Off the Hook with Matty D: Fly fishing for bowfin and gar in Virginia

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Captain Keegan Lemcke and Captain Simón Valencia joined Matt DiNardo in the WRIC Now livestreaming studio for another episode of Off the Hook, where they discussed fly fishing for bowfin and gar in Virginia.

“Nothing’s more cool than chasing what we’re going to talk about today which is dinosaurs, plain and simple,” Lemcke said.

Bowfin and gar are two species of fish that Lemcke and Valencia are targeting in their fly fishing endeavors. The three fishermen talked about how the existence of bowfin and gar dates back to prehistoric times.

“We have a ton of really cool native fish in the area that have been around and have survived mass extinctions,” Valencia said.

The two fishing experts went on to discuss how important it is to know about the waters you’re fishing in, people’s access to it and the abundance of the fish they’re looking for.

“If you look at a map of where these fish can be in the United States, it’s everywhere. ” Lemcke said. “They are our living fossils.”

“Off the Hook with Matty D” is part of WRIC NOW’s livestreamed programming . Tune in to next week’s show with an all-new guest at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, July 16.

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