Alligator Gar released in Kentucky

[@tedsell1455]

I like the idea of stocking native fish in general, thanks Kentucky 🐟

[@gotanygrapes831]

I’m surprised people support this. Isn’t this a government run thing haha

[@samuelhite2887]

@@gotanygrapes831 so?

[@vincentvilay1407]

@@gotanygrapes831 Well, this is Kentucky Fish & Wildlife we're talking about..... People are significantly more trusting of small local governments than the federal. And this is something that's actually beneficial rather than blowing taxpayer's money on filling politician's wallets. I doubt the hatchery manager is making millions while sitting on his rear end doing absolutely nothing.

[@tobyarmstrongcameraman9207]

In 1970 I worked for the Fisheries Department at LSU. We got a call that some commercial fisherman had caught a 380 pound gar in a hoop net in Alligator Bayou just south of Baton Rouge. i got my camera and drove the 15 miles only to find a sigh that said "gar meat for sale".

[@DrFunk-rk6yl]

Geaux tigers!

[@kontraxed]

I was stationed at Fort Knox, KY back in the mid-70's. I remember canoeing on some of the Fort Knox rivers and creeks and having huge (5-7 feet or more) alligator gars swimming by me. They were so big I remember thinking I didn't want to fall in the water with them!

[@edwardcarter1190]

I swam with them in Texas and Florida. They didn't care about me at all, just casually swam away if I got too close

[@TheJuan_N_0nly]

I did basic training in Fort Know and it was an awesome experience, Kentucky is beautiful..

[@jaysmith6013]

This video is 10 yeas old... I’d love to hear the update!

[@ryanlangley9695]

No joke

[@twoshooz3365]

Jay Smith now they have an alligator gar problem 😑

[@flipflopsneeded]

Jay Smith can you image if they kept one since this video? I wonder how big it would be.

[@nachobroryan8824]

The stocking program is still going on. One of these fish was caught in the White river in southwest Indiana a couple of years ago.

[@liamnissanS2K]

Crazy that Gar can live for up to 50 years

[@TheFirstAmendment]

They eat jumping carp! RELEASE THEM!

[@leehongjin6884]

I have heard that even large alligator gar have some trouble eating adult asian carp due to their mouth not being big enough.

[@simplesinnerservant6263]

God is my fortress Acts2:38 God is my refuge and high tower. Let God arise !!! Btw turn off the cameras in my house 😎

[@traumatizedcrabwithasombre419]

Simple Sinner Servant What?

[@johnnyholmes8840]

@@simplesinnerservant6263 which one do you bow to? Personally Zeus is my man, while JC only hung around on a cross, Zeus was letting them lightning bolts fly! Poseidon does some cool stuff with the waves and whatnot, earth your heart out Moses, ammiright..

[@jckdnls9292]

@@leehongjin6884 I heard they have trouble eating elephants

[@omegadestoyer6437]

I had no idea the Alligator Gar range was once that vast. I always thought they were a deep south species while other species of gar could be found further north.

[@edwardbishop9567]

That gar in the thumbnail is an ABSOLUTE UNIT !!! damn....

[@N-Collective]

It’s the largest document gar ever caught in like 1931/51 (varying sources on what time period fish was actually caught) nothing close in length has been caught since.

[@garyhomanick6129]

@@N-Collective how the heck did it get so big? That thing seems like it’s from another timeline, like, when the earth was young and the animals were much bigger.

[@blackjackmusic1107]

@@N-Collective Na. I know of some guys in western Kentucky that bow hunt for rough fish with lights and a generator. Unfortunately a few years back they shot a 12 foot gator gar in green river, around the, hwy.62 bridge on the Ohio and Muhlenberg county line. They can and do still get huge.

[@GainingDespair]

Like not going to lie, thank you Kentucky for taking them, you may also have the rest of them as well. Sincerely Mississippi

[@rickbeal1544]

I saw three gar when I was in Florida forty years ago .I was on a bridge and one was as long as a pickup truck. I was amazed how big they got. I thought they were alligators.

[@isaiahminton2766]

Yep. Seen two in Kentucky 8 years ago that were probably a little bit more than 10 feet.

[@OffGridInvestor]

Hence the name alligator gar???

[@SomeBuddy777]

@@OffGridInvestor and the mouth full of teeth

[@cheezuscrust7730]

Imagine swimming in a lake and seeing a 10 foot long alligator gar come up to you YIKES!

