Why do people get dangerously obsessed with catching certain fish?

[Hybridfish7]

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

Hence why I said it's just about the same amount of patience as fishing for crappie, crappie fishing I'm creeping a minnow on a jig head along at like one full reel turn every thirty seconds so the crappie have a chance to grab it while I try to suspend it at 15 feet deep. Gar I've seen people catch up here on rod and reel, just takes a lot of but different kind of patience while you wait for them to get it down. Kinda like fishing for needlefish along a pier while you wait for other stuff to take your line if you've ever done that out of boredom.

 

[Hybridfish7]

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".

Kinda sad that people perceive fish as competition towards catching other fish.
If something's bigger and stronger and more aggressive than what I usually try to catch I'm going for that instead.

 

[Hybridfish7]

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.

There's that and then there's what happens when you do that to invasive species like they did with bass in Japan. Bass got overpopulated and were eating too many native fish, they tried to kill all of them but missed a few but the few that lived ate just as much and consistently grew to world record sizes.

 

[jjohnwm]

When I was a kid we caught gar by using a small tattered frayed piece of yarn as bait. Gar were spotted at the surface and then the lure was jigged in front of them. When they struck a quick jerk would tangle their teeth in the yarn and yank them out of the water. We actually believed what we were told, i.e. they were harmful destructive creatures that must be destroyed. Words like "ecology" were not in the common lexicon back then.

I also saw older guys catching gar with little nooses that were gingerly slipped over their snouts and then yanked tight around their heads or bodies. Again, all were killed.

Thank goodness we are more enlightened today.

We are...aren't we...?

 

[C. Breeze]

6-8” piece of Frayed nylon rope. Plain white. Best gar lure/ fly ever. They grab it and can’t it loose from it. Then you have to deal with them in the boat and getting there teeth untangled from the rope is almost impossible but if you want to catch them on rod and reel the frayed nylon rope will hammer them.

 

[xenacanth9]

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".

Totally agree

 

[CHOMPERS]

Don't like the fact that you can't eat gar?

Here's the secret about gar. It's tough to get into, but they are edible. The real secret is that they taste just like lobster. And this is the reason that most people in the know want to keep it a secret. I didn't believe it until I tried it. The taste and texture is spot on. Now we look forward to catching them.