Cleaning and Cooking Gar on a Mesquite Plank 

Just to let you know that someone is still viewing and appreciating your video!

Wow this is the first time I've seen Huck eat anything you offered.

I appreciate how respectful you are towards the gar. Great video

you have a real talent sir. I will never use these skills, being an inner city girl and yet I am binge watching your videos and enjoying them far more than my classes. the school system needs more people like you.

Been catching gar my whole life, never knew the eggs were poisonous. Learned something new Bob.

Excellent info! I had no idea their eggs were poisonous. Not that I knew that much about gar anyway though. This was extremely educational. That plating is some serious business too. You are an excellent source of information. Absolutely enjoy everything you’re sharing. Thank you!!!!!!!!! God Bless ~Lisa

super ancient prehistoric animals that survived until modern times should definitely be respected. They have lived millions of years without changing. They are at the pinnacle of their evolution. I definitely would have no way of preparing it without this video.

I finally figured out what I like about your narration; you've got an almost Bob Ross cadence to your voice. Love the video's man. Keep'em coming!

I love how you talked about respecting the fish. Most people kill gar for no reason

To futher the use of the gar in a true “survival” situation, the armored skin can be dried out and used for many different things. Feet protection, plates, water collection, etc.. The teeth also work really well as hooks for smaller fish. Great video. Gar must have not been bad either because Huck actually took a piece!

I'm waaaaay late to this video, but I just had to say thanks! All my life, I've been told gar are inedible because of the bones, and that they kill and eat all the suitable eating fish in an area, so if you catch one, you use a rock to snap the beak and throw it in the brush. I'm ashamed to admit I've done that my fair share of times. I never felt right about it, but when fishing with more "experienced" fishers who would have gladly thrown me in if I didn't, I did. On the rare occasions they weren't around, I always just put them back. To see a young one swimming, they are graceful and so beautiful. I never realized how beautiful they were for many years. I wish I'd known about this method for cleaning years ago. Granted, I've never caught a gar that large, but then again, I've never purposefully fished for them either. It's nice to know that if I happen to catch a fair sized one again, that it can be utilized and not wasted. We have mostly alligator gar around here, but I would imagine the method would be pretty much the same.

*Brazos River* 1. Absolutely excellent video! 👍 2. Learned so much tonight. 3. I appreciate the respect you show for the gar. 4. I remember seeing gar swimming the Brazos as a young boy. I was always afraid of them.

I grew up in Louisiana and Have eaten plenty of Gar , Folks do not believe me how good it really is. Good job

Omg ur doggo finally eats something

BOB HANSLER, you and your wife are my favorite human beings.

Everything u do is cleanly done & very professional. Not amateur at all.

Great stuff, as always! I was raised hearing gar called a "trash fish" as if it were inedible. Boy, were they wrong! I visited a small local Cajun restaurant and tried it awhile back and it was great. I enjoyed how you did it the "hard way" but still ended with a beautifully presented end product. Kudos, my friend!

I just watched 9 minutes of ads for you because I support what you do! Everyone honestly has the time if they truly like your videos!

Thank you for this. I remember asking you to show this and you said you would.\ You did, and I appreciate it!

I did not know about their eggs being toxic. Thank you Brother!

Making my mouth water. God bless u always. Much respect to u for honoring nature and its value.

17:22 dog was like, "Oh this is my favorite part!"

I attempted this when I was 12 without any instruction.Tried opening at the belly, and ended up with a bloody inedible mess! No RU-vid back then. Great work sir.

Always nice to see someone respect mother nature like the lady she is thank you

My better half got her first taste of gar this past weekend. I told her to expect a pork chop like texture. Long story short, she liked it. Caught quite a few gar this past week on fresh caught shad. Nueces River is low, but looks like we'll get a sh*tload of water into the system this weekend. Hope you're feeling better man. Looking forward to your future videos.

That Leatherman is a good tool, have used the Leatherman Surge for about ten years now and it's the tool box on the hip ! Noticed that other comments were of ways to use the scales on that gar, when I was getting them I would always have people wanting some for guitar picks, said they worked great. Enjoyed the video and thanks !

I've been binge watching your videos for like 4 hours haha. Love it.

