Kentucky Angler Reels in Two Creatures Out of Another Time

Some things just deserve a shellebration.

In Texas, a Kentucky angler hit a double of sorts, landing first a 200-pound alligator snapping turtle, then a possible world-record alligator gar - on four-pound fishing line.

Art Weston, state and world record fisherman, returned to Sam Rayburn Lake in the hope of setting another International Game and Fishing Association record.
Last year, with the help of professional fishing guide Captain Kirk Kirkland, Weston set the all-tackle world record after reeling in a 293-pound alligator gar on a six-pound line, as Fox News Digital reported.

On this latest trip, the turtle was the first catch, and an interesting catch it was; the alligator snapping turtle (Macrochelys temminckii) is quite literally a creature out of time. Look at one and you're looking at a critter that would not have been at all out of place crawling around the feet of the dinosaurs.

Ditto for the next catch:

The next day, the Kentucky angler and his fishing guide went back to the lake in hopes of getting their hands on another record-shattering alligator gar.
After an hour of fighting a large alligator gar on a four-pound line, Weston and Kirkland landed another record.
"We knew it was a record right away due to its size, and quickly navigated to the shore to weigh and record the catch, so that we could quickly release it alive and well," Weston said.
The anglers ended up securing the gar, which weighed 188 pounds, on a four-pound line — shattering the previous record of a 117-pound gar on the same small line.

All this has tortoise a lesson; never underestimate what kind of a big, toothy critter you can bring to a boat on a four-pound line.

When I was a young man back in Iowa, we used to fish for channel and flathead catfish in the Upper Mississippi Wildlife Refuge, fishing that usually consisted of running a trotline with 30-40 hooks baited with chicken liver between two islands, building a big bonfire on one island, drinking beer all night, then hauling in our catch in the morning. It wasn't as fun or as challenging as what Art Weston pulled off, in bringing in those two monsters; although rumor always had it that in the deep water under the spillways on the lock and dam system on the Mississippi dwelled some truly large catfish more than capable of holding a human diver under water until he drowned.

I never saw that rumor confirmed; no doubt if fish like that did exist, the animal rights groups would try to give them legal status.

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At any rate, Mr. Weston deserves accolades, not only for his world record catch but for doing it with a fish line that is little than spiderweb. I've heard some fishy tales in my time, but this one is turtely amazing.

This event reminds me of the tale of two guys fishing along a river, an old man and a young man. The old man sees a snapping turtle floating down the river towards him; with a shout of rage, he leaps into the water, drags the turtle out onto the bank, pummels it, then grabs it by the tail, spins around and around, finally flinging it back into the water with shouted curses. "What did you do that for?" the young man demanded.

The old man held up his left hand, which was missing the pinkie finger. "I was fishing in this same spot forty years ago. A snapping turtle bit my finger off. That's the same turtle, and when I saw him, I just couldn't help myself."

"How could you possibly tell it was the same turtle?" the young man asked.

"Oh," the old man replied, "That's easy. I have turtle recall."

I'll show myself out.