Fishing in Texas – Your Comprehensive Resource. Alligator garfish are protected with a daily bag limit of one fish and a provision in state regulation to close certain areas when optimal spawning periods occur. These vendors offer a small commission on sales generated through our links. AUSTIN – Texas Parks and Wildlife Department research biologists have confirmed the new alligator gar bow fishing water body record for the Brazos River is 60-years-old, among the oldest fish aged and documented by E-Newsletter Archive. and cookie statement. Historically considered a "rough fish," the alligator gar has recently What makes this gar The all-tackle record was a 302 lb (137 kg) alligator gar caught on a trotline in 1953 by T.C. “Even low levels of overharvest can have dramatic results. It was caught on a trotline in 1953. The world record, caught in Mississippi in 2011, measured 8 feet 5 inches and weighed 327 pounds. Your contact information is used to deliver requested updates or to access your subscriber preferences. “We hope that anglers will agree with the need to protect and preserve one of Texas’s great iconic recreational treasures, the alligator gar.”. Email subscriber privacy policy The 7.93 pound smallie, caught on Lake Meredith by Timothy Teague, has held its status since March of 1998. The largest recorded alligator gar comes from the St. Francis River, Arkansas in the 1930's, and weighed 350 lbs. “Releasing fish after they are caught, measured and photographed will help assure these fish will have the opportunity to perpetuate the species and make it possible for present and future anglers to continue to enjoy the extraordinary recreational experience of bringing one of these incredible fish to hand.” If anglers intend to release fish, TPWD encourages them to use rod-and-reel methods that result in fish being hooked in the mouth. I think they were bigger than the one I caught–I have sure seen bigger.” But Williams did catch a 7-foot, 9-inch monster so big it had to be weighed at a truck stop, where it was officially recorded as an even 200 pounds. And fishing guide Kirk Kirkland reported a 9-foot, 6-inch 365-pounder in 1991 from the Trinity. The largest state record, also the world record, is from the Trinity River in Texas, a 279-pound fish caught in 1951. If you would like to submit a photo of your fish for our fishing pictures or of a state record fish e-mail them to us. This is complicated by the fact that the damming of rivers throughout Texas has reduced seasonal flooding of lowlands, which alligator gar require for spawning. A Texas alligator gar - a 279-pounder caught from the Rio Grande in 1952 - holds the International Game Fish Association's world record for alligator gar caught on rod-and-reel. http://isthereaheavenorhell.blogspot.ca/Pictures of some of the biggest Aligator Gar ever caught. According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the state record for an alligator gar catch is 302 pounds.It was caught on a trotline in 1953. Neither Brent nor Jim were aware that the Texas state bowfishing record for alligator gar is 290 pounds or that the overall state record stands at 302 pounds. This is the largest alligator ever captured in the state of Texas by more than 5 inches, a new state record, and the gator is now aptly being named ‘Big Tex’. However, it is possible to have your fish and release it, too, by having a fiberglass replica prepared by a taxidermist. This 60-year-old Alligator gar is the Texas state record catch, at 197 pounds. According to Texas Parks and Wildlife, Isaac Avery of Longview, Texas, caught the state record 197-pound alligator gar in September 2017 while bow fishing in the Brazos River. Your fish and estimated its age at 95 years quite popular among bowfishers because of … Yes or!... 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