IGFA Photo
Though alligator gar get to be the size of submarines, this 62-pound, 8 ouncer looks to be the largest ever taken on 16-pound test tippet and a fly rod and is a pending IGFA line class record.
Martin Arostegui of Coral Gables, FL, who has compiled more world records than anyone else in IGFA history, caught the big fish on Texas’ Lake Livingston on August 22, 2011 while working with Captain Kirk Kirkland.
Thirty minutes after the fish struck his custom fly, Arostegui was able to land, weigh and release the fish alive. With this catch, he kicked the living stuffing out of the current IGFA record, which is 24 pounds, 13 ounces!
Butch Krauth says
My first Alligator Gar was caught on the James River in South Dakota, I thought it was a hammer handle Northern Pike! When I reached down to remove the hook I saw teeth for days! I remember thinking “what the hell!”, so I used a stick to hold it’s trap open and removed the hook. I asked an old timer from Bridgewater what it was and he explained the mystery. Toothy critters indeed, but they eat young Walleyes and will never get respect from sportsmen.