Posted on 07/29/2016 7:24:26 AM PDT by C19fan
It's a toothy giant that can grow longer than a horse and heavier than a refrigerator, a fearsome-looking prehistoric fish that plied U.S. waters from the Gulf of Mexico to Illinois until it disappeared from many states a half-century ago.
Persecuted by anglers and deprived of places to spawn, the alligator gar — with a head that resembles an alligator and two rows of needlelike teeth — survived primarily in southern states in the tributaries of Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico after being declared extinct in several states farther north. To many, it was a freak, a "trash fish" that threatened sportfish, something to be exterminated.
(Excerpt) Read more at finance.yahoo.com ...
Looks like he has that thing on a leash.
Aw, the poor kid shoulda hooked a nice, big bluegill! Gar are nasty looking things, for sure!
Are you sure she was screaming because of the Gar?
Forgot to add, that was funny! Too bad Gramps had to take a swim, though...
Little one, eh?
My father told me a similar story about carp when I was a kid in the 50s. He heard it from a guy in the 20s. It involved feces as filler and you threw away the carp and ate the scat and the board.
Sounds like a Demo-Carp
You know, my friend, I thought about going “there” for a moment, but didn’t...
Great minds think alike, and all... Haha!!!
“The girl with me just screamed the whole time.”
What were you doing to her?
I grew up in Louisiana, fished on a regular basis till I was around 45 and got burned out on it, put up the rods, that was about 15 years ago.
I’ve caught gar in Louisiana and Texas plenty times, almost always by accident. Usually in the smaller range, under 2 feet, the largest one I’ve personally caught was about 4 1/2 feet. Largest one I’ve seen, I’m not sure, I only saw about 4 to 5 feet, over a foot in diameter. I’d say somewhere in the 8 foot range but not positive, and that was right here in the lake 100 yards away.
The 4 1/2 footer was a funny story...I went fishing in a mile long pond beside the Mississippi River outside Baton Rouge, apparently an overflow area that would take on a lot of water before the river itself could flood.
We would rig up a rod with no reel, just a few feet of line and a crappie jig tied on about 3 feet deep, sit on the handle and toss lures for bass. Every time you move, it jiggles the crappie bait, and now and then you would feel one hit, the rod handle you were sitting on would pat you on the bottom of the leg. Give it a tug, pull out a nice crappie. We caught a bunch of them that way while bass fishing.
So one afternoon the rod under my left leg (we used two each, one on each side) tapped me so I tried to pull up a crappie...the fish almost yanked the rod out of my hand, and to my great surprise I suddenly had a gar 4 1/2 feet long hooked on about 3 feet of line, whipping it around from front to back of the boat, no controlling that guy, one wild fight, and gave both of us a good shower.
I finally put the thing in the boat, got it off the hook, very carefully...
Gar is edible but not exactly a delicacy. Tough and rubbery, and too many bones to make it worthwhile to clean and cook. Some people like “Gar Balls”, made by cutting and forming it into round shapes, then fried, and steaks can be made by cutting it horizontally, but again so many small bones it’s actually hazardous to eat. I’ve gotten them poked into my gums a few times, finally refused to eat gar at all any more many years ago. I was probably around 15 when I simply said no more. Those bones are very thin, sharp and can be over an inch long, and that’s a small 3 footer.
Catching one is not hard, you can make a good gar lure by tying a simple overhand knot in a piece of soft nylon rope, cut it about 3 inches long then fray it. Get it wet and it weighs enough to cast, when a gar hits it the teeth get caught in the frayed rope, no hooks necessary. I know people who keep them ready and fish for gar all the time just for fun. Lots of fun to catch, they put up a fight like no other fish, especially a big one over 3 feet long. even a smaller one under 2 feet is a tough fighter when hooked. They jump around all over the place, swim very fast, and are very strong for their size.
But definitely stay away from those teeth...We have no shortage of gar in the lake here, in some places you can’t catch anything else because the gar are the biggest predators of them all and have cleaned out all the other fish. When I was still bass fishing, I would pull up to one of the local coves and see gar hitting the water all over the place, just leave and find another spot. No bait fish, no bass. Gar come in, everything else leaves. Except some of the smaller shad and other bait fish, and they don’t last long.
This article doesn’t really do those teeth any justice. It’s called an ALLIGATOR Gar for a reason...Here’s a site with a couple of interesting pictures, one of a gar 8 feet long, and one (scroll down) of those teeth.
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/discover/species-profiles/atractosteus-spatula
And trust me, I’ve been there, they can do a lot of damage with those chompers...one got me despite my attempts at handling it carefully when I was a kid. Small one, foot long or so, ripped my finger open in a flash. Not fun...
The first time I saw one of those I was sure I had been sent back in time a few million years.
It seems to be a useful fish:
Early history
Native Americans in the south, and Caribbean peoples used the alligator gar’s ganoid scales for arrow heads, breastplates, and as shielding to cover plows. Early settlers tanned the skins to make a strong, durable leather to cover their wooden plows, make purses, and various other items. Gar oil was also used by the people of Arkansas as a repellent for buffalo-gnats....
Commercialization and aquaculture
Declining populations of alligator gar throughout their historic range has resulted in the need to monitor wild populations and regulate commercial harvests. Alligator gar have a high yield of white meat fillets and a small percentage of waste relative to body weight. The meat is sold to wholesale distributors, and also sold retail by a few supermarkets with prices starting at around $3.00/lb. Fried gar balls, grilled fillets, and fillets boiled in water with crab boil seasoning are popular dishes in the south. There is also a small cottage industry that makes jewelry out of ganoid scales, and tans gar hides to produce leather for making lamp shades, purses, and a host of novelty items.
Source: Wikipedia
THEY STINK!
Lake of the Pines in E. Texas is full of them. No carp of any kind, including the bait shop minnow that gets off the hook and lives.
The Trinity (all branches) is full of them. Not unusual to see bowfishers down there. TDPW only allows one per day now.
The Brazos is full of needle-nose gar.
Both species are quite edible. Run a skil/recip saw down the back and pull out the backstrap, saute’ in butter. Tastes kinda like lobster. It is yummy.
Cajuns make fish balls using gar meat. Is not a desirable fish, but Cajuns know how to make use of everything. Gar balls aren’t too bad.
http://www.realcajuncooking.com/2010/04/cooking-garfish.html
I haven’t tried the smoked gar but imagine it would be like smoked chubs.
http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/The-hunt-resumes-for-Schenectady-s-ellusive-fish-8491780.php
Mayor Gary McCarthy put a bounty on the sharp-toothed alligator gar, an invasive fish that observers suspect has been killing the pond’s fish population, after the state Department of Environmental Conservation failed to reel it in during an hours-long search Wednesday.
So you’re saying I should have read the actual article and supporting documentation?
Carp fishing the redneck way…..
Competitive Scarping (potential olympic sport?)
Nice one, but have seen bigger.
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