Gar fish. Why they are not shot and killed on sight??

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.

https://tpwd.texas.gov/regulations/outdoor-annual/fishing/freshwater-fishing/gar-closure

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

The 3 gar in the photo above were probably close to 50 years old. From the web: In 2011, a commercial fisherman accidentally caught the largest alligator gar on record in Mississippi's Lake Chotard. The gar was 8.5 feet long, weighed 327 pounds and was believed to be 94 years old.

They are a cool fish in their own way ... and as has been stated, a native here in Texas. No reason to declare war on them.

They’ve just about taken over Ray Roberts. Landed two of the suckers Saturday.

God created them, they have a purpose in the eco system.
Surely, by now we've learned that mass killing of any species can have negative effects on the entire system.

True trash fish?
Hardheads.

What we really need to destroy are those stupid crappie. Fish fights like a wet paper bag. Old mans fish. And frankly a real trash fish. "Thump" my arse.

Who wants to take me crappie fishing? I will help murder these punks and eat their bodies like a savage. That will learn them.

just like cormorants,their numbers in certain areas need to be severely reduced....

Agree, but good management practices and TPWD are not necessarily synonymous.

Over population of gar can decimate a fishery. They are the top predator with nothing out there to keep them in check. I’d never say eradicate, but a serious reduction in numbers is highly needed in a few of our fisheries.

If any of you are ever in the Marksville, La. area on a Friday eve, you can get all you can eat of their gar balls, rice and gravy at Paragon Casino.

Frigg'n Wondermous!

Different kinds of gars, those big ones are alligator gar. The little ones are typically called needle nosed Gar. Alligator have the limit of 1 per day, except for Falcon. Needle nose are open season on, no limit.

No native fish is a “junk fish” if they’re native to our waterways they serve a purpose in the ecosystem. Alligator gar nearly went extinct due to this attitude. I’m a firm believer that unless you have a use for a fish like using it for bait or eating it, you should return it to the water, no reason to kill fish for no reason.

In the summer they roam in packs and can be seen surfacing.
When bass fishing is slow we used to catch needle nose gar on a rope lure.

Take the soft nylon rope, not the stiff nylon, and cut 20-24" off. Tie a loop in the middle so you can tie it to the fishing line. Start at each end and unbraid the nylon up to the knot.
What you will have is a gar lure. Thread a 1/2oz worm weight and then tie the line onto the loop.
Cast it out in the midst of the gar. Let is sink 5 seconds then start reeling in slowly. When you feel a tick, freespool the reel for 5 seconds. That will give the gar enough time to get their teeth tangled in the nylon.

Then just reel them in. No setting since there is no hook.

Long Nose Gar and Spotted Gar are the most common in North Texas.

Everything by its right name.

How do you get them off the rope? Or do you just cut it and throw them back with their jaw wired shut?

Gar balls? You love the taste of gar balls and like to out them in your mouth!?

What are you... a gay fish!?

There is an argument that all "Reservoirs" in Texas are not natural, so the fish within them are also technically not natural. So, there are gar living in parts of watersheds now that they never would have naturally so we shouldn't feel too bad about eliminating them from these artificial habitats. lol.

That said, gar get a bad rap. They are very cool. They've been found in fossils over 100 million years old, they can breathe air, they have the same intestine design as sharks, paddlefish and sturgeon, and the alligators get huge. One of my earliest memories from fishing with dad as a tiny kid was seeing an alligator gar that seemed, at the time, nearly the length of our bass boat swim underneath us.

As with everything, they can get overly abundant and take food away from other sportfish. In balance, they can help control other large nuisance species and add a cool node to the fish community. Much respect to the humble gar.

Once out of the water you can get them freed easy enough with a pair of needle nosed pliers.
Get it? Needle nosed pliers to free needle nosed gar?
Not hard at all.

They’re natural to the rivers and creeks that were dammed to make the reservoirs.

beat them all in the head, just like that…

While there’s no Trinity monsters where I reside, the gator gars that are here get pretty sizable-(4’-7’)When the tide moves in or out, I always see some rolling. Catch speckled trout on topwaters right next to them lol

Alligator or Longnose/needle nose gar?

Longnose, I don't know of any alligator gar in there. Millions of them four feet long and bigger.

Gar are an awsome fly rod, sight casting fish. You can catch them on flies with a small hook diameter. Just like Tarpon, the hook up ratio isn't very high but that's part of it. Also, just like Tarpon, they jump when hooked. This make for some exciting hook sets even when the fish throws the fly - just like Tarpon. They really are very cool fish and I think you should at least give them a try before writing them off completely.

Nice!

Because you can’t just killing stuff you don’t like.

Kill it all, if it breathes, it needs killing.

I'm not mad at the gars, they are like the squirrel sanctuary of the rivers and lakes.

Awesome

You live and let live snowflakes have obviously never been harpooned by a hardhead. Or speared by a ray. It shows.

They do get big enough to eat a house!

Eagle mountain one year was covered in them. Seems like every point had massive schools of 4 footers surfacing.

I deal with them on case by case basis..a few factors will determine the outcome

Go whipped by a ray. That's not pleasant either.

I've seen that at sunset. Stunning sight!