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Paxson's not going to be happy about this.

When I was a kid I was obsessed with this book, Fish do the Strangest Things, and one of the chapters was a bit sensationalized about Gator Gars. We had this wet area between our neighbors house and ours that would hold water about 9 months a year. I was out there after reading that book about a thousand times and it was a little more flooded than usual and one of the downed trees was partially submerged. 8 year old Squirrel saw that log, was convinced it was a gator gat coming to get him, and ran the couple of three hundred yards back to the house. Curiosity overcame me and I went back and was very disappointed that it was the log I usually walked on.

When I was a kid my grandfather and I spent three weeks near the end of every summer fishing the rivers and bayous of Southwestern Louisiana. I became fascinated with the alligator gar. My grandfather, on the other hand, had nothing but contempt for this fish and every time one showed up he would insist that we untie the boat and look for a different spot to set up.

One time a hooked one and I thought there was a whale on the line. It wasn't really fighting very much but it was like hauling up a dead log. I got him up near the surface where we could see him and he was alongside the boat and must have been about four feet long. I wanted to try to land him but my grandfather was going to cut the line and he said, "If you bring him in this boat, I'm getting out of it." But I was working him on my lightweight panfish rig as this monster was trying to snap the line with his huge teeth and I was whining about trying to land him. My grandfather said he had heard about guys dragging such a fish behind the boat and actually drowning it so he started to untie us to try it and the fish snapped the line.

My aunt and uncle lived right on the shipping canal coming off the Gulf and there were HUGE gar in there. My uncle helped me set up a specific rig for gar with 50 Lb. test line, a wire leader, and whole mullet for bait. I got one hooked and he came dancing out of the water like a marlin and got his mouth beyond the eight inch wire leader and cut the line.

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Don't take it personally.

Why in the world is money being spent to reintroduce an ugly fish the size of Yao Ming?

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There are only two examples of infinity: The universe and human stupidity and I'm not sure about the universe.

Partly they hope it will prey on the Asian carp. Other reasons too for sports fishing. I doubt it will approach the Prairie chicken fiasco.

Of course Democrats would have a problem with the "scary" and overtly predatory gar and defend the more subliminal, sneaky Asian Carp, who are truly ruining their waterways.

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Yup

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Thanks, I honestly wondered.

Oh and f you Lyin' Leash

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There are only two examples of infinity: The universe and human stupidity and I'm not sure about the universe.

Prairie chickens are magnificent creatures. Hopefully, they can pull through, but it may be too little, too late.

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I'm referring to the boondoggle of using a state jet to fly them in at some ridiculous cost. Habitat is really lacking for them. I wish the people the best in their endevour to recover a tiny fraction of the Illinois population but I have my doubts. More hope for ruffed grouse and I'm not to hopeful on that either.

Now yo be fair these are all excellent uses of Pittman Robertson funds and I trueky do applaud the effort.

No, I hear ya....

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I seem to catch a gar every year when I go to Rend Lake. Those are short-nose gar, though. I can tell it's a gar by the bite. It's usually a half-assed bite with aggressiveness when I reel. And they usually aren't actually hooked... they're just too stubborn to spit the lure.

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Do you ever fish Crab Orchard when you're down there?Best bass lake in Illinois.

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Don't take it personally.

We find them on the Hennepin canal when I take the boys fishing. I always hook them but rarely land them. Usually just messing with Minnows with the kids. Rarely do I get to actually fish these days.

I think you and I might have discussed this... and I'm not sure. I began going down to Rend with some older guys when I was in high school, and we hit up some nearby smaller lakes when we went. So it's very possible. "Best bass lake in Illinois" is a pretty strong title, though.

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I pass the Hennepin Canal at least a few times a year. How is it?

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If you catch the Walleye during spawn in the spring it is pretty good I am told. I never do. Its kind of a mish mash of fish. In one outing I've caught crappie, bluegill, green suns, smallmouth and a trout. Mainly small panfish but I know people who have pulled decent sized fish out. Usually concentrate around bridges, especially where there are tubes going under the road. To me its an easy place to take my boys fishing where they are going to catch something even if it is nothing spectacular. It's pretty shallow water for the most part and by mid summer can get a bit green but whatever, if my 8 year old had jumped in as a 4 year old I could of got him out easy.

I just looked at the recent reports and apparently Crab Orchard's bass production had been down for several years but now looks to be on the upswing once again. Back when I was fishing down there 10-15 years ago the lake was loaded with lunker bass.

There's another good fishing lake down there called Devil's Kitchen.

https://www.ifishillinois.org/profiles/ ... rnum=00235

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Don't take it personally.

I'm sure the gar will put a very small dent in the Asian carp but I'd think they put a huge dent in everything else..I think its a bad idea, there aren't enough hillbillies bow fishing to keep the population in check.

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its hard to applaud anything the Illinois DNR does. they've mismanaged animal/fish populations for years.

the only way to properly deal with asian carp i feel is to eat them. they feed completely different than regular carp. they eat the same stuff bluegill eat and as such their meat is pretty tasty. the only issue you have with car are the bones. but thats solvable. What they need to do is erase the trash fish stigma of asian carp and you'll have people clean the river out both commercially and for sport.

alligator gars i don't think is the answer. the cordova nuc plant fishery has already been stocking them in the mississippi.

considering the water way was abandoned for rail before it was even completed, its had 0 upkeep from a bottom standpoint. from the quad cities to hennepin, il the thing is silted in. if you kayak it and drop and oar overboard that oar will sink into like a foot of muck. there are still a lot of nice fish in it its just discouraging because it could be way better than it is if they took care of it.

Bureau creek almost ate the bank separating it from canal a year or two ago. No funding period. Yeah, I've canoed sections and it's mucked in good. The feeder up by rockfalls is silted in too. It's a shame, could be a nice ref area in this part of state.

Indiana DNR just posted on FB that an alligator gar was taken out of the White River. First one in Indiana for years.

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