A gargantuan alligator gar caught in Texas may shatter the previous world record for its classification, a Texas fishing guide says.
The 251-pound beast was caught Sunday, April 16, by Kentucky angler Art Weston, who teamed up with Kirk Kirkland for the capture in the Trinity River near Huntsville, Texas, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Kirkland is the self-proclaimed “world’s best alligator gar guide” who has more than 100 International Game Fish Association world records.
In a social media post, Kirkland described the fish as an “absolute monster.” He shared several photos of the alligator gar, including one of a scale showing it to be 251 pounds.
Weston told Field & Stream he caught the gar using carp for bait, and he and the fish battled it out for 25 minutes.
Interviewed by the Houston Chronicle, Weston said they initially thought the gar was an actual alligator because of how strong it was. At one point during the battle, the gar was able to turn the boat around in a circle, he told the publication.
“We were very lucky to land her while she was still green,” Weston told Field & Stream. “The first time she surfaced by the boat, Captain Kirk was able to get the lasso around her.”
The gar was 90.5 inches long with a girth of 45.5 inches, according to Field & Stream.
Kirkland said the gar is a pending world record with the International Game Fish Association. The current world record for the 80-pound line class is a 191-pound gar caught in the same river in 2015.
Most of the IGFA world records for alligator gar occurred in Texas.
Alligator gar can live for decades, with ones 7 feet long often 40 years old, according to Texas Parks & Wildlife. The Texas state record, captured in a different way than Weston’s, was 302 pounds and was “caught on a trotline in 1953,” state officials said.
Weston’s fish was released back to the river, according to the Chronicle and Fish & Stream. Kirkland specializes in catch-and-release angling, his website says.
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