Hey guys new to the forum, I love fishing of all types these were taken bowfishing but we do a lot of rod/reel catches too. No matter how you get them these fish are extraordinary creatures

It looks like you guys are pretty good at that. You might consider more rod/reel action or else they might be all gone.

Nice!

not a fan of killing fish for no reason other than to stroke one's ego.

I'd like to catch some of them bad boys on R&R! Very nice

Thanks guys! We do a lot of RR. I am glad to see the 1 per man limit to help preserve these fish

Not bad Clark3. Looks like it would be fun to an extent. I would think shooting some smaller ones and catching the larger ones may be better management, but I may be wrong. Have you ever tried gar back-strap (the supposed best and least bony part of the fish)? I've heard they taste really good, but have never gotten around to trying it. Just curious, and Welcome aboard. Post some more pics of your R and R catches too.

Actually gator gar are extemely tasty. They're a brackish water fish and do have a great diet. We make gar balls out of them. A lot of the fish sticks you used to buy we're made from Aligator gar.

What is the platform y'all are standing on? Some sort of customized boat, or a private dock, or what?

That's my buddies boat it's an elevated platform so you can see the fish easier. Thats all public waters. When we RR we take the airboat but it's too loud to get them bowfishing

nuthin quite like the thrill of stickin arrows into extraordinary creatures

Just like all the ducks, turkeys, deer, and other critters folks kill thier legal limits of. Sarcasim incase some were wondering.

He said he eats them--they're not being left on the bank. Are alligator gar suddenly endangered?

Thanks for the nice comments guys. Those of you that do not like it you are entitled to your opinion and I have no problem with that at all.

We don't just throw them on the bank we harvest them and consume them while following the state regulations.

They are no where near endangered as its common to see 300-500 of these fish per day. However back when there was no limit some fisherman both commercial and non commercial were harvesting large numbers of the fish biologist saw that they could soon be endangered so they enacted a 1 per person per day limit to solve a problem before it even started.

Great fish. Thanks for sharing!

So how much beer does it take to get invited on one of these trips?

they seem like the coyotes of the lake.. kill em all who cares

I've never bow hunted or bowfished...but that looks like it would be a blast! Very nice fish!

Thanks guys any of you are welcome to tag along when we have room

Not endangered but it takes a long time for the giants to grow that big.

Any thing over 10 pounds needs to be set free to fight another day.

Your following the law. You eat what u killed. He's not a criminal he's a country boy from Texas. What more do you guys want than that?

I ate a 12 lb bass tasty feller

that is true for most species like bluecat, but if you follow this montra for gar, soon they would be over-populated and start eating the trophies that we all try to preserve! these big gator gar are very good to eat and should be harvested according to the laws! they are a predator that is very near the top of the food chain in fresh water!

Cool photos! Even better that it was good table fare.

Looks like a heck of a catch!

what is a good way to filet a gar. i saw a link one time about cutting out the back straps and making gar steaks? does anyone have a good method? wouldn't mind trying them sometime. they are plentiful in all lakes around here.

I got my post removed for posting bow fishing pics....I'll pm you my buddy's PB, so I don't offend PETA members with the blood...

I bet a 5 lb bass would be a snack for a big fella like that...Before I say something that could possibly offend the Gar Fisherman or fisherman as a whole, I wish I could look at some statistics on how much a fish that size consumes on a daily basis? They seem sort of counerproductive to sucessful growth for all the other species but what do I know...I used to fish alot with an old man that fed his family by running trotlines during the Depression and he would kill ever gar we hooked reguardless-said he would eat a turtle ove a gar any day-Hope this isn't offensive to anyone since I certainly am not anti"gar" just interested in perserving our fisheries as a whole any way I can-Thanks

Thanks guys, yes they take a while to grow big but at the same time we do our best to take mature fish. Also, they are pretator fish, I've seen them in Amistad catch largemouth in the 6-8 lb range so hunting them is good for both sports.

Thanks for the comments guys!

I'm a field producer for a hunting television show and we usually do a couple of gator gar bow fishing trips in S. TX a year. Here is what I have learned about these fish. 1. They ARE tasty! take the meat out just like back straps on a deer, make gar balls or batter and fry or leave in whole steaks and grill or blacken and YES...they are/were commercially fished for fish stick companies. 2. Gator gar grow approximately a foot a year..so a 5-6 foot fish is approximately 6-7 years old. 3. Alligator gar are ASEXUAL, when they get to be approximately 5 foot long...they become female. 4. They are one of the most effective fresh water predators reeking havoc on game fish if left unchecked... 5. They are fun as all get out to hunt with a bow and fight once you get an arrow into them!

