Elaborate for us, they have a special breeding season in certain locations and 1 per day limit in 99% of the state. Exactly how much more game status can they get? Are you saying they should be rod & reel only?

they should have a game fish status and the protection that comes with it.

Just my own .02 on the subject. I've been pushing for something similar for a loooong time and I personally would be in favor of Alligator Gar being treated the same as other game fish, so yes..no bow fishing for them. Based on my research on the subject for every "bad" bow fisherman, there is probably 100's of GOOD bow fisherman who obey the laws and harvest legally. The problem is, that 1 bad bow fisherman does a really crappy job of representing the sport because he will kill a ton of fish just for the thrill of it, throw em on the banks to die, hang them from trees, has zero respect for the spawning fish, etc, etc. Seen it with my own eyes way too often over the years. And so yes...for that reason alone, I would fully support fishing for Alligator Gar rod and reel only.

However...for Longnose Gar I would 100% support keeping that available for bow fishing!

Here's an honest question.. Or two..

Is it possible that maybe your posting videos of catching gar on the internet has led a lot of bowfishermen to your area, and they are killing fish because of your exposure?

I have not watched any of your videos. Are you also posting them on you tube?

Are you making money on the gar by posting videos of catching them on the net?

Are you not aware that regulations for the taking of gar are the strictest of any freshwater fish in Texas?

Are you not aware that TPWD does manage fisheries, for all Texans, and that if they thought they were low numbered or threatened they would reduce the limit or outlaw the taking of gar altogether?

If you were so concerned about the gar and preserving life is so important, according to your thingy at the bottom of your posts, wouldn't it be better if you quit catching them?

I mean catching and handling them can't be good for em..

It's not good for bass either, but you can keep five of them a day..

Gar have been here for eons and will probably be here after man is gone..

I don't believe in killing anything you are going to waste.. But predators need control.. Not saying they need control in your neighborhood.. I know nothing of the fish numbers in your river.. But evidently they are pretty good..

But they do need control in mine..

We shot the [censored] out of em on Tuesday.. You guys come and get you some..

What I learned in this thread, it is illegal to mount a fish.

Good point!

The main difference we're not accounting for is the age of the fish. A 10lb bass may only be 5-6 years old, a 200lb alligator gar may be 50-75 depending on the area and food availability. The impact of removing the gar vs. Bass is not comparable. Much slower to replace the gar. I would support making it illegal to bowfish for alligator gar. Although, I don't think it's wrong for someone to take their legal limit now under the current regulations. My thought is that I would like for the large, mature fish you be around for future generations to see and potentially catch. The correct action may be to enforce a slot of some sort, but that's just my .02

Hard to use a slot when you are shooting them..

Gar at Falcon grow to 100 pounds in as little as seven or eight years..

A mature gar can easily have 600,000 eggs in one fish..

We have not missed a single year class down here and they are freaking everywhere. .

But like I said, that's Falcon..

Also like I said, TPWD is managing them..

for the first part of your question, i am not responsible for anyone's actions but my own. if people want to follow me around and fish the same spots i fish that is on them. i can only minimize the landmarks shown in my videos and fish further and further from the beaten path where other simply cannot go.

i post to YouTube.

YouTube pays nothing for small channels i make nothing.

the regulations for gar(gator gar,longnose gar?) is absolutely not the strictest of any fish in freshwater.

i respect TPWD but they have also in many cases been guilty of mismanagement of species (look at the grass carp on lake Austin) also when a thousand fish are killed in a night and dumped in a hole i dont think TPWD is taking that harvest into account.

i am catching, tagging, and releasing alligator gar to bring awareness to the species while championing them as a sport fish
how does anyone know a species needs protection if they dont know it exists i have shown hundreds of people pictures of gar in Texas and they did not know what it was. i have shown millions through YouTube how amazing these fish actually are.

TPWD has tagged and released 6000 alligator gar in Texas using the same methods im using and i have improved on their methods while going way out of my way to insure they release healthy each and every time. every single fish on the planet can be sport fished, just because you have not spent the time to learn to target these fish catch and release on rod and reel doesn't mean others haven't.

people catch bass on treble hooks the same size i use for my gar.

agreed actually we (humans) will likely not wipe gar species out entirely but that does not mean they dont need protection, and they have been on the planet since the beginning of the Cretaceous period around 147 million years.

Gator Gar are a keystone species as well as a top level predator, they bring health and balance to the ecosystem. If they needed to be controlled why do we have the vibrant fishery's we have today, when gar species have managed the species in our waters for millions of years? not man
Alligator gars diet is around 80% roughfish, common carp, buffallo, gizzard shad, freshwater drum, talapia, perch ect. less than 15-20% of their diet is what people consider game fish.

thats the excuse you are using to kill them it doesn't make it the truth, its a justification that has no weight.
you are killing for fun just admit it.

not even close to being true a 6 foot gar is 20 years old.

We netted, sexed, aged, and did stomach contents on 396 gar from Falcon two years ago.. In the only modern gar study in recent history.. and we found MANY gar that weighed 100 pounds less than ten years old..

It is a well documented study done by TPWD here on Falcon.

Like I said this is Falcon.. I don't profess to be an expert on your water..

NO gar on falcon go to waste.. around here it is a highly prized delicacy..

Matter of fact we damn near had fist fights when we were giving them away!!

I'm not picking on you for your passion. I respect it.. As I share the same passion for bass..

But there is a very small contingent of folks that feel the same you do.. I know you are trying to change that..

But it is just my opinion that you are going about it in a way that most people find over the top..

P.s. I have caught lots on rod and reel and it is a blast..The only difference is that I eat em when we catch em!

"But it is just my opinion that you are going about it in a way that most people find over the top.."

How so? All he is doing from what I can see from all of his posts, videos, etc, is mainly trying to educate people about the following:

1) Alligator Gar is the largest fresh water fish in Texas.
2) Alligator Gar in the Trinity River IS suffering from loss of spawning habitat.
3) It's against the law to kill Alligator Gar if you do not plan on using it for food or bait.
4) He would like to see the rules changed to promote Alligator Gar as a game fish.

All he does is post facts. I don't see him making up anything to promote any hidden agenda. I don't see him personally attacking anyone publicly, etc. I hope he's not going through the same $%^& I went through years ago when I was pushing Alligator Gar as a game fish, I was getting personal threats, threats of finding me, following me to my fishing hole, killing all the fish where I fish to make a point, etc, etc. At the time my kids were around 7-10 years old. I was scared for them. I hope he's not going through the same bs.

Re: Falcon. Yah...that's an entirely different ecosystem for Gar. I think the limit per day is 5 now out there.

You guys don't get it. ShartBait is a guide. Claims to be one of only two catch and release guides for alligator gar. Thats why he's so hell bent on killing bowfishing. It's cutting into his business

Nobody cares. Go back to 2cool

I know I would support that. The guys that are bow fishing for table fare would still have plenty of fish to target, including the Longnose Gar (and it's delicious back straps btw) which is readily available and the population is doing very well.

And who cares if he's a commercial guide getting paid for Alligator Gar trips. Every bass, catfish, striper, etc, guide I've ever talked to is THE MOST concerned person about the health of their fishery.