As the title ask, why are gar not shot and killed upon being caught and left for dead???
Do they do any good for any lakes or bait fish or any other purpose??
If I have missed a previous post it was not on purpose. But mercy a bigger junk fish I have never seen that I am aware of...

Some people eat them, and they help clean up the lakes.

They are cool fish, one of the few native species in Texas lakes and rivers. Respect the gar.

They are well on their way to becoming a sought after sport fish. Besides, they were probably here first.

The species is several hundred million years old...

Here is what tpwd says

https://tpwd.texas.gov/fishboat/fish/management/alligator-gar/important.phtml

Agree, as much as they and carp annoy us especially in spring good point

Good to see TPWD put the brakes on the bow hunting.

The gar are our friends. With the first Asian carp being found in our waters, we need the gar to control the Asian carp population.

Drum, common carp, and Buffalo carp help control the zebra muscle population by eating them when they are in the larvae stage.

Awesome prehistoric fish. Imagine these things missing from our waters:



Rayburn 250#.

I agree with a moratorium on taking these very cool fish!

Another pic from Rayburn:

I have two cousins that commercial fish them. Not sure what you thought your fish sticks were made from, but now you know.

There is rarely such a thing as a "junk fish" (or "trash fish", or whatever term), unless we're discussing an invasive species that is damaging the local populations.

Gar are native to Texas, have been around for a long, LONG, time, and are a blast to catch on rod & reel. They apparently make good table fare if you can get past their armored hides. And, as others have mentioned above, they may be key to controlling the spread of asian carp in our waters.

They're valuable in Texas waters and don't need to be shot on sight.

Very well said. And they are a blast to catch, easy too. Grab a 16" piece of the soft nylon rope, tie it on your line, fray the end about 10-12" up. Throw out where the gar are and whip the line, reel in , whip, reel and BAM! Fish on. We use to go to Granbury and catch 30-40 and then sell them to the guys at the boat ramp for $2 each. This was back in 79-80.

I think gar are native to the US. European immigrants brought carp over as a food fish. Some old timers claim they are good eating , just a pain to prepare. One friend said they ground the meat and canned it.

Part of the ecosystem- Why do people get all enamored over those little green fish is what I’m asking