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!