[@sprucebadger8229]

nah, they are usually friendly towards humans... they might push you a bit, and then go away, they are very shy creatures

[@GainingDespair]

They typically don't get that long, I'm 30 I've saltwater fished my whole life (these fish live in brackish water) and I think the longest I've seen was probably 4 maybe 5 foot long. That said these things are stupid aggressive, they make pike look gentle by comparison.

[@lynieb1]

Seriously-friendly to humans-I was, as a child, swimming in a lake back in the 60’s on an “air mattress” in Moon Lake- several circled me-weren’t exactly coming to chat-Mr Badger

[@lynieb1]

It’s truly amazing how wise and smart young folk are these days

[@thisismyusername6717]

@@sprucebadger8229 or mistake a toe for a fish in that murky water.

[@user-fl4wn9dn2c]

I have always liked the Alligator Gar. Hate being people kill those dinosaurs. There harmless

[@jimmyclimer594]

they eat those jumping asian carp I'm releasing everyone I catch now lol

[@paochicken]

Good man.

[@chitinskin9860]

Turns out they are only able to eat young carp. Fully grown ones are hard to choke down for the average modern gar. But, if we can get some more giants back into the water, allow these predators to grow back to natural size, the gar should be able to devour any carp without much effort.

[@countryboylife9910]

No, they are not doing any thing to the population of Asian carp you could not phantom the population of Asian carp in most any U.S. river.

[@bencrain7083]

They eat all fish! I don't care for them! I've had lots of problems with their needle nose cousins in the French Broad river.

[@rougarou1559]

@@bencrain7083 What kinds of problems?

[@davestagner]

I remember seeing these in Trigg County and around Kentucky Lake, when I was a kid in the ‘70s. They were pretty terrifying for a little kid!

[@chesterpanda]

Gar are a large prehistoric American fish that were misunderstood by our ancestors. They are awesome fish, and it’s sad to see they’ve been eradicated fro much of their older habitats.

[@wrathofdon63]

I remember when the East Fork of the Trinity River, east of Dallas was being dredge out behind the lake Ray Hubbard damn. Must have been 68-70. There were dozens of gar laying dead or just skeletons left on the banks, many were 8-10 feet long.

[@MrEazyE357]

That's SO sad.

[@skypieper]

2019! How they doing? Update plz.

[@camoboatcatfishing3968]

Same , would really like to know .

[@bencrain7083]

I hope they all die!

[@siriuslee9615]

Guerilla Gurus Because he an idiot .

[@robertcherry7190]

@Winning Grinn - In Louisiana everything is good eating. Y'all will eat anything .

[@tigresnl11]

there is some monsters in texas usually south texas.. last week I managed to catch a 5ft gar.. it was a nice catch and a hell of a fight.. they are tough trust me

[@bradytom8010]

tigresnl11 tampa fl got some moster gars

[@galvinstanley3235]

tigresnl11 Try using a leader made of weed eater cord.Just use crimps to make the leader loops.

[@jantisetiawan3054]

tigresnl11 .

[@jantisetiawan3054]

Brady Tom and

[@dareldenton4634]

tigresnl11 I caught a shortnose gar in Wake County North Carolina where I live at in a lake right outside the city limits I still got him in my freezer I'm going to mount him I seen them when I was walking down the river bank to go fishing so I ran back to my truck and grab some heavy-duty line and a circle hook and I caught me a little Brim hook him in the back next day I came back and he was on there he's about 3 foot 7 I've heard they're good eating but I want to give you mine when I'm done then I eat him

[@frankjennings4022]

My grandpa John Lee "Dude" Winkler was a commercial fisherman on the Arkansas River in the 40's and 50's. He'd catch 300 pounders regularly. He hand made all of his nets Making the hoops of white oak. A real old time pioneer. The gars would trash his nets and he hated them because it takes a man a long time to weave and make a good hoop net. He hauled a huge gar to the Little Rock zoo and mama took us to see it about 1956 or 57. Miss the old guy. Miss his stories of old times. Had the privilege of being a son of the pioneers. My GGG grandfather Nathaniel T. Journey was an early Texas Ranger in the 1830's, killed by an outlaw. Lots of stories from my home state of the lone Star.

[@ScottParisi]

Irs been two years since KZbin recommended this one. Glad to see it again but where is the update video?

[@jaxflfreebird]

In Jacksonville, Florida at the beach they have ditches that have water in them all the time. I drive a school bus and I drove a basketball team to a school for a game. With time to kill I had time to walk around. Right beside the school that is a block from the Atlantic Ocean I saw gar fish all over the place in the water in the ditch. I thought it was pretty amazing. They like that slow water though so it's a perfect place for them to thrive.

