Why do people get dangerously obsessed with catching certain fish?

Hybridfish7

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Dec 4, 2017
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Emphasis on dangerously, because I mean people that just kill certain species for the hell of it because they "hate them for eating fish they want to catch"
Like things like bowfin that allegedly "eat bass" or gar that eat crappie as they migrate, I've heard too many stories of people just throwing bowfin on the bank or shooting gar just to get rid of them. I'm not really the type to get angry over people killing animals. I fish myself, snakeheads have taken over the lake I've fished since I was 3 and I can't be happier because the bass fishing there has always been horrible and it just gives me an opportunity to consistently catch something big. People overfished the bluegill and the park has finally resorted to stocking. The green sunfish do green sunfish things and take over the shallows. All the other sunfish in there were already too rare for conventional fishermen to find so their populations have stayed the same.
I also don't like forcing my opinions/mentality onto people but this is an exception. Things like bowfin and gar are native, nature happens. Fish for gar while they move into your crappie spot for spawning. There is no excuse. You like how crappie fight? Gar fight harder. You like the patience and skill required for getting crappie to bite and setting the hook on one? Same with gar. Don't like how easy it is to find gar? Suck it up and enjoy the treat of being there for the spawn while you can easily find and catch them by the dozen. Don't like the fact that you can't eat gar? You don't need to eat every fish you catch. Hooks won't hurt them. They've made it a couple hundred million years unchanged through worse.
Same logic and translations apply to bass and bowfin.
I know not a lot of people will see this but it gives me a bit more peace of mind knowing there's the potential for some to.
Oh yeah, and this

Screenshot_20211028-233843.jpg
 

xenacanth9

Redtail Catfish
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Apr 19, 2021
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What kind of jackass do you have to be to intentionally kill a golden gar? Even if you don't value its life, then you could still sell it for THOUSANDS to a hobbyist, which is not only more ethical, but also MUCH more beneficial to your wallet.
 

jjohnwm

Potamotrygon
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Mar 29, 2019
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I am an avid hunter and fisherman and I hear it all the time; bloodthirsty morons who just really need to kill something but attempt to justify it, so they claim that everything is a threat, a pest, a menace, blah, blah, blah. I see nothing wrong with killing an animal or fish for food, or for protection of self or property, but killing something like a bowfin or a gar simply because it might eat some of the fish you want to catch and eat yourself is pretty sad. Can't compete? Stay out of the fishing game, or get more skillful at it...don't set out to eliminate what you perceive as "competition".
 

BigBeardDaHuZi

Exodon
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Sep 10, 2020
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Gar have bony mouths. You can get them to attack a lure, but they are very, very hard to hook. Besides eating crappie (do they? how would it fit?) they also compete with the "sporting" fish people can catch, like bass, walleye or northern pike.
As for bow-fishing, well that's the only way you can catch them.
I've never seen anyone going for them before, myself
 
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esoxlucius

Alligator Gar
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Dec 30, 2015
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Years and years ago coarse fisheries in the UK had a catch and kill policy on all pike that were caught. They are the largest and most predatory fish we have. I even heard tales of people shooting herons too in an attempt to protect their stocks.

The bigger picture is though that there is a finely balanced natural eco system in place. You upset that apple cart and it can, over a period of time, become unnaturally skewed.

I remember lakes that held good heads of quality fish. When the pike culls were going on all seemed fine, but gradually the amount of nuisance small silver fish such as roach and skimmer bream took over.

Predation was on the decline because the pike numbers were dwindling, and the other fish just multiplied unchecked.
 
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BigBeardDaHuZi

Exodon
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Sep 10, 2020
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Years and years ago coarse fisheries in the UK had a catch and kill policy on all pike that were caught. They are the largest and most predatory fish we have. I even heard tales of people shooting herons too in an attempt to protect their stocks.

The bigger picture is though that there is a finely balanced natural eco system in place. You upset that apple cart and it can, over a period of time, become unnaturally skewed.

I remember lakes that held good heads of quality fish. When the pike culls were going on all seemed fine, but gradually the amount of nuisance small silver fish such as roach and skimmer bream took over.

Predation was on the decline because the pike numbers were dwindling, and the other fish just multiplied unchecked.
:cry: I love catching pike. So much fun. We never eat what we catch anyways (always release). For full disclosure, I remember spending a significant time as a kid trying to hook a gar. They were a lot like a pike, but a lot more plentiful
 
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