A Northern Kentucky man made a huge catch while fishing in Texas earlier this month. Art Weston, of Union, Kentucky, was fishing with Capt. Kirk Kirkland, who runs a guide service on Lake Sam Rayburn in Texas on Sept. 2 when he made an impressive catch. Weston wrestled with the fish for about two hours and 45 minutes before he finally caught it. The fish weighed 283 pounds. This species is the crocodile gar, which is the largest species in the gar family and among the largest freshwater fish. “I’ve been targeting alligator gar on the light line for a few years now. Captain Kirk Kirkland and I have perfected this technique to give us the best chance of landing a large alligator gar that would qualify for an IGFA world record,” Weston said. WLWT. “This technique begins by setting a record that can be obtained on a given line class (the amount of force needed to break the line), and on this day, we were using 6-pound test line (with a 70-inch steel leader allowed), and we were hoping to get a runner of About 130 pounds or more to break the current record. What he didn’t expect was a 283-pound gar to grab the bait. The boat, and predict when it would rise to the surface to take a gulp of air (the alligator gar does this throughout the day). If luck is on our side, we can The guide has the boat positioned next to where the fish will float, allowing them to put a line on them to land the fish. Without this method, it would be nearly impossible to land a fish that size on only 6-pound test line. “Even with this technique, it was A surprising and exciting catch.” “The IGFA certified the scale and quickly put it back in the water and released it alive,” Weston said. Pound Jar from April.
A Northern Kentucky man made a huge catch while fishing in Texas earlier this month.
Art Weston, of Union, Kentucky, was fishing with Capt. Kirk Kirkland, who runs a guide service on Lake Sam Rayburn in Texas on Sept. 2 when he made an impressive catch.
Weston wrestled with the fish for about two hours and 45 minutes before finally reeling it in. The fish weighed 283 pounds. This species is the crocodile gar, which is the largest species in the gar family and among the largest freshwater fish.
“I’ve been targeting alligator gar on the light line for a few years now. Captain Kirk Kirkland and I have perfected this technique to give us the best chance of landing a large alligator gar that would qualify for an IGFA world record,” Weston said. WLWT. “This technique begins by setting a record that can be obtained on a given line class (the amount of force needed to break the line), and on this day, we were using 6-pound test line (with a 70-inch steel leader allowed), and we were hoping to get a run of about 130 pounds or more to break the current record.
What he didn’t expect was a 283-pound gar to take the bait.
“The method we use after the fish takes the bait is to follow the fish with the boat, anticipating when it will come to the surface to take a gulp of air (the alligator neighbor does this throughout the day). If luck is on our side, the guide can position the boat next to where the fish will float.” , allowing him to attach a line to land the fish. Without this method, it would be nearly impossible to land a fish that size” on only 6-pound test line. “Even with that technique it was an exciting surprise catch,” Weston said.
When approved, the catcher will beat the 72-year-old all-tackle record of 279 pounds who was 7’9, Weston said.
“We weighed the fish on an IGFA-certified scale, quickly returned it to the water and released it alive,” Weston said.
The IGFA said Weston currently holds several records for the species and has submitted additional pending records from his recent trip, including a pending record for a 251-pound gar from April.