Chicago Sun-Times

GAR-GANTUAN FEAT

Fort Wayne man holds Indiana records for spotted, shortnose fish

Kyle Hammond rhapsodize­d Saturday about spotted gar. ‘‘Spotted have that typical gar look, but the painting on them is incredible,’’ Hammond said. ‘‘It is one of the neatest fish.’’

Hammond, who is from Fort Wayne, Indiana, is a multispeci­es angler. Last week, official word came that he had caught the Indianarec­ord spotted gar of 9 pounds, 11 ounces July 11 from Rivir Lake in Indiana’s Chain O’Lakes State Park. It crushed the old record of 6-12.5, caught in 2017.

He also holds the Indiana record for shortnose gar (2-5.6), caught in 2021 from the Wabash River.

‘‘There’s quite a few [gar] around here, honestly,’’ Hammond said. ‘‘They fight well in the summer. A lot of fish I like to target are spring, fall and winter. Plus, [gar] are really cool fish with teeth and big armor scales. Just really cool fish.’’

Gar are among that small group of prehistori­c fish.

‘‘I am always targeting [gar] sightfishi­ng, not just blind-casting and hoping they come,’’ Hammond said. ‘‘This way, you get to see them take the bait, which is fun.’’

And he uses artificial baits. The record spotted gar came on a white Zoom fluke. For gar, Hammond favors a 3-inch minnow imitation bait rigged in an unusual way to deal with the bony mouths of gar.

He uses a split ring with a plastic keeper and a tiny ‘‘razorsharp’’ treble hook, then 80-pound fluorocarb­on to another split ring with another tiny treble hook. One treble goes in the front of the lure, one in the back.

‘‘Basically, let the gar eat it until you can’t see [the lure],’’ Hammond said. ‘‘Then set the hook hard. Out of every 10 I have a chance at, I will hook three of them. The state record just annihilate­d the lure and happened to hook something in the fleshy part of the lower jaw.’’

The catch from his kayak was recorded for his YouTube channel (Indiana Kayak Fishing Journal).

‘‘I do a lot of kayak fishing and bank fishing on creeks and rivers, but most of my fishing is canoe or kayak,’’ he said. ‘‘Honestly, I got started into it because it was an inexpensiv­e way to get on the water and find fish. I can get into places big boats can’t get into, and you can launch about anywhere. You are more connected to the water. There is something special about being in the kayak.’’

Preach it.

Hammond knew state-record spotted gar swam at Chain O’Lakes.

‘‘Two years ago, I landed [another potential state record], took it to shore and weighed it,’’ Hammond said. ‘‘It was 7 pounds, but I couldn’t get anywhere to weigh it on a certified scale, then took it back and released it.’’

For this one, he connected on social media with Ben Dickinson, Indiana’s Lake Michigan fisheries biologist. He directed Hammond to fisheries biologist Tyler Delauder, who weighed it on a certified scale.

Hammond’s bottom line is, ‘‘I never met a fish I don’t like to catch.’’

Don Lawrence caught the Illinois-record shortnose gar (6-15.2) on May 27, 2018, from Horseshoe Lake in Madison County. Austin White caught the Illinois-record spotted gar (8.4 pounds) on Aug. 13, 2020, from Kidd Lake Canal in Monroe County.

Springfiel­d

Conservati­on World 2024, which runs through Sunday at the State Fair, was dedicated Thursday in honor of Brent Manning, the longestser­ving director of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

Stray cast

The difference between Michael Kopech with the White Sox and the Dodgers is like the difference in alligator gar in Illinois between 1994 and now.