I find freshwater fish fascinating, but I admit that observing them can present challenges. I’m an avid angler, but I also enjoy watching all kinds of wildlife. There is a growing community of “life list anglers” who appreciate the diversity of fishes, but for most, “freshwater fish” means game fish, a few invasives like carp and the small species lumped (often incorrectly) into the category “minnows.” If you doubt this, check out fish ID threads on a typical fishing social media page. Yes, nature-loving people are generally familiar with a few “game” species – the trout, bass and walleyes – but even many anglers exhibit very poor fishing identification skills. Though there are few prohibitions on gar fishing (aside from a one-fish-per-day limit on alligator gar), Smith recommended that anglers interested in catching gar take a catch-and-release approach.Even for most naturalists, freshwater fish diversity is out of sight, out of mind. But recent years have seen an increase in conservation efforts from organizations like the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Historically, gar have been targeted by culling efforts by various state and federal agencies to make more room for game fish. However, like other gar, their eggs are toxic to people and should not be eaten. While a fully-grown alligator gar may look intimidating, they pose no threat to humans.
They live exclusively in the lower Mississippi River Valley, where they chow down on smaller fish, blue crabs, waterfowl and the occasional turtle. Only seven species are still around today.Īlligator gar, the largest of the extant gar species, are among the biggest freshwater fish in North America, according to National Geographic. Fossil remains of extinct gar dating back to the Cretaceous period (145 million to 66 million years ago) have been unearthed in Europe, Africa and south Asia, according to the Florida Museum. Gars belong to an ancient lineage of fish that were once widespread across the globe.
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