Spotted Gar Predation On Bluegill And Selected Forage Species

Fingerling spotted gar, Lepisosteus oculatus (Winchell), stocked at rates of 100 and 148 per acre into four Alabama ponds containing bluegills, Lepomis macrochirus, and fathead minnows, Pimephales promelas, failed to control crowding of bluegill within a 22-month experiment. Plastic-lined pools stocked with adult gar and equal numbers of bluegills, golden shiners, Notemigonus crysoleucas, largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides, and white catfish, Ictalurus catus, showed the least reduction in numbers of bluegill, followed by golden shiners, white catfish, and largemouth bass. An emaciated condition that developed in the largemouth bass may have contributed to their vulnerability.