In the evening, as the brutal sun was sinking into the sweet sea for its nightly nap , a freshwater giant was lurking in the shallow waters of Lake Cocibolca. These gargantious alligator gar have few known predators, mainly because the prehistoric relatives of the megafish have tooth-filled mouths and heavily scaled bodies.
Yet, one unfortunate menacing-looking behemoth couldn’t contend with Julio and his missile-like aim.
With a swiftly flying rock, he pounded the alligator gar into deadly submission. This toothy giant didn’t have a chance.
This gargantious gar may look fierce, but attacks against people are unknown. Tell that to little 8 mo. old Braydon, whose mother just finished bathing him in the lake.
Julio chopped up the gar with his machete throwing twinkly flying sparks….seriously! Then, the big hunks of meat were distributed among the neighborhood. Some say that gar is a tasty treat, others say that gar is bony and tough. The only fact I know about gar is that the eggs are poisonous to humans if ingested.
Stay tuned for my gar recipe. In the meantime, I think I’m taking a break from swimming in the shallow waters of our sweet sea.
Rewired and Retired in Nicaragua 
Wow, that’s one wicked looking fish!
Yep! I haven’t been swimming in the lake for over a week now.
I was fascinated by your story! And the photos are very interesting , too..
Thank you so much!
When I was researching Gar, I discovered that they are the focus of many legends. Now, I can see why. lol I still think I’ll pass for at least a week in swimming in the lago. đ
Yes, if you start thinking about it – along with the fresh water sharks and the cayman – Lago Cocibolca could seem a very scary place. But fortunately (or unfortunately) the human element really has changed the natural equation to where it now truly is pretty much a safe and “sweet sea.”
Jon, I really enjoy your comments. You have a wonderful way with reassuring words. đ
Last week after a shrimp pond had been harvested, I spotted a tiny gar-looking fish on the ground. The workers called it ‘picudo,’ though not the picudo of salt water. I told them that it looked like what we called a gar. It was so cute (and dead!) that I picked it up by the beak and carried it home to photograph and sketch. Last night I floated the bands of (mola) color around it, and I pondered those alligator gar that once patrolled the Mississippi River and its tributaries. I wondered if there were any monsters left.
And twelve hours later, you present this post! Hmmmm. I think I’ll ponder if there are ancient golden relics in the garden!
Whoa! Sorry I missed your comment earlier. You are so funny. You see beauty in everything, don’t you? The other day, Julio brought us the petrified body of the Gar he caught. He was so proud of it. He dried it in salt. Guess we’ll find a place of honor to hang it, but outside the house.
ha! i’ll bet that petrified body is —– interesting! i can picture it hanging beneath a doorway or a porch – it could be fun.. paint it bright colors?
Great pictures and story. Amazing that the boy caught the fish with a rock!
Like many of the fish we get from fishermen here in Ecuador, I wonder after cleaning the bones and scales if the effort was worth it? We are fortunate to have so many fish markets here that we generally can buy inexpensive tuna (albacora) or red snapper filets and avoid the work.
You are so lucky! We still live in the good old days, where fishermen haul their nets to the shore and filet the fish on the beach. Then, the fish are sold right out of the net to the locals. We do have one fish market in town. Not only do they sell ocean fish, but they also have the best money exchange rate on the island. lol
Thank you for sharing. The good old days sound wonderful….and yummy.