Never forget your roots. I started in the kayak fishing for gar, so i decided to get back in it. Managed half a dozen gar up to just under 6 foot today on the trinity river here in Texas, and had exactly one chance at a fish over 7 foot.



Kayak fishing for gar is pretty intense, the river has a very different feel to it when you are solo sitting so low in a kayak. Any gar is a good fight from a kayak i have been trying to break the 7 foot mark on Alligator gar from the kayak for years now it is not an easy task by any means and i have failed miserably many times usually my fight with 7 foot gar ends with them running through underwater trees.
Im paddling my Malibu Mini-X its a 9 foot 6 inch extreme kayak made to be extremely stable and compact. With no exaggeration it is possible to hook an alligator gar the exact same size as my kayak. I have caught allot of gar around 5 and 6 foot from the kayak and tend to do pretty well at it but once they hit that 7 foot range the game changes completely.

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Poor fish

That was pretty sweet!

it was responsible catch and release the fish still swim to spread their prehistoric genes.

Only after hooking the poor thing with a large hook and putting him through a ton of tress just for your pleasure.

Nice catch! Sure seems like a lot of hard work though, lol.
I live on Lake Texoma, and I know they are in there, but all I ever see are long nose/needle nose gar. I haven't seen an alligator gar in quite a while. I wonder why that is?

actually i tag and release them and im one of 2 people in Texas currently pushing their conservation to TPWD. I'm using the exact same methods used by TPWD to catch tag and release these fish and i do work with TPWD.
If you have a problem with me catching them please talk to TPWD and tell them you dont agree with their methods because you dont agree with how they do it either.

taking a stand against sport fishing, against catch and release anglers with ultimate respect for the target species seems strange but you do you.

TPWD has tagged and released 6000+ alligator gar in Texas on 3/0 non stainless treble hooks and thousands have been recaptured proving the method they use is viable.

You sir should take that passion and stand against sportfishing (catch and release fishing) on Tarpon and marlin too since they are "putting them through a ton of tress just for their pleasure."

Nice Catch & Release!

I just think it's more ethical to shoot them with a bow

then why argue about it? why not just keep browsing this fine sight?
We dont agree, im certainly not going to change your mind and you wont change mine.
leave it at that and have a good day sir.

lets explore that claim.
so its more ethical to shoot a top level predator in non vital organs and get drug around "putting him through a ton of tress just for your pleasure." for 30 minutes while it dies slowly?

name one type of hunting where people purposefully make non lethal shots to extend the action?

you can find thousands of pictures of bowfisherman posing with pics of over 100 bowfished gar they then threw in a ditch or a field after the pics, those fish were not utilized as food they were killed for pleasure and for fun and to stroke egos.
That is not the hunters way or the ethical way so don't hide behind it.

i do not hate bowfisherman but i do hate many of your actions.
There is something beautiful about harvesting a creature to sustain your life and your family's lives, but we both know the vast majority of the people you are defending are not out to do that.

simple fact of the matter as more and more big gar are killed in Texas, gar that will never be replaced in our lifetimes there will become less of them, they will get smaller and you will have contributed to putting a species that has been on our planet for 147 million years at risk of extinction and you did it "just for your pleasure."

I have a gift sir, a gift few people have been given a talent working with and finding these fish.
I will be using that gift to do as much as i can to protect the sustainability of alligator gar here in Texas, a few other people where given the same gift and shied away from the tasks they were supposed to do with it, Its my turn and i will not shy away.
Alligator gar will get a game fish status in Texas the actions of the people you are defending with assure it happens.

Alligator gar serve as not only a top level predator but a keystone species, they have molded the genetics of the "game fish" in the southern united states long before man. Top level predators serve the most important role in the ecosystem and they deserve a massive amount of respect.


"Conservation is the preservation of life on earth, and that, above all else, is worth fighting for."
"Never forget you are the spark that will ignite another thousand people."

-Henry Martin

Someone has to do it.