First off I make my living off of them guiding. I Have a true respect for them. In no way do I want to see their numbers decline. Since the stopping of commercial fishing I truly believe they are healthy and thriving. Tpwd biologists have said the same recently in public hearings.
I want to see them put on a slot, one trophy and x amount of adolescent fish per year. Bowfishing to have the same restriction as Rod and Reel.
Separate Bowfishing stamp to create revenue
Alligator gar tag to create revenue, stocking programs for them.
I do not understand as bowfisherman why we have to pay for standard fishing licenses when we can not harvest any of the game species the license funds stocking programs for.
**THE ROD AND REEL ANGLERS NEED TO BE HELD TO THE SAME RESTRICTIONS/REGULATIONS AS BOWFISHERMAN**
They can not guarantee the survival of a released fish therefore should be regulated the same. The fish often swim off and die with the 4 ft of steel leader and a hook in the gut left behind. There is a low survival rate due to methods/means used to catch them. They gut hook them and drag them in literally by their insides. Stressing the fish and puncturing internal vitals after they have swallowed the bait.
I have a true respect for the alligator gar, I make my living off of them. I wish in no way for them to decline in numbers and was happy when they lowered the limit to one per person per day.
There is an anti Bowfishing agenda within TPWD and the CCA in the state of Texas. No Reds, No catfish? What’s next?
The facts are solid, presented by their own biologists that we are at a sustainable harvest on alligator gar.
Rules/regulation are to be based on science not emotion. At the latest discussion the commissioners after being presented facts about the populations, records,and fisheries being healthy and at sustainable harvest rate ignorantly gave the ultimatum of a regulation change to “protect” these fish. Solely based on the fact that they are not “table fare” therefore they don’t understand why they should be killed. Demanding a proposal of a regulation change by November to protect them mainly from bowfisherman. I’m all for conservation based on science not emotion. Cody Soele www.extremebowfishing.com
Here are a few pics from a two part study started by tpwd back in 2014 they killed nearly 500 fish. After the conclusion of the study they raised this specific water body immediately to 5 per person per day. These pics are from the final part of the study conducted April 24th 2018
A few interesting facts about gar learned by tpwd biologists over the last 5-7 years
Many fish reach 6ft in length by the age of 15, much faster growth than many thought before
Most female gar carry 10% of there body weight
in eggs
“linked to seasonal flooding, successful recruitment may be infrequent. Fecundity of alligator gar is highly variable, with means of 157,000 eggs per female and 4.1 eggs/g body weight (Ferrara 2001)”
“Young alligator gar apparently grow very fast; in Sam Rayburn Reservoir, Texas, fish thought to be young-of-year in 1965 averaged 1.1 kg by July 30 and 2.9 kg by October 6 (Toole 1971). Growth of older fish is much slower, taking about 10 years to attain a total length of 1 m and 30 or more years to reach a length of 2 m (Figure 1). Alligator gar mature between 950 and 1,400 mm total length (at age 10-14), with males maturing earlier than females (Ferrara 2001; Garcia de Leon et al. 2001). Although young fish grow fast, alligator gar are believed to be long-lived. Ferrara (2001) estimated annual survival of adult alligator gar exceeded 90% and found fish up to age 50 in an Alabama population receiving little harvest. However, maximum age of a heavily-exploited population in Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana was only 28 years. Maximum age of alligator gar in Lake Texoma, Oklahoma, was recently estimated to be greater than 30 years (E. Brinkman, Oklahoma State University, personal” communication). Length-
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I want to see them put on a slot, one trophy and x amount of adolescent fish per year. Bowfishing to have the same restriction as Rod and Reel.
Separate Bowfishing stamp to create revenue
Alligator gar tag to create revenue, stocking programs for them.
I do not understand as bowfisherman why we have to pay for standard fishing licenses when we can not harvest any of the game species the license funds stocking programs for.
**THE ROD AND REEL ANGLERS NEED TO BE HELD TO THE SAME RESTRICTIONS/REGULATIONS AS BOWFISHERMAN**
They can not guarantee the survival of a released fish therefore should be regulated the same. The fish often swim off and die with the 4 ft of steel leader and a hook in the gut left behind. There is a low survival rate due to methods/means used to catch them. They gut hook them and drag them in literally by their insides. Stressing the fish and puncturing internal vitals after they have swallowed the bait.
I have a true respect for the alligator gar, I make my living off of them. I wish in no way for them to decline in numbers and was happy when they lowered the limit to one per person per day.
There is an anti Bowfishing agenda within TPWD and the CCA in the state of Texas. No Reds, No catfish? What’s next?
The facts are solid, presented by their own biologists that we are at a sustainable harvest on alligator gar.
Rules/regulation are to be based on science not emotion. At the latest discussion the commissioners after being presented facts about the populations, records,and fisheries being healthy and at sustainable harvest rate ignorantly gave the ultimatum of a regulation change to “protect” these fish. Solely based on the fact that they are not “table fare” therefore they don’t understand why they should be killed. Demanding a proposal of a regulation change by November to protect them mainly from bowfisherman. I’m all for conservation based on science not emotion. Cody Soele www.extremebowfishing.com
Here are a few pics from a two part study started by tpwd back in 2014 they killed nearly 500 fish. After the conclusion of the study they raised this specific water body immediately to 5 per person per day. These pics are from the final part of the study conducted April 24th 2018
A few interesting facts about gar learned by tpwd biologists over the last 5-7 years
Many fish reach 6ft in length by the age of 15, much faster growth than many thought before
Most female gar carry 10% of there body weight
in eggs
“linked to seasonal flooding, successful recruitment may be infrequent. Fecundity of alligator gar is highly variable, with means of 157,000 eggs per female and 4.1 eggs/g body weight (Ferrara 2001)”
“Young alligator gar apparently grow very fast; in Sam Rayburn Reservoir, Texas, fish thought to be young-of-year in 1965 averaged 1.1 kg by July 30 and 2.9 kg by October 6 (Toole 1971). Growth of older fish is much slower, taking about 10 years to attain a total length of 1 m and 30 or more years to reach a length of 2 m (Figure 1). Alligator gar mature between 950 and 1,400 mm total length (at age 10-14), with males maturing earlier than females (Ferrara 2001; Garcia de Leon et al. 2001). Although young fish grow fast, alligator gar are believed to be long-lived. Ferrara (2001) estimated annual survival of adult alligator gar exceeded 90% and found fish up to age 50 in an Alabama population receiving little harvest. However, maximum age of a heavily-exploited population in Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana was only 28 years. Maximum age of alligator gar in Lake Texoma, Oklahoma, was recently estimated to be greater than 30 years (E. Brinkman, Oklahoma State University, personal” communication). Length-
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