Ask any seasoned angler about the long, snouted fish with the armor-plated body and you will likely get a visceral reaction. For many, the American gar is not a prized catch but a frustrating obstacle, a prehistoric trash fish that tangles lines and steals lures. This deep-seated animosity is not just based on superstition; it is rooted in the very biology and behavior of the fish, creating a perfect storm of practical and philosophical reasons why fishermen hate gar.
The Trophy Misconception and Brutal Fight
One of the primary sources of conflict arises from the initial encounter. An angler setting the hook on a large gar often expects a powerful run, a test of strength against a worthy opponent. What usually happens is a sudden, violent strike that feels more like a snag than a bite. The fish rockets to the surface, rolling and thrashing, but it is rarely the acrobatic, high-jumping spectacle of a bass or a trout. To the fisherman, this display looks less like a battle and more like a desperate, clumsy struggle, undermining the sense of sport and trophy potential associated with landing a large fish.
The Unbreakable Armor
Gar are covered in ganoid scales, which are essentially hardened, rhomboid-shaped plates of enamel. These scales evolved as a defense against larger predators, and they serve the same purpose against modern lures. A standard hookset that would pierce the flank of a bass or a pike often glides off the flank of a gar or bends the hook tip. This requires the angler to set the hook with extreme force, frequently resulting in the lure being torn from the fish’s tough mouth or, worse, tearing a hole in the gill plate. The combination of a hard-fought initial struggle and the ultimate failure to successfully hook the fish leaves a bitter taste in the mouth of the angler.
The Ecological Role and Diet
Biologists often defend the gar, pointing to its role as an apex predator in freshwater ecosystems. However, this ecological benefit is lost on the average fisherman who values catch and release or a dinner plate. The primary reason for the animosity, however, is dietary. Gar are not picky eaters and have a voracious appetite for other fish. Their stomachs are frequently found packed with bass, bluegill, and even smaller gar. For the sport fisherman who invests time and money to stock a pond or lake with desirable game fish, the gar is a direct threat to the health and population of their target species. Removing gar is seen not as a cruelty, but as a necessary form of pest control.
The Practical Inconveniences
Beyond the philosophy of the sport, gar create numerous practical problems for fishermen. They are incredibly tough fish to clean. The scales are so hard they can dull knives in an instant, and the meat is riddled with tiny, Y-shaped bones that make filleting a tedious and often frustrating process. The amount of meat retrieved from a large gar is minimal compared to the effort required to process it. Furthermore, their reputation for striking at almost anything means that an angler using expensive, hand-tied flies or sophisticated soft plastics can watch in horror as a gar obliterates their gear in seconds, representing a significant financial and emotional loss.
