Alligator gar
- Thread starter pdiddy010
- Start date
The DNR is stocking alligator gar as far north as the Sanganois Fish and Wildlife area north of Beardstown IL. There were some reports in the 1800s, of alligator gars being spotted in Illinois, so the DNR is restocking the along the Illinois and Mississippi River. I don't know what region of the great lakes you live in, but it may be close enough to the latitude that they are being re-introduced in. I mean, the water in central Illinois probably gets to be the same temperature of just above freezing as Northern Illinois or wherever you live. Your choice if you want to risk it...
I read something about that as well. Also read they are selectively sticking native areas to combat the Asian carp
Although they should be re-introduced for bio-diversity purposes, I really doubt that they'll even be able to eat asian carp at all, let alone put a dent in the population. In the cooler Northern waters, they'll probably max out at 3-5 ft, and the average silver carp is 2 ft and the average bighead 3 ft. Silver carp are also very powerful, and I seriously doubt that the a small gar's jaws could contain one that wasn't already dead. I have to assume whoever thought they should be introduced for this purpose doesn't know much about fish.
yeah just an article online. I would assume that the average carp isn’t born at 2-3ft Long though.
Just read a more current article by Michigan State University In 2016. They say that wasn’t the initial purpose of reintroducing. Although they will eat young carp, they alone would not keep up in number terms at all. It says they reintroduced 6000 Gar several years ago. I’m just glad there are campaigns trying to help them. Down here in Texas there’s some campaigns the TPWD are doing. But more would be better imo.
They can grow that big in two years. They also lay hundreds of thousands of eggs each time they spawn, so I seriously doubt that gars eating a couple of baby carp will do anything. Bluecats and flatheads will probably eat more than gars will. Just saying...
they should do fine if ya build a pond up there i had three and re-homed them to a pond at my parents last spring when i moved to a small apartment and couldn't take them with, they stop eating bellow ~55 degrees and they definitely grow slower, they got ~3 in the first year i had them but after i let them go they're only at like 3-4ft now, i just went to check on them last week cause the ice on the pond opened up in the warm weather we had here in the east and they were all still alive, so you should build yourself a pond 
. It’ll take some convincing since I still live with my parents. But if I do get the go ahead, how big should the pond be?they should do fine if ya build a pond up there i had three and re-homed them to a pond at my parents last spring when i moved to a small apartment and couldn't take them with, they stop eating bellow ~55 degrees and they definitely grow slower, they got ~3 in the first year i had them but after i let them go they're only at like 3-4ft now, i just went to check on them last week cause the ice on the pond opened up in the warm weather we had here in the east and they were all still alive, so you should build yourself a pond
