I've only started fishing Texas waters 2 years ago, both fresh water and salt water. I had never seen an alligator Gar until last week, weird site. Anyhow, would a Alligator Gar attack a human or be a threat in anyway?

Also, how deep do water Moccasins swim down in a lake?

To my knowledge, gar are not agressive toward us humans. Been around them fishing creeks/rivers/etc. and never (knock on wood) had one approach me.
Snakes...of the freshwater variety rarely dive more than 4-5' underwater. Their skeletal system is very thin, and can not handle the pressure.

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Gig 'Em, Aggie class of '94.

Man they can slither off after being run over though. I think the darn things are made of rubber,

Gar are not a threat to people, as far as my experience. I've wade fished the lakes of Texas for most of my life. On Sam Rayburn as a kid I had gar swimming right next to me, even had one swim between my legs. These were anywhere from 1 to 5 feet long and never showed an aggressive attitude towards me.
Gar and water moccasins will go the other way if they can.

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Philip http://www.WhiskerKitty.com

Dunno much about gar but I beg to differ about water moccasins. Moccasins are the ornryiest snakes on planet and will in fact track you and attack when it would be easier to go the other way. Most snakes I leave alone or "encourage" them to go away peacefully as they have a definite place in Ma Natures Plan... but the moccasins at Tawakoni and Lake Davy Crockett up in Fannin County are the meanest snakes I've ever encountered and huge too. And moccasins can and do bite underwater. Leave em' alone, run em' off if you have to but don't be surprised when they want to fight. The 5'8" Diamondback Rattlesnake that is on my office wall and weighed 23 lbs on a certified meat scale in Abilene without his head and fully bled out would not have been a match for the 4' moccasin that was bigger than my forearm at the elbow and crawled down my leg off the crappie basket and coiled up and tried to fight two of us rather than crawl over the side in a 14' Ouachita HD jonboat until we beat him to death with a oar and busted a leak in the bottom of the boat with the broken end of the oar and his 3" fangs buried in it. Them things scare me!!!
Ron
Ron

We always take a pellet gun with us.I figure a snake doesn't know the difference between a boat and land. Is that legal?

A buddy of mine in LA. shot several holes in his jon-boat with his .22 pistol when a moccasin fell in. He makes Jethro Clampet look like a GENIUS but you know how those crazy cajuns are. He said it would be easier to repair the boat than get the snake out!!!

Forget the pellet gun

I take my 38 loaded with snake shot

My fishing buddy is a Cop, so I don't worry with his 40cal. auto something on hand. I take the pellet gun for low noise. My question was, what would the GW do if he saw a pellet rifle in the boat?

Is it legal to carry a pellet pistol with you fishing? If so I am going to buy one.

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David

I don't know about carrying firearms with you, unless you have a CHL.

I would recommend anyone that carries a firearm to obtain a CHL (Concealed Handgun License).

I agree that water moccasins are not a snake to be taken lightly. I have waded with gar in the river and never been bothered but then they weren't big and they weren't alligator gar.
One last thing, if I'm not mistaken, Jethro was a Bodine. He was Jed's nephew-his sister,Pearl's son. But anyway, I digress...

Wiley: Man I love your sentences that are 15'long!!!

Yep. Jethro was a Bodine and Uncle Jed durn sure wouldn't claim him.

I once saw a show on the Animal Planet channel, where they tried to determine the most aggressive poisonous snake in North America. The water moccasin came in second to guess what....The Copperhead. The copperhead bit most aggressively when provoked the least.

If you have ever disturbed them during thier mating ritual with out a 12 gage shotgun you would have to disagree with the Animal Planet.

FL

[This message has been edited by falcon (edited 06-25-2003).]