Take a look at this

[Leonard]

Do you think we have them this big here???

This came from Lake Sam Rayburn in Texas

[Brian K. Shaffer]

Holy POOP! Thats huge Leonard!

I bet we have them that big in Bull Shoals.. but T/R probably aint holding anything that size. Its just fished so much that someone would have seen a ginormous fish like that.

Wow - oooff.. imagine that on a fly rod!

best fishes - Brian

[albright3]

dang!!!!!!!!!! cut him open and see what the heck that guy eats

[gonefishin]

That is a nice one. Wonder what he weighed. I was looking at some old Field and Stream Magazines one day and seen some articles from back in the 1940's and 1950s where they used to catch Alligator Gar like that in Arkansas. They said fish over 300 pounds could take a leg off a man faster than a regular alligator. I don't know if there is anything like that in Arkansas anymore.

Good thing there arent fish like that in Taney. Make a person have to look around when wading.

[MTM]

That is a big sucker. WOW Can you eat those thing's? I have never even seen one. Ron

[Phil Lilley]

One false move could cost you your head....

[Leonard]

LOL...

I guess im really sick in the head...

But that made me laugh.. and I find it a little amusing...

[Al Agnew]

Yeah, the lower White River, down in the flatlands of eastern Arkansas, used to be the most famous place in the world to catch huge alligator gar. The dams on the upper White apparently put a stop to the gar fishery on the lower river, because even that far downstream the water now remains too cool in the summer to support a population of fast-growing alligator gar.

A lot of anglers swear they have seen huge alligator gar in some of the Missouri reservoirs, but according to the book, The Fishes of Missouri, the only reliable reports of alligator gar in Missouri have come from the Mississippi River. Pflieger reports two specimens caught in 1965, one of 110 pounds from near Chester, IL on the Mississippi, and a 130 pounder from near Cairo.

As of the writing of the book, The Fishes of Arkansas, the AR state record was 215 pounds, but there was a published photograph of an 8 ft. 3 in., 350 pounder taken from the lower St. Francis River in AR. Alligator gar have been sampled on the lower Eleven Point and lower Black River in AR, so it is possible that they could be in the lower Black and lower St. Francis in MO. But I suspect that most of the "alligator gar" that people say they see in Ozark streams and reservoirs are simply very big longnose gar. Alligator gar are told from other gar by their very short, broad snout. The biggest longnose gar reported in AR was 6 ft. 8 in. Biggest in MO was 4 ft. 5.5 in. and weighed 21 pounds.

[MoCarp]

They are raising them in the Tsimingo (sp?) hatchery for stocking in some Missouri waters that have the habitat--

there is great contoversy right now on unlimited harvest on the biggest gator gar with some states putting limits on them--- as the biggest fish are getting rarer--as far as eating, it is a high demand food fish now--last time I heard 6 bucks a pound--a big temptation to anyone to take as many as you can and sell the meat--in many ways like was done on spoonbill eggs here in the past, closest place I know is the lower white river--or the Arkansas river to get one--I would urge anyone if they take any 'gator gar --->harvest the smaller ones

Mo

[Phil Lilley]

Harvest this beast??? You'd have to take it to a beef slaughter house! I can't imagine it- catching one more-or-less cleaning one.

I'd quick-release it- CUT THE LINE!!