You get one Alligator Gar legally a day, now who is protected?

(Look Tim, I typed Alligator LOL)

And how long has that one fish limit been on alligator gar? How long has there been a limit on bass?

LOL!!!

Ya, i'm aware and am not really on either side of the argument, just stating that that bass are protected as well which makes his argument invalid.

Not sure what I am or have been entitled to.. Or you for that matter..

And I did not make it personal.. But some folks think that we are catching more and bigger bass when the truth is we aren't.. I just want to know where you are getting your info. And it ain't on TPWD website..

If you are a gar lover I do not have a problem with that. Do you think that we have a shortage of Gar?

I am not advocating for the annialation of gar.. Why do you think bass are protected? Maybe because they were getting more and more popular to fish for?

Ok.. So we set a lower limit on them. And its working.. Kind of.. But that is called management.

We lowered the limit on gar to one per day.. That is called management. Even though 98% of fishermen consider tham a trash fish. And boy has it worked.. Especially here on Falcon.. And Choke canyon.. Gar now outnumber bass here on Falcon..

But now it is time for more management. They manage lakes and species on individual lakes all the time.. What's wrong with doing the same with gar on Falcon..

Have you been to Falcon? Or is your expertise on gar coming from TPWD record books too?

And now you have the story on gar at Falcon..

Don't worry.. Youre entitled to it..

Thanks for making my argument. Alligator gar deserve the same protections as bass. And I hate to tell you, Falcon is not the only lake in Texas.

ChuChu, So can we keep 5 alligator gar over 14"?

Since we are going head to head with bass.

Bass aren't protected during the spawn.

^^^^^



I can do color lettering too!

Grow up.

You prove my grandaddy right....you can't reason with a fool.

I won't go down your "path." Thanks!

I simply quoted what you said and you start the "name calling", I think we know who has shown there age.

BTW that was a great jingle back in the 80's, often times it comes to my head.

If you think most lakes you fish have alligator gar in them in abundance then either one of two things are true: You spend most of your time on choke canyon,falcon,livingston, and rayburn -or- you do not know the difference between a spotted gar and an alligator gar.

In a natural setting alligator gar and bass don't really take up the same nich anyway. Alligator gar are river/estuary fish and bass are backwater/slow water fish. None of our lakes are natural. Last I checked and I *could* be wrong about this, Livingston, Rayburn, Falcon, and Choke all have excellent bass fisheries.

If you are noticing a substantial decline down south I suspect it has much more to do with falling water levels, lack of rain, and decreased fertility as a result of low run off.



ChuChu,
The second part of my issue besides them being vague is that they are not even interested in biting a hook most of the time during active spawning activity.

My biggest issue with it is that spawning activity should actively be taking place for any type of closure to be enacted at all. The current proposition is a shot gun approach, close it and hope they spawn while it is going on. Just because the water is 75-80 degrees and we get an inch of rain does not mean they will be spawning, and the way that it is worded they can shut it down whether or not they are.

I assure you most people do not know the difference from one gar species to the next, which is why so many people get mad. The reality is that most lakes only have long nose gar and spotted. Alligator gar are mainly in the major rivers, Sabine, Trinity, Brazos, among others. Few lakes have viable populations. Of those that do there is no issue with population of game fish being hurt by alligator gar, it is simply a myth perpetuated by many people who do not know the difference and frankly do not care.

Tarpon are a lot like big gar, most people do not eat them but they sure do want to protect them because they fight hard and reproduce slow. They pay a lot of money to go fish for them too. If alligator gar lived in south America nobody would think twice about paying thousands to go chase them. Consider that.
A fish that can hit 200#'s and lives less than 100 miles from most of us should not be disregarded considering the fight and thrill of landing it even if it does not make table fair for most people.

I don't care about spotted gar and long nosed, they don't have issues with habitat loss or any of the other issues facing the alligator gar.
Thanks