About The Gar Guys

Sam grew up shooting bullfrogs and carp in the concrete bayous of Houston. Steve spent his youth shooting gar in the rivers of East Texas. But when Sam met and married Steve's sister, it was a match made in heaven, for the guys at least, and the Gar Guys have been inseparable for almost twenty years.

A lot has changed in the sport and in the equipment over those years. Sam's 15# recurve was great for a first grade carp shooter, but bigger fish required better equipment. However, in the back woods of East Texas, bowfishing was not yet popular and archery shops of any kind were hours away. Money was tight, so equipment was minimal. A 10' flatbottom with a lantern hanging from a willow limb and no motor was a step up, but shooting from the bank and then getting in the boat to paddle after a gar attached to a Clorox bottle was quite a challenge. A deep-sea rig with 400 lb trotline cord spooled underfoot made shooting from the boat possible, but often there was only one arrow, so the idea of losing a fish was unthinkable. On one memorable trip, a huge needlenose (maybe 55#) broke the line and took the only arrow. Sam waded in chest deep and waited nervously until the fish swam within reach. He got the fish, the arrow, and the chance to shoot again.

As the equipment got better and the boat got bigger, so did the fish that Steve and Sam brought back to the boat launch. The old catfishermen always had a comment on the catch, and started to say things like, "Here come them ol' gar guys." But since the guys had only each other for comparison, they didn't realize how uncommon the big fish were. They also didn't know how different their fishing style was. Unlike many bowfishermen, the Gar Guys fished in the daytime instead of at night. The muddy rivers of East Texas had almost no visibility, so the shot must be lightning quick as the gar rolled. While telling stories of amazing shots and showing pictures of 7' gar, the guys kept hearing themselves say, "Man, I wish we had that on tape!"