[@TheHardcoreRob]

I love seeing conservation and preservation being practiced. Conservation efforts are essential to healthy wildlife and plant life. One of our goals as a society should be the preservation of native plant and animal life, that is money well spent when done correctly.

[@randomtube8226]

People need to stop killing gar. They are not "trash fish" and are a ton of fun to catch on rod and reel.

[@adamlovin4152]

Hung Yeff 😂😂😂😂

[@JohnJames.]

do you throw away , your golf balls at the end of the game?

[@ultraamazingtop10s90]

Random Tube on a beach there was over 3000 gar bodies because the people said they were pest to the water And when they reeled them in they would throw them behing there back

[@65FullMoon83]

Best Gator Gar Fisheries are in Texas. I would rate the 3 best in Texas as the Rio Grande, Trinity, and the Sabine Rivers in that order.

[@Suckmyjagon]

you should try the rice fields in southern Louisiana in Madisonville at the mouth of the thephuntcha river there is thousands of acres of old rice fields I've caught 300lb gar there and had a 14 footer on a jug line but it broke 1\8 SS cable it was longer than my 14ft flat boat......

[@ignasty3591]

Amazing. I’ve never caught a full grown one myself, but from the Ohio River I snagged one about 16” long. A baby, pretty much.

[@THESHOMROM]

I remember being with my Dad on a trip and the wide drainage ditches on the side of the road being full of Garfish. Once my Dad was given a 6 footer. It's a very good fish.

[@spacecowgurl57]

Do a updated version of then and now please!

[@douglassinclaire9968]

Yall should make them catch and release only so they can hit them damn carp good.

[@jerrywilliams9105]

The areas I fish have a significant amount of healthy gar. Their fun to catch just watch the mouth. In the clear Creek area as a kid to 40 year old I have seen MANY in the 6' range. I didn't try to CATCH those giants. I unfortunately don't fish that area anymore. Where I fish now there's a very healthy population. God bless you all

[@pondaranks]

Bless you guys for what you’re doing... gar can be a great source or food...

[@angelfigueroa310]

I never new gate were farmed this makes me happy . I had a 3 foot gator gar once . Wish I had another

[@killervirus57]

10 years later. Please update. They probably huge now.

[@jonathanbreckenridge4758]

I Love Gar. They’re a really neat fish.

[@michaeldean9338]

Excellent job, Kentucky! Keep it up!

[@BAZEDMEADES]

"They lurch just beneath the surface." I would say don't give them any booze.

[@pondaranks]

People that catch gar should donate towards what you guys are doing!!!

[@gregoryjamesaustin]

Feed them ground up Asian carp when fry then turn them lose.

[@unclematt3]

5:12 This is EXACTLY what I said right when I finally decided to stop drinking.

[@anavidhunter]

Great program and awesome show. 5/5 That huge one from the old days was massive!!!

[@smithkelsey9293]

anavidhunter Massive as well as ancient

[@SSHitMan]

It's made to look much bigger by the way it was photographed. The man is not as close to the gar as he appears and this makes the gar look much bigger than it is.

[@YourBasicPatriot]

It's been 11 years how did it go?

[@jesuschil3491]

Good work ladies and gents. Parts of Georgia could use efforts like this. Our major fishing sources of tremendously over fished

[@rajesh_r87]

please can you give us an update of how they're doing.

[@krokodyl1927]

Raval Rajesh In a previous comment someone mentioned catching a five foot Gar so they must be doing pretty damn well. LOL, stay in your boat! 😮

[@MustangsTrainsMowers]

I don’t know if we have any of those but the St.Croix river north of the Mississippi has some fish that are 6+ feet long. One of them with ease snapped a 100 pound test line when my friend Lisa was fishing on the Wisconsin side about 15 years ago.

[@johannacannata1090]

Lake Ponchatrain in Louisiana is filled with them . Great fun night fishing off the pier...But bring a pistol or metal bat,and a big gaff to pull them up out the water . . They grow to nine or ten ft easy . We used a four ft wire leader to get them on a deep sea rod and reel set up .. Their scales can cut any fishing line .We make gar balls here ,taste great .

[@joshpeterson2203]

I'd love to hear how the population is now. Such a cool old species of fish

[@destrywelch9536]

Would like an update. Awesome program. Is it working?

[@robertcalamusso4218]

Great Thx for your hard work

[@TheSirrandal]

any sighting of Pirate Gar?

[@loganwallace1902]

Summer of 2020 I seen the largest fish of my life on the ky river in Mercer county. Me and my gf was trolling back up stream and a massive at least 12 foot long gar jumped completely out of the water in front of us. it was longer than my john boat and it was a sight of a life time never seen anything like it other than a black and white photo

[@desotopete]

OK. This was 2009. How are they doing 2017?