1st off...you want to make sure that it's a gator gar, not a common gar or needle nose...those aren't good to eat...mushy/sandy texture to the meat. If it is a gator gar...it's best to only try to clean a 3 foot or bigger fish, so choose wisely when keeping (one per day per person). Imagine taking the back straps out of a deer. You will need a pair of tin snips to get through the scales (I'm serious). Make cut around the head, just behind the pectoral fins and around the tail fin. Take your tin snips and go down the back bone all the way to the tail. The 2 side of armor plating will pull away like shields and you just follow the rib bones with a fillet knife taking out each side of meat. Use caution when the meat is exposed! Make sure your hands and knife are free of slime when working on the meat. It is hard to wash off and can seriously affect the taste of the meat. Hope this helped!

You have no idea if these fishermen cleaned and ate these fish or not...I'm not a fan of people who make insinuations based on assumptions....but that's just me....

Keep up the good work!

Dude, you should've cropped out those boots, they are gayer than that gar

congrats on the nice fish keep up the good work

oh really?...

"Growth of older fish is much slower, taking about 10 years to attain a total length of 1 m and 30 or more years to reach a length of 2 m (Figure 1). Alligator gar mature between 950 and 1,400 mm total length (at age 10-14)..."

http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews....debacee.pdf.pdf

and just for good measure... from our friend's over at texas parks and wildlife...

"It takes many years for gar to reach those impressive sizes, as proven in a study conducted by the Alabama Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries. During a four-year catching survey, they found that the oldest fish caught was 50 years old; overall, the fish mature at around 14 years of age. In comparison, largemouth bass mature within a couple of years. Additionally, the fish grow slowly, with an average growth rate of 4.1 inches and 3.2 pounds per year. For a fish to reach the weight of McClellan’s, it could be more than 90 years of age."

http://www.tpwmagazine.com/archive/2007/aug/ed_3/

Nice fish Clark!

I would like to add something here. I left this forum for over a year, due to the soul reason, that a man cant come on here and shows pics of a fish he harvested by all leagal means without getting bashed by some of ya'll.

Rant over!

I agree with you 100%!!

Gar tastes like spotted owl...Yuuuuuuummmmmmmmmyyyyyyyyyyyy

I guess you learned all this from your buddies who have done extensive research regarding the effects of gar predation on game fish populations. I don't suppose you have ever heard of a lake by the name of Sam Rayburn? I am not a bass angler, but from what I hear there is a really good bass fishery there and it so happens that Sam Rayburn also has a large population of alligator and long nose gar. Maybe all my info is bad. What about Lake Livingston, is the fishing any good there? I guess it must not be since Lake Livingston is on the Trinity River which is the #1 river for alligator gar populations. I don't suppose you think it is possible that all these fish species happened to get along without eating each other all up before we came along to "manage" them? Guess the bass just got lucky we came along to save them from those voracious gar. Yep, you got yourself a good education from those guys you have been hiring out about why what they do is vital to the success of all the other fisherman in the area. Must be some really smart guys.

It comes with the territory. If your gonna post the pics just be prepared for both sides of it. If you can't take it then I guess you just shouldn't bother. Someone is always gonna have something to say.

Awesome pics!

This should answer some of your questions, nothing wrong with asking.

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/nonpwdpubs/media/gar_status_073108.pdf

http://www.lmrcc.org/Library/498gar.html

Keep'em coming. Those are great pics! Just a bunch of haters around here. Like the Tech hat and the dang boots!

hope u aint just shootin em to shoot em theyre not to bad to eat just a hard fish to clean and it is difficult to get the meat off the bones but boy it sure is good when u get it off, especially if a cajun is cooking the thing

Great pics. Congrats.

Keep on killin, let the tree hugger type Keep whinning. Glad to see you made it over here to the fishin form but yea, it's like the hunting form. Too many opinions to make it fun to post Picts.

wow, 4.2 % of a gars diet consist of human babies

37.4% of statistics are made up. 60% of the population knows that.

Good looking fish, glad yal had a good time, had some good luck, and made good use of them. They are good eating and are a blast to shoot.

I bow fish, pole fish and set lines. I stay well within what the law allows.

