What's the deal with rough fish?

SaltyOsprey · April 2013

So first of all, I'm new to the forum, so if I breach etiquette in some major way then I apologize. On to the topic here: why do people hat rough fish so much?! I've caught on gar and one bowfin in the years I have been fishing and both fought much harder than any bass I've ever caught. I don't get how a self proclaimed sportsman can say he "loves everything that swims" and then throw a 10 pound gar up on a bank to suffocate for hours. These fish don't destroy the ecosystem, they help it! I can see where there is some confusion between bowfin and snakehead, but if someone would just take the time to look at a comparison, they'd see several differences, especially in the anal fin. people call these beasts "trash fish", how is a 200 pound gar a piece of garbage when an 8 pound bass is a trophy? this crap really annoys me, and if you have an answer or agree with me, please post a reply to this.

mandaferret · April 2013

I've never understood this either. Particularly, if you are fishing for something to release, wouldn't the fish that fights hardest be the greatest target? With the exception of tarpon, most gamefish were set when few fish were released. There is absolutely no need to kill any native fish uselessly.

Jim311 · April 2013

The only thing I hate about bowfin, pickerel, and gar, is that they trash my gear. They straighten out spinnerbaits, break off trebble hooks, cut off lures, etc. But I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy just about anything tugging on my line. I agree that bowfin are a seriously hard fight. I find gar to be pretty lazy though and I almost never boat them, they break me off every time.

doctorphil · April 2013

Jim311 wrote: »

The only thing I hate about bowfin, pickerel, and gar, is that they trash my gear. They straighten out spinnerbaits, break off trebble hooks, cut off lures, etc. But I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy just about anything tugging on my line. I agree that bowfin are a seriously hard fight.

I agree, especially about bowfin (I've always called them mudfish).

Chuck D · April 2013

Well I don't brag about it, but I LOVE catching jacks. If you told me on my next trip I would only catch jacks, I would head out right now. Beats being skunked by a long shot. Now puffers are a different story... but I don't kill em.

Josh85 · April 2013

First off I respect nature. I dont kill things just to kill things. If I want fish for dinner I keep a few fish. Thats kinda where I never understood hunting. You spend your life sitting in a tree, waiting to blow bambi to pieces. Not for me. Back to the topic though, people who shoot gar with bows, or catch them by hook and line and throw them on the bank need to be shot themselves. They dont destroy anything. Snakeheads do need to be removed because of how aggressive they are, not to mention they arent a native species.

Pescatoral Pursuit · April 2013

That's a really stupid thing to say.

Having said that, I used to "toss 'em up on the bank" because I thought they were competing with the more illustrious gamefish, but they really aren't to any significant degree.

But, if my pond somehow gets choked with gar or bowfin, well yah, "on the bank they go!"

mandaferret · April 2013

Pescatoral Pursuit wrote: »

Having said that, I used to "toss 'em up on the bank" because I thought they were competing with the more illustrious gamefish, but they really aren't to any significant degree.

But, if my pond somehow gets choked with gar or bowfin, well yah, "on the bank they go!"

Bowfin and gar have been around much longer than bass. Bass have evolved alongside them. If a pond has only gar and bowfin, it has another problem. Both species breathe surface air, which bass do not do, so they can survive in low oxygenated water.

bonephish · April 2013

mandaferret wrote: »

Bowfin and gar have been around much longer than bass. Bass have evolved alongside them.

Cajun folks here eat gar, bowfin and bass. In parts of Louisiana bowfin are called "tchoupique" or "choupique". :puke

Jim311 · April 2013

I've never eaten a bowfin but I have eaten gar. It has no flavor and is chewy in my opinion. When we bowfish for them I give the meat to Jesse, I'm not much interested in eating it.

ZimmerNole · April 2013

Chuck D wrote: »

Well I don't brag about it, but I LOVE catching jacks. If you told me on my next trip I would only catch jacks, I would head out right now. Beats being skunked by a long shot. Now puffers are a different story... but I don't kill em.

I'm with you 100%, except for the "head out right now" I usually target other fish but when the jacks are around there ain't anything much better.

Big 'ole Crevalle hitting a topwater and then taking off like a freight train = screeeaming drag

SaltyOsprey · April 2013

Chuck D wrote: »

Well I don't brag about it, but I LOVE catching jacks. If you told me on my next trip I would only catch jacks, I would head out right now. Beats being skunked by a long shot. Now puffers are a different story... but I don't kill em.

Personally, I'd take a Crevalle over a redfish snook or trout any day, the bottom line is that jacks fight harder and are more fun. It's not complicated, and I don't care what they taste like because I don't eat them. Plus we don't have to worry that every fish we cast to has been caught 7 times already and may be scared of the lure.

Pescatoral Pursuit · April 2013

SaltyOsprey wrote: »

Plus we don't have to worry that every fish we cast to has been caught 7 times already and may be scared of the lure.

LOL.

mandaferret · April 2013

SaltyOsprey wrote: »

Personally, I'd take a Crevalle over a redfish snook or trout any day, the bottom line is that jacks fight harder and are more fun.

I'd most like to catch one of each. That is the main appeal that freshwater "trash" have for me. Bass after bass after bass gets annoying.

What's the deal with rough fish?

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