I saw my first Alligator Gar

We rode to St Marks and had lunch, watched the boats glide by on the river. Two little boys were fishing off the dock of the restaurant when one managed to hook a large fish. It put up a struggle and most of the diners inside the restaurant wanted to see what he caught.

Can you see the long nose of the fish being pulled out of the river?


Being extremely curious, yet afraid of fish, I walked out and took some photos and asked questions.

This is an alligator gar. It has teeth...sharp teeth. I am vindicated for all the times I have stated I'm afraid to go in the water because the fish will bite me.




You see....the teeth are sharp!



Some people asked if you could eat it and the boy who caught the fish said yes, there was a tenderloin along here (as he pointed to an area of the fish) and said it tasted like chicken. One guy asked what he used as bait - It was a piece of squid.

I don't know about you, but I tend to assign a human thought process to animals..mostly dogs, cats and the like....but this fish. I kinda felt sorry for him as he ended his life on that dock with people snapping his picture. With the fish hearing he has a tenderloin that will be eaten. I imagined him thinking "I shouldn't have eaten that squid" and "oh this sucks"

The alligator gar was fairly large.....the boy had to hold the mouth shut so he wouldn't be bitten.



So, most likely the fish doesn't have the thought process I assigned him. I'm just not a fishing kinda girl. And I still am afraid I will be bitten by a fish...great place to live....... Florida... when you're afraid of fish :-)

It was a gorgeous day though...the weather wasn't bad, blue sky, temps lower than usual in the morning......nice.



Oh, the seafood chowder at The Riverside Cafe in St Marks is wonderful! So is the grilled cheese.