Alligator gar

Dodge Man

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Alligator gar have declined drastically in abundance over the past fifty years and the decline has been attributed to habitat loss. Accordingly, there has been an on- going stocking program since 1999 to restore this gar in West Tennessee. For now, alligator gar are protected in the state and if one is caught, it must be released imme- diately. However, anglers are encouraged to report alligator gar catches to the nearest TWRA regional office, as this will assist the Agency in monitoring the restoration effort.


https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/twra/ ... sguide.pdf
 

Dodge Man

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Alligator gar stocking efforts in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have begun on sections of the Obion River and the Forked Deer River. On July 30, 1999, 300 alligator gar fingerlings from Private John Allen National Fish Hatchery were stocked into the South Fork of the Obion River and 25 fingerlings were stocked into the Middle Fork of the Forked Deer River. On August 17, 1999, 100 alligator gar fingerlings from Private John Allen National Fish Hatchery were stocked into the South Fork of the Forked Deer River. On July 12, 2001, 61 alligator gar fingerlings were stocked in the North Fork of the Forked Deer River and 61 alligator gar fingerlings were stocked in the Hatchie River. All alligator gar stocked were eight to thirteen inches in length and in 2001 tagged with a binary coded wire tag. Figure 1 illustrates the locations of all alligator gar sightings and stocking locations in Tennessee waters from 1999 to present.

https://www.nicholls.edu/bayousphere/wo ... nessee.pdf
 

Crosshairy

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I think the reason that the Hatchie and Forked Deer rivers were on the list is because of their meandering flow paths and tendency to flood (i.e. traditional alligator gar habitat). There's also significantly less boat traffic on those rivers, in case collision-caused mortality was a concern.

I have personally seen a mature alligator gar in the tailwater below Pickwick Lake probably 18-20 years ago. Certainly not a common fish to see on my trips.
 

RUGER

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tree_ghost":23320njm said:
Some good bowfishing right there!

Dodge Man":23320njm said:
For now, alligator gar are protected in the state and if one is caught, it must be released imme- diately.


Both true statements.
I wonder what / if any rules will be in place to prevent them from being shot?
I wouldn't think it would be possible to tell the difference between the 4 (?) different species of gar in TN when bowfishing at night?

Just a thought.
 

UpperTully

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Bartlett,TN
Crosshairy":2biha6jq said:
I think the reason that the Hatchie and Forked Deer rivers were on the list is because of their meandering flow paths and tendency to flood (i.e. traditional alligator gar habitat). There's also significantly less boat traffic on those rivers, in case collision-caused mortality was a concern.

I have personally seen a mature alligator gar in the tailwater below Pickwick Lake probably 18-20 years ago. Certainly not a common fish to see on my trips.

That's what I was wondering, I frequent the Hatchie and had no idea they were stocking them there.
 

Mike Belt

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Lakeland, Tn.
How many of you guys have fished specifically for gar? We used to on the Hatchie out of Brownsville and Covington. Fun fish to catch.
 

RUGER

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I used to down past the spillway at Reelfoot, pretty fun but hard to hook if you don't have the right equipment. :)
 

Crosshairy

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RUGER":2pbzc2jp said:
I wouldn't think it would be possible to tell the difference between the 4 (?) different species of gar in TN when bowfishing at night?

Just a thought.

an alligator gar's snout is very wide compared to the other gar species, plus it obviously gets much bigger. To me, a small-ish alligator gar looks more like a musky/pike in terms of body shape.
 

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