It just absolutely Pizzes me off when people who guide get on here and say you gotta throw every frigin thing back, catfish guids, gar guids and all, why because they take advantage of the resorce to make their living day in and out.

I have cleaned catfish to 82 lbs they all ate fine, and there are plenty more out there, cleaned bass to 12 lbs, same as cats plenty more out there, but you should see the looks you get while you fillet them, and have cleaned several nice gar as well. Abide by the laws and have fun. Here is to many more good trips!

For the record I had nothing negative to say about the op, I objected to some bad information posted by another commentator. I don't have a problem with someone following the law and taking what is allowed.

Interesting stats provided there...Thought ya'll used big old carp and buff for bait? Guess Gizzaed would work too...Still think i would realease rather than eat-Sounds like quite a task to clean one of those suckers!

Great hunting! I like huntin gar with a flat-top 44 blackhawk

+1 +1 well said

Pretty nice fish!

I have never heard of Alligator gars being Asexual. Asexual reproduction is bearing an offspring from oneself without a mate. Sequential hermaphroditism on the other hand is changing from one sex to another. Never heard of an alligator gar doing that either. Source Please!!!

It's funny you guys post information that was brought up about the time they were changing the laws on the Alligator Gar. TPWD was the first to admit, they didn't know much at all about the species. It was also TPWD way back that decided that alligator gar needed to be eradicated. Now that other states are running out of gator gar, not from killing them, but from damming up all their rivers, they decided to save the remaining gar in Texas. By there own admission Texas is the best place on earth for Alligator Gar fishing. A fact backed by a very successful R&R gar fisherman that used to be a commercial fisherman. Smells fishy huh. The leading biologist on this crusade was not even a Texan, the study she brought over wasn't even from Texas, but it didn't stop them from making new rules in Texas. You see, the new rule was based on the emotions of people that don't know what they are talking about, like some on here, instead of fact based science.

Since that time, there have been more accurate studies that state that there is no harm in bowfishing the alligator gar. The current population can be sustained with the current one per day and no commercial fishing regulations. The studies on the growth potential is also very eye opening.

Try this for more up to date information.

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/newsmedia/releases/?req=20110811a

We as bowfishermen still believe that TPWD's numbers are substantially low. There are way more alligator gar than they've currently been able to find, but we are helping them to get more accurate data. And all that talk about us killing the ancient creatures is hogwash too.

Oh and Clark, nice fish man.

I am not arguing for or against bow fishing here. The links I posted were directed towards some very bad information posted by another person regarding the life cycle and eating habits of alligator gar.

what a crock of shitt.

Those fish in the post are easily over 30 years old. Gar over 6 feet are decades old.

Looks like a blast! I've been a couple of times and it's a lot of fun, and really hard. I miss 25 before I hit one. I'm gonna start carrying a bow when I'm bass fishing, it seems like I always see the big girls when I'm not looking for them! Haha

Wow. It looks a bit crude to kill the fish for no reason. Not even to eat him. At the same time though, looks like lots of fun, blasting a fish with Arrows hahahahaha.

BS. The numbers of alligator gar are high in spots. I would have to say to high in some.

I don't understand all the fuss. (or I'm confused) It's ok to kill cyotes, raccoons, hogs, etc. and leave them because they are pests, why not gar? Personally I would eat it though.

I fall on my sword for not making a disclaimer on my earlier post such as "I admit that I have not done any FORMAL research and am only going off of what a guide, who has been focused on alligator gar and carp for the better part of 30 years, has told me...but this is what I was told"....I admit that I should have dug a little deeper before I posted and hey....I made a mistake. That being said I'm glad that the misinformation was pointed out and aplaude those that posted links to good information...and "boo" those that react out of emotion instead of simply saying..."You're misinformed, here's some better info you may want to take a look at..." but hey...nobody handles everything right all the time....and that's all I have to say about that.....On another note, I have been to your site and it looks like you are good at what you do and have a passion for the fish and the adventure they provide...guess that's why you reacted the way you did...

