Is there a length and possession limit on the common spotted or longnose gar that you catch in the spillways of Lake Tyler and Lake Palestine? I know lots of people throw them on the bank to die, but the ones about 18" to 24" long look like they would be fair to eat. Anybody catch and eat these little guys?

No limits of any kind. You may eatthem if you wish.

not sure if this is right but tpwd says Daily Bag:1 No Minimum Length.

http://tpwd.texas.gov/fishboat/fish/action/fishregs2.php?water=0566

That's only for alligator gar.

Only gar species with a bag limit is the alligator gar, is 1 as stated by above post.

Yes, some people do that, but when doing so they are only showing their ignorance of a resource, and ignorance and disdain for wildlife in general.

not to mention that there is a law against that...

"A sportsman ... is a gentleman first. But a sportsman, basically, is a man who kills what he needs, whether it's a fish or a bird or an animal, or what he wants for a special reason, but he never kills anything just to kill it. And he tries to preserve the very same thing that he kills a little bit from time to time." � Robert Ruark, The Old Man and the Boy, 1957