We grew up bowfishing for gar. We have a very similar cleaning method. Had many people mistake fried gar tenders for catfish. Love your channel.

Didn’t realise how tough those scales were! Great vid 👍

you could make some sick ass armour out of that skin

Ate gar every summer as a kid when the ditch was low. Backstraps are one of my favorite pieces of fish. Love the video.

This is the most educational outdoor video I've seen. About the fish, and especially how to cook without traditional utensils. Thanks!

Must tell you I get great pleasure and a new understanding about survival using the elements that nature supplies. thank you for taking you love for nature and all your knowledge to make these videos for everyone to learn from and enjoy. And I too did not know a gars eggs are poisonous. Thank you and God bless you. Kenny

Respect for respecting the fish..

Here in the deep south of Louisiana we used a sharp hand axe. We turn the gar upside down and drive a large framing nail through the head securing the gat to a wooden plank. Then from the neck down to the tail chop a line into the gut sack/ Once the belly is opened, the meat is very tender and easy to scoop out of the shell. I could completely clean a 5 foot alligator gar in about 2 minutes using this method.

thank you for respecting the gar.

you are right about respecting this fish nice video.

Bob is %100 right about those eggs, had two friends that thought they could gut it like a regular fish from the belly and then try to fire roast it using the hard armor as sort of a shell to help heat it in the coals. Those two knuckleheads were throwing up before we even started back home later that night and were still nauseated and sick for a couple of days after. After they looked up what could be causing them to be so sick they were both definitely glad they didn't decide to eat the eggs they removed (they were grinning thinking they'd found some sorta Arkansas caviar :D ).

Friend of mine made some of the best looking belt buckles i ever saw. The shin and scales shined up like mother of pearl. No brainer they never wore out

oh hell ya mr handler you were the best 8th grade teacher.

that fish looks like its just made to be a mess and a pain to work with it since its birth lol, seriously you did a great job on that gar fish and I believe you showed us all the perfect example on how to clean it and what to avoid cutting, very good job Bob!

Everything you make looks so good!!! Wish I was in Texas to try this out

I like his cool demeanor. So confident...so cool.

Two things I noticed might make things easier for anyone, are having a 12 penny nail through the head to stake it to your plank and a good pair of channel locks to help pull his skin off the meat you did mention tin snips and that makes this job much easier. thank you for sharing !

Great presentation... Everybody I know call them trash fish but I have a liking for the meat so I clean them all the time... If I'm on the river I use tin snips and if around camp I have a dremel with a home made blade for the armor scales... My friends also bring me their stergon because its to rich for them... Man those fillets cooked like you did is a must try for me... Thank you for a great idea

we wher poor growing up so we had to eat what ever my dad could catch. we used to eat alligator gar burgers every Sunday after church. put some ketchup an mayo on that boy an it's good to go.

Amazing! I've never seen or known anyone who tried to cut open a gar with a knife! Scissors yes, even shears but not a knife wow!

First time I ever saw the dog eat anything you cooked! I’m impressed! Gar must be good eatin’

Hello Bob. Nice to know your channel even though its just recently. Good video, very informative. I am amazed with the environment on your video. Mostly its in some dessert, savanna or river (cmiiw). I live in Jakarta, Indonesia. So its not easy to find those kind of environment, even for fishing and find gar fish ☺️ keep up the good channel bro 👍

why police doesn't make gar skin bulletproof vest.

I’m relatively new to your channel, but you truly are a master of survival. Your knowledge and skill is extremely impressive. Great video!!!

I have cleaned several gar and cooked them. Yummy. But after all these years i never knew the internals are toxic. I learn something new every day. Thanks for the great videos!

That fish was wearing good armor..

Gar scails make good arrow points. I made up a few home built arrows a few years back.. Wish we could embed pics on here I'd show ya.. spoonbill feathers and all... Good vids man!

Thank you Bob, I did not know that about Gar I can now add another fish to my survival knowledge and not poison my self.

Best tasting thing out of the rivers...shame so many people think of the gar as a trash fish....when in actuality they are Super tasty meat wagons...your dog loves gar how cool...first type of fish ive seen em eat... 😆

total calories in a GAR...1200...total calories to CLEAN a GAR...4000....LOL nice work dude...those things are armored fish combat vehicles..

