I finally broke my PB Longnose!

As soon as the sun set this evening the bite slowed down, but I'm stubborn and I wanted to catch one more fish before calling it quits. I moved from the shallow spot I had been set up on and cast my baits into a deep eddy. I kept a close eye on my rods but nothing seemed to be interested in my shiners. My gear kept getting snagged and I was getting close to calling it. Right as I was getting ready to pack up I saw one of my rod tips bounce. I set the hook immediately and was stunned when whatever was on the other end of the line started peeling drag and made a run down river. After it had taken half the line off my spool I gained some ground and got it back near me, then just to spite me it made a run up river and spooled that half of the line again. After a couple minutes of fighting I caught my first glimpse of the fish just in time for it to make another dash for deeper water. At this point I knew the hook wasn’t going to pull so I put a little more pressure on the fish and managed to get him on the bank. I knew this was easily my biggest Longnose Gar, but I wanted to be able to put a number on it. I searched through my bag frantically and after what felt like an eternity I found my tape measure. He measured in at 43 inches long and was surprisingly well behaved for me. After a quick photo session, I released him back to the Ohio River hoping that I will get another chance to catch him.