[@colsoncustoms8994]

Interested as well

[@smithkelsey9293]

2018 in the building🤔¿

[@chipsammich2078]

desotopete There out of control. And scattered all over the bank like any other place that has them..

[@thatxonexguy5438]

desotopete they died

[@takemalift]

Lol

[@robertallen3031]

I wish we had them on the west coast. I raised Gar, Arapima,snake heads, Nile perch,freshwater stingrays.,tiger fish.I had a 1000 gallon acrylic tank.. there was a great book called tank busters. I had quite a few of those fish over the years.

[@robertdempsey2706]

Aren't snakeheads banned? Im telling!

[@johnkeviljr9625]

Great video. Good luck Kentuckians!By the way, do you think the Alligator Gar, the larger ones, could help eliminate the Asian Carp in the Illinois River?

[@SSHitMan]

They're also being reintroduced into Illinois: www.dnr.illinois.gov/news/Pages/IDNR-Stocks-Alligator-Gar-as-Part-of-Reintroduction-Program.aspx But they are not expected to control Asian carp.

[@RoleyChiu]

I have no idea how I ended up here.

[@outdoorswithkaden1414]

Ik exactly where this is! Elk one creek hatchery right? I recognize a lot but could be sand design?

[@LIMIke11951]

what do they taste like? is the meat dark or light?

[@Darth.Fluffy]

Damn! Those things make catfish look pretty!

[@MrBenjaminCole]

Please update!

[@waynedosser6557]

This is a old video but in Texas I have seen and have caught some in lake Sam Rayborn that were over 12 foot long.

[@ernestwalden3894]

Last year I was fishing for flathead catfish and I snagged on something and broke the line. I had more poles out and I turned my back towards my truck. I was fixing the snag and ringing my pole. Anyway when my back was turned something grabed one of my poles pulling it out of the ground and dragging it ripping thrugh bushes and high grass up rooting everything from the ground and dragging it into the lake. What ever it was it had to be 100lb or more to be able to do that. I did catch a couple Alagatorgar earlier that day. I was useing live bluegill for bait.

[@DRAKED411]

Sounds like some of these guys have a lot to learn.. But I'm very happy to see they are doing some great work with the gar. As long as they don't release the little ones in open water..

[@antizionist3125]

what caused them to originally disappear?

[@toxic1698]

People. Used to be boats designed just to kill them off.

[@chitinskin9860]

For some reason, people hated them. They were killed for food or superstitions of them being some murder fish with a taste for human flesh. The largest ones were targeted, now only average sized ones remain. People electrocuted the water, fished them out the old fashioned way, speared them, netted them, and as TOXIC stated, used boats designed to kill them. Luckily, they started making a comeback by 2000 and it is not legal in some places to fish for them (with the intent to kill).

[@philandererr]

One of the best fish to eat and very fun to catch

[@raclark2730]

What a magnificent beast, babies cute too, really cool good work all.

[@90loneeagle]

Appreciate Jeremy wade on one of the last pics👍🏽

[@raymond80hr]

any updates on how there r doing

[@shanesmith8420]

When i was 13 outside Austin,Tx a guy shot one nine ft. with a compound bow . It was on the wall of our sporting goods store. When we would run trotlines in the river (Colorado) and would catch gar my friends dad would put a stick to keép their mouths open and they would drown because they breathe air. They will empty their ballasts and rise like submarines slowly to the surface and take a gulp of air. We were told they were trash fish and they were only edible if you put them.on a board and cooked them.you throw the fish away then eat the board. Feel almost guilty for killing so many thru the years. What an asshole i am. Please not too many hateful.comments. Peace.

[@jtmunn420]

When I was a kid my father and I would catch Alligator gar in the spillway at Sardis,Ms but we never kept them to eat we always threw them back in the water. In fact the only people I've ever seen eat them was and older Asian couple I caught a huge gar and was going to throw it back when this old guy asked me for the fish. I asked why he would want this fish and he said to cook it and eat it. I thought he was out of his mind but gave him the fish. Later that day I was walking around the camp area and sure enough his wife was cooking it.

[@tapiaisautismo4394]

Well, all of the meat is boneless on the alligator gar, Besides it's t-bone shaped spine and it tastes good with lemon. But I live in Texas so things might be different from where you live

[@DakotaIWCC]

Bow fisherman here. They're actually very tasty. You're missing out I assure you.

