Gar v Asian Carp in the states new initiative

When I was in the states a few weeks back I took in an alligator tour in the swamps and saw turtles and gators resting on logs and lots of wildlife including a huge stuffed musrat and a gar which the skipper passed round including a live with-its-mouth-strapped baby alligator.
Unfortunately it was a private reserve so I wasn't allowed to fish but it was a great experience.

When we got back onto dry land, I happened to notice a poster of some fish that lives in the swamp, and one I instantly recognised was a garfish/aligator gar, and another was the northern pike... or so I thought. It was actually a similar species (different name entirely), I took a photo so I'll see if I can manage to upload it later and see what you all think.

Anyway, Gar v Asian Carp (trash fish)
officials in the USA would ultimately like to stop the Asian carp, not just contain it. The alligator gar can grow as long as an African elephant is tall, making it a potential match for the carp. They have demonstrated a taste for young carp in particular, and unlike Asian carp, they pose no threat to humans, National Geographic reported, although their eyes and eggs are poisonous?

Several Midwestern states have launched reintroduction programs for the alligator gar, and Illinois lawmakers passed a resolution earlier in July promising to protect the gar species already present in the state
Some biologists urge caution in seeing the alligator gar as the "silver bullet" against the Asian carp. But it could offer biologists one more tool to use in containing the invasive fish, while reintroducing a native species that will excite trophy fishermen.

Love to catch one of these! :w

Maybe American anglers will start treating gar with a little respect. You don't have to spend much time on YouTube to see that these fish are often treated with very little care.

mightyboosh said:

Maybe American anglers will start treating gar with a little respect. You don't have to spend much time on YouTube to see that these fish are often treated with very little care.

Click to expand...

I didn't know that

Bow hunters see them as trash fish and kill them for trophy's. Mark Spitzers book "Season of the gar" gives an insight into these amazing predators. It was common practice when fishing for them to use 'gorge' methods with a large treble. I should imagine circle hooks to be of great value here. I would love the catch one myself but "Captain Kirk" as he is called charges a hefty fee. He is however,possibly the #1 guide for these with many 100lb + captures for his clients. Jeremy Wade went out for a session for River Monsters. Good stuff.

It's a funny thing in the states (and other countries), once a species is designated a "trash fish" (usually because of poor eating qualities), it will receive no mercy. They are often thrown up the bank to die. The fact that it is a living creature with a role to play in the environment does not seem to occur to many people. I won't get in to the ethics because it's a thorny subject for us anglers. I saw this first hand when I spent some time in the states and it drove me crazy.

NZ isn't too different. We have a saltwater species called kahawai which grow big, fight really hard and will readily take a fly or spinner, nice looking fish too. They are good to eat, but not as good as our other main species, so often end up being killed in large numbers for no good reason