Alligator gar is the focus for Mark Spitzer | TheCabin.net
In an American literature classic, Captain Ahab had an obsession about a whale, Moby Dick.
In real life, Mark Spitzer of Conway has focused intently on alligator gars, and one result is his highly entertaining book, “The Season of the Gar,” published by the University of Arkansas Press.
Spitzer teaches writing at the University of Central Arkansas, and his book accomplishes what probably most writers can’t achieve. He blends scientific facts, debunks persistent myths, works in environmental messages and keeps you chuckling and shaking a head.
Yes, he has a passion for gars in general and alligator gars in particular. He has pursued them widely, mostly in the South because that’s where most of today’s alligator gars are. They once were much more widely spread.
Spitzer, who lives at Lake Conway with wife Robin, even has a pet gar at his home — but it’s not an alligator gar.
Alligator gars today are scarce in Arkansas, largely due to human assaults on them. Mot prolific in reproduction, alligator gars drew heavy interest in Arkansas in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. People who called themselves sportsmen came from all over to fish or hunt for them, especially in the lower White River.
...alligator gar fishing nets - News
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Reeling 'em in: Getting the fish into the boat freshwater game fish smaller than the biggest blue catfish, flathead catfish or alligator gar. Select the net that works best for your fishing style. |
Everything but the beach
The head of this fish, originally from North America, is about one-third the length of its body, which can reach three meters. The alligator gar can live
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