I fall on my sword for not making a disclaimer on my earlier post such as "I admit that I have not done any FORMAL research and am only going off of what a guide, who has been focused on alligator gar and carp for the better part of 30 years, has told me...but this is what I was told"....I admit that I should have dug a little deeper before I posted and hey....I made a mistake. That being said I'm glad that the misinformation was pointed out and aplaude those that posted links to good information...and "boo" those that react out of emotion instead of simply saying..."You're misinformed, here's some better info you may want to take a look at..." but hey...nobody handles everything right all the time....and that's all I have to say about that.....

this thread sucks. I'm all for live n let live,
but sticking 40-60 year old fish with arrows
for joy pics & some sub-par fish meat just doesn't appeal to me. Sorry for being a buzz-kill, but that's how I feel.
and yes, I've had gar meat. tastes just like drum.
good luck with your endeavor, maybe post on bowfishing section next time to avoid people like me saying the wrong thing...

You're right, "Sequential hermaphroditism" is what I meant. A guide that I have fished with a few times kept calling the big fish that we saw or that had been taken "girls"....so I asked if the females were inherently larger than males...he told me that when they get around 6 foot or so...they become female and then we saw an example of what he was talking about where several 3-4 foot fish were around a large fish during the spawn. The large (6 foot type fish)was the only one in the area and the other fish kinda surrounded it...haven't looked up any info...just what I was told....

no one made you click

It would be nice to have a bowfishing section. It was proposed once, but didn't have anyone that could moderate it, so it didn't
happen.

Nice

If you would have caught that on R&R I would be extremely impressed. The fact that you took advantage of this fishes weakness in order to kill it is not impressive. You know they have to come up to breathe so it is a waiting game. Big whoop. I am glad to know that you ate it and I applaud you for it. I doubt if any bowhunters will admit or not but I think that 90% of the fish killed by an arrow are left in the water or bank and not eaten. I never saw a sport in killing for pleasure. I am a very avid hunter, gun and bow, and I won't pull the trigger unless I am going to eat it. That includes pigs. I have goten on to many people for just shooting and leaving. What a crock. You would probably get a better response in the THF than here in the TFF. That was definatly and old fish. Older than anyone on that boat.

To each their own.................Nice fish!

ChuckP, would you have been impressed if it was a big whitetail taken with a bow? Taking advantage of the deer's need to breed or feed? Killing a giant deer with a bow is not much different then killing a giant gar with a bow. If you don't believe me, go try and take a 6' alligator gar.

What ever cocks your pistol, as long as its legal fight for your rights. Good ole US of A greatest place on the planet.......

Awsome pics by the way....

Texas Two Guns, The most bucks a man can take in the state is 3. Most counties it is 2 or 1. A man can leagally take 1 gar a day 365 a year. I doubt that a hunter would unload his boat and go thru all the time and expense to harvest only 1. I feel that many more than that are being taken. I got my eyes opened about 7 yrs ago when a bow fishing tourney came to the Trinity by lake RC. I was stunned at how many people do it. This is a very large and very popular sport. There is no way to know the true number of gar and other "trash" fish are being killed.

My true complaint is the numbers being harvested. If a man wants to kill his game with a bow and arrow I am for it. I think too many are being taken given the length of time it takes to mature. A trophy whitetail is mature in 5-7 yrs. A gator gar is mature in 30-50 yrs. We have regulations on the numbers of whitetail that can be taken and that resource can be replenished much more rapidly.

I think that the gar has been here since prehistoric times and survived the ice age. I think this animal deserves more credit, respect, and more protection. That is my 2 cents.

You are right. I should have just said someone has been telling you some "stories". I suppose being applauded then booed is only appropriate. Lets go have a beer sometime

"Since 2009, 130 harvested alligator gar have been collected and aged from anglers at Trinity River bowfishing tournaments. Using information obtained from tournaments, biologists were also able to estimate harvest rates of alligator gar at the events. Only about one alligator gar was harvested for every four bowfishers at the Trinity River tournaments, and it took an average of 50 angler-hours to harvest an alligator gar at a tournament. Angers harvested an average of 21 fish each year 42 inches or longer during the three studied tournaments, or about 5 percent of the sustainable annual harvest of 400 fish. This level of harvest from tournaments alone is well below estimated sustainable levels; however, biologists still need more information to determine what total percentage of alligator gar are harvested annually outside of bow fishing tournaments and using other methods like rod and reel."

I think your talking about the 1st Gar Bonanza, it was held on the Trinity, we used the store in Cayuga for a meeting place. There were 10 alligator gar taken that day only a couple over 5 foot long. I can't remember exactly but there were over 50 contestants that spent all day, and many hours before that day scouting, to take those fish. On top of that, those contestants fished from from Livingston up to Trinidad or further to take those 10.

...A beer...hell...let's have 2 or 3!