The longnose gar, however, lacks spots on top of its head and its beak is 18-20 times as long as it is wide (at the narrowest point), while the Florida gar’s beak is probably less than 5 ½ times as long as it is wide.

The only other gar that is known to occur within the Florida gar’s range is the longnose gar which is found throughout much of the eastern half of the United States, including Florida, at least as far south as Lake Okeechobee.

In the Florida gar, the distance is less than 2/3 the length of the snout, and in the spotted gar it is more than 2/3 the snout length. The Florida and spotted gars can be distinguished from each other mainly by the distance from the front of the eye to the back of the gill cover. The gar's body is covered with enamel-hard, diamond-shaped plates called ganoid scales. Situated in the northern part of the vast swampy wetlands of Louisiana known as the Mississippi River Delta, this lake is among the most angler-friendly coastal waterways in the region.

Other gars have spots on the fins and usually on the posterior part of the body only. Welcome to Quanchkin Lake, one of the best fishing destinations in the Pelican State. Like the spotted gar, the Florida gar has spots on top of the head a well as over the entire body and on all the fins.

Gar florida fishing planet