If you can honestly say you guessed a garfish would be the catch of the day to close out this week you need to immediately buy a lottery ticket - or get your head checked.  But it's true.  In one of the rarest catches we have heard of in South Carolina's freshwater lakes, Captain Chip Hamilton with Lake Hartwell Fishing Charters (864-304-9011) reports that his boat caught a very unique garfish while striper fishing Hartwell with free-lined herring in 25 feet of water.  The angler who reeled it in told Chip he thought he had seen that the fish was a gar but wasn't sure as it briefly surfaced , which puzzled Chip since gar are so distinctive.  When they finally got it alongside the boat it all made sense - as seen below, the gar was jet black!  The fish was released but Chip, who is also a taxidermist, plans to have have a replica made and paint it.  Instead of just an impressive catch because of size, it's cool to see something so unusual! Thanks Chip.  

 If you have something you'd like to share for "catch of the day", please email jay@usfishingreport.com.