I'd like to camp with this dude. Eating only what's around you!

Another top video, thanks for sharing mate. That skin and scales look like the toughest on any fish I have ever seen.

Finally got huck to eat. Good to see you still making videos bob. I learn more from you then i do any survival video makers

Even though I'm a vegetarian, I like watching your videos because you have respect for the animals you prepare and consume. On top of that, your videos have a very relaxing quality, are informative, and I appreciate that they're not overproduced. Here's a sub, and I look forward to future videos. 👍

17:30 Dog: Which part is mine?? All of it???

A very important survival kit tool... good work gloves! I keep a pair in my go bag and in my truck med kit.

You are the "go-to" guy for the wild! Keep up the great work, Bob.

That's one helluva fish there. Glad I don't have to fight those here in Sweden :P

I am Mexican and in my state we know him as a pejelagarto. we eat it roasted

Bob you are the shit!!!! I live in city but your videos make me want to go off grid, smart dude

Watching this (again) in hopes of using this knowledge in a couple of weeks! Cheers, Bob!

If you were in a real survival situation and need shoes, I guess you could use the skin off the gar to make a pair of sandles.

Why the hell did it evolve such heavy armor?? What predator was it defending against?

nice video. I have never succeeded in fixing a gate. very good job.

Respecting Gar...much respect fellow good sir!!! Great video 👍

Wow, I never knew that Gar Eggs were toxic, good to know.

I showed my vegan friend this and she logged in just to dislike this.... Tbh I dunno how long we can be friends

My great-grandfather Knoll was a commercial fisherman on the Mississippi in the St Louis area and I'm told that gar was a best seller back then. Besides an excellent flavor, gar meat doesn't go off the way most other fish will.

I don't know why I watch these so late at night, but I'm really starting to regret it

can a shark... choke on a gar? wow that fish was tough. good videos my friend. 👍

I'm surprised that slab of mesquite worked as well as it did. I'll have to keep that in mind for when I'm camping.

My grandfather showed me a long long time ago how Indians used to use the scales of larger gar to make arrowheads

Saw this vid awhile ago missed yall vid dont come up on suggested vids anymore please press thumbs up ty Bob and Team very informational vids. TQR

I have no idea how I got here. I also had no idea gar was edible.

My goodness whats that armor made of? T34 Tank Steel?

We caught some of these in the Mississippi River , The Asian Fisher's loved to take them we was Glad to give them to them . I took one or two home used snips on them and Vin & Pickles go good with Gar & some Alcohol .

Very informative Bob can’t believe how tuff the skin is. Eggs are poisonous something else I learnt, thanks for sharing good stuff. 👍☝️🇬🇧

gar is good eatin.

When I become a superhero, I want my supersuit to be made of this.

Now I know how to clean and cook gar when hunting and fishing

You learn something every day thanks for the video bob hope you are doing well.

It should be called the turtle fish with that type of skin/scales.

Oh, don't confuse longnose with alligator gar. Although, even in a survival situation, where there are gar, there are other kinds of fish and gar is most definitely not my first choice. Where there are gar, there are likely to be tidal mud-flats and that means oysters, for instance.

Thanks for the video as I didn't know gar could be eaten. We don't have gar in northern Nevada, but brother in Fla. gets them all the time while fishing. Sending this video to him.

We used to find the scales in the bay where I lived, they were so hard we thought they were sharks teeth until we got older and knew better. This is why we never caught them to bring home to eat!

holy crap its like a turtle shell

Dang, I knew they were tough but had no clue THAT tough. How do they taste?

Thank you very much I just found your videos and I am pretty amazed about them! 🌲🍄👍

Awesome, Bob. Just awesome. his was exactly what I was looking for, and as usual, your video popped up.

Is that fish sir. A native to your country? That scale are tough though. From Philippines ..watching ur youtube channel.a lot of informative survival skills.

What multitool are you using? Leatherman Wave?

I read that the Native Americans that lived in the area used to use dried gar scales as arrow heads.

I appreciate your respect of the land and food sources. Great content.