[@loganwallace1902]

Its beautiful I seen a 12 footer 2 years ago jump completely out of the water on a limb line on my john boat ky river Mercer county

[@Captain_Brian78]

Good work Kentucky!☺👍

[@gasemupoutdoors8706]

WE NEED AN UPDATE

[@keithoberg5365]

how is the program working out ???

[@JuarezDerrick]

The gar ate all the other fish

[@skypieper]

Well it's been 9 years since this video was uploaded, Did the plantings work? have they taken hold?

[@danxthexman82]

I guess you guys are the experts but there's never been a shortage of gar where I've fished in KY.

[@edwardcarter1190]

Are they gator gar or another species of gar?

[@hotchihuahua1546]

Interesting , I will look at them differently than I did as a kid !

[@roguedeath69]

So is it working 10 years now

[@kovacspistol]

Wow! Such amazing creatures and cute to boot!! 😍

[@booyaaka7768]

Krystal Pistol I think ur cute to boot 😘

[@shawnp8429]

Wheres the update

[@tonyrmathis]

We had an 8 footer in the bayou behind our house when I was a boy. It would swim by and rub up against you with it's armor like scales. Never could catch it. When I got older I was glad we didn't.

[@lennytheghost6020]

Why were you glad you didn't ?

[@waynegacyii9010]

Found stow away kitten on boat while fishing, couple minutes later noticed 4-5 gars in a frenzy about ready to jump in boat after kitten.

[@nicholasblohm2744]

Update vid?

[@goateemike72]

update????

[@no1bandfan]

My biggest surprise, a 720p video from 2009.

[@anilrehmatullah7906]

when someone tells me they caught a big gar story but dont mention a lasso i dont belive it.

[@dustincarson2257]

update please

[@lukekennedy8377]

So would they say I should stop bowfishing gar even if they aren’t alligator?

[@jessemccoy9113]

If they were kept in a dense population wouldn’t they be less aggressive territorially like cichlids?

[@TheFineLine920]

Wonderful! Great to know! They need to be saved. God Bless

[@rajusondh]

I wonder if they survived that fall from truck through that hose..!!??

[@matthewfinger2381]

Someone should do this here in NJ. Longnose gars used to live here a few decades ago but they're not all gone. Might do it myself if I can catch some in New York

[@atilax6452]

frog on bike - Hey! Im from NJ and i was just thinking the same thing! Years ago we had a house on a lagoon, right at the edge of the pine barrens. There were always gar in there. What a beautiful place it was. That was a long time ago. We saw stuff on that lagoon and in the pine barrens that wasnt even supposed to b there. Its all gone now. Somebody better do something about these f*cking developers, destroying huge pieces of nature all over the country. Its a f*cking sin.

[@sidneycashion7817]

Hey I've been to Tupelo and seen them at the hatchery!

[@pinarellolimoncello]

Well done America, restore , rejuvenate , replenish, that is the construct for the next 1000 years, so be it Amen.

[@richiehembree9618]

I live in tn and In the little pigeon river in Sevierville TN they are like 5 foot long over populated back I think in the 80s they had to go in and clean some out but didn't help any at all I have been on the back fishing and see them go past me 5 and a half foot long no joke you can look it up and there all In the river

[@DavidPT40]

Will these gar eat invasive carp?

[@semco72057]

It sounds like the gar fish would be nice for Indiana, and Illinois to help control the Asian Carp which is a problem species there. We have plenty of gar fish in Arkansas just like catfish is plentiful here in the wild.

[@seanshaughnessy6769]

Sidney Mathious there’s a lot of spotted gar in the Illinois waters

[@rexander3.08]

did anybody see Jeremy wade in the top left hand corner third person to the right.

[@atebitlegend9162]

yes

[@Fishhunter2014]

when?

[@rexander3.08]

Fishhunter2014 I don't remember

[@coachhannah2403]

I've caught alligator gar. They are mean-looking!

[@FatBoyDan]

id say its working as one was shot with bow down on the wabash river where we never had them. shot on the IL side of the wabash river below terre haute indiana

[@kenykenken3820]

8 weeks and they’re 14 inches! DAMN

[@zekethefishgeek8690]

8 inches...

[@kennethhunt248]

So can you eat them?

[@GainingDespair]

Yes, and no some parts are safe others are poisoness. You can eat them, but many states do not recommend it and some ban it out right. Their a very boney fish anyways depending on the size.

[@kotk05]

Hope all went well

[@dillonsavage6145]

Were can you get those in Kentucky I want a few lol

[@Thebonesoftrees]

I need to visit Kentucky.