%2Bgar%2Bdistribution%2BUSGS.png

I have never seen one in New Jersey. I didn't know they were extirpated from this area. I just assumed they were never here. It seems they would be easy enough to re-introduce, but I guess nobody cares to.


.

[Lard Almighty]

Not impossible that it was a gar. However, since the tidal section starts around Piscataway, I also think it may have been a needlefish.

Does this look like what you saw?

http://www.animalspot.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Needlefish-Photos.jpg

[thmyorke1]

Does this look like what you saw?


Yep, actually looks more like it since I saw mostly silver.

[tycomps]

The Raritan is full of surprises. Fast Eddie size stripers every year at the ladder, sturgeon sightings, I'm waiting for the bull shark fins to cruise by!

[Mark B.]

Years ago, sampling on the Hudson River, there were lots of Atlantic Needlefish.

Recently, received a report / photo of a dead gar washed up on the shore of Bass River just downstream of Viking Yachts, New Gretna.

Looks like a Longnose Gar. NJDF&W plans to investigate.

[ScowardNJ]

Most likely a needle fish. We have them in our lagoon all summer long cruising around right on the surface. They can get pretty aggressive whacking small surface lures. How long was it?

[thmyorke1]

Most likely a needle fish. We have them in our lagoon all summer long cruising around right on the surface. They can get pretty aggressive whacking small surface lures. How long was it?

By sight it was 6-12 inches. Not huge

[Eskimo]

.


As a kid, I used to spend a lot of time catching Atlantic Needlefish when I was vacationing in Florida. They hang out around boat docks because it's easier to catch baitfish when they can corner the bait against the slanted dock.

The Atlantic Needlefish's range map indicates they live around here:
https://nas.er.usgs.gov/viewer/GetStaticMap.aspx?cache=true&region=us&width=700&height=450&speciesid=324
https://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.aspx?speciesID=324


.

[AndyS]

I would tend to think it was a Needlefish instead of a Gar.