Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Fisherman hooks prehistoric 200-pound alligator snapping turtle before catching monster al

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A Kentucky angler has found himself back in Texas to reel in some massive monsters.

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.
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While fishing on the Sam Rayburn Lake, a Kentucky angler named Art Weston reeled in something a bit different from his usual catch: a 200-plus-pound alligator snapping turtle. (Art Weston)

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Ready to find another beast, the duo ended up reeling in something truly unexpected.

Weston and Kirkland came close on three different occasions to catching another world record-sized alligator gar, but couldn't hold on after spending nearly an hour-and-a-half battling with one, Weston told Fox News Digital.

The massive fish pulled the two into a "stumpy area" of Sam Rayburn Lake, which ended up being the perfect spot to fight off another monster.

"The only consolation was a very unusual and unplanned catch: a 200-plus-pound alligator snapping turtle," Weston said.

ALLIGATOR GAR CAUGHT IN TEXAS WEIGHING 283 POUNDS SHATTERS MULTIPLE RECORDS: 'FOUR IN ONE FELL SWOOP'

"When the turtle took the bait, Kirk had a good idea it was a turtle based on the way it was fighting, and he was right, as it came to the surface quickly. What we didn’t expect was how big it was," Weston added.
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Captain Kirk Kirkland, the professional fishing guide who was assisting Weston, knew they had a turtle on the line because of how it was fighting, but he had no idea how monstrous it was. (Art Weston)

The two men had to be careful to protect themselves and to make sure the reptile was safely placed back into the water.

"We had to remove the hook from his foot and [this reptile's] bite can remove fingers — so you have to be extra careful with them. They also have to be released unharmed since they are a protected species," Kirkland told Fox News Digital.

Weston and Kirkland were able to skillfully remove the hook and avoid getting bitten by the large reptile before releasing it back into the lake.

ANGLER HOPES 27-POUND SMALLMOUTH BUFFALO FISH SHATTERS TEXAS RECORD

"The entire time, the turtle was tracking my movements and had its mouth open ready to strike if I made the wrong move," Weston said.

"We were able to get it back in the water after just a few minutes," Weston said.
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Weston and Kirkland carefully removed the hook from the reptile before the men released it back into the water. They also did not want to accidentally harm the reptile because it is a protected species. (Art Weston)

A catch of this size is rare and remarkable because of the reclusive nature of the protected reptile.

"They are a very old, slow-growing species that are rare to see outside of the zoo, much less catch," Kirkland added.

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.
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Weston and Kirkland also caught an extremely large alligator gar on a four-pound line the next day. They're currently waiting to hear back from the IGFA on the pending record. (Art Weston)

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.

Weston and Kirkland brought a sling with them, which they used as a cradle for the gar while weighing it on the shoreline before releasing it back into the water.

Weston and Kirkland have submitted the world-record application for their latest alligator gar catch.

Read more from FOX News Digital

Man that’s a biggun! I wish they had better pics of it. I reckon you have to be careful with the photo opps around a turtle that size.
Don’t see many of the alligator snappers around here anymore.

edited to add:
The biggest one I ever saw was at the Cincinnati zoo when I was a kid. It looked like a four footer.

The guide's name is Capt Kirk

Nuff said

Thing is huge, probably eats geese whole.
Not sure of the specific species but there are some whoppers in NW Florida.

Holy Schit!

X2.

I'd really like to have a BIG snapping turtle shell to hang with some other taxidermy. Problem is, by the time they get big enough for me to want the shell, they're also old enough that I'm not just going to kill one to keep the shell and I'm probably not going to eat it either.

There’s one big as a truck tire at a little local aquarium right down the road here. They feed him whole raw chickens. His heads as big as a football and feet as big as a man’s hand.

When he was caught the university and the wildlife department studied him and concluded that he was over 150 years old. Pretty cool to think about what has happened in his lifetime. Being an Okie he’s seen the buffalo herds, wild Indians, the settlers coming and breaking out the prairie, and who knows what else.

I wanna know how they get a 188 pound gar on 4 pound line?? Do they actually reel it, or simply follow it around until they can get a gaff in it??

You know that Captain Kirk directed his life in such as way as to be certain to one day hold the title of captain of something.

Here’s a fish story for you. Several years back I was trout fishing in a tributary of the New River in the NC mountains. Had 3 fish on a stringer tied to my waders while fishing the tail end of a run. Realized something big was moving toward me from downstream. It was a snapping turtle where I didn’t even know they lived. And it was coming for my fish. It ended up less than 3 feet from MY feet before it stopped. It’s shell was at least 2 feet long and it’s head the size of a cantaloupe. Picked up a rock from the shallows behind me and dropped it on the turtle. Then did it again along with some foot shuffling before the thing moved off!!! It did not have the shell decorations of the Alligator Snapper but the head was unmistakable. Cool sighting.

They should have shot that SOB. Fish and duck killing machines.

I doubt he remembers any of it.

Interesting the article said the fishermen had to remove the hook from the turtle's foot. I caught a fair-sized snapper once while bass fishing. I was flipping a jig and pork in flooded bushes and felt what I thought was a bass, set the hook, and had a hell of a tussle with a snapping turtle. This one was maybe 16" across the shell. I thought it odd that I hooked the snapper in the foot. After reading that article, I wonder if maybe turtles pin their food down with a foot while getting a good solid bite with their beaked mouths.

I dunno how those ones taste. But Common Snappers are good eating.
- jake

I'd want a set of bolt-cutters w/2' handles. I wouldn't want to be anywhere near the beak.

We have those here. I have caught several on trot lines. Some were big but not that big.

I remember as a kid seeing a huge snapping turtle (not nearly as big as the one in the story) running (by turtle standards) along on the road in front of my house, heading for the golf course (just three houses down the road) where there were several water hazards. Likely just finished laying some eggs on someone's lawn.

Pretty much!
....and they dang well better have a wire leader.
The way they treat alligator gar these days, I'd also wager they ain't gonna stick a gaff in it either!
Bet'cha they practice catch and release!

I found a large dead alligator gar washed up on the rip rap on the Arkansas River when I was a kid. It was a good 6-7 footer.

Snappers and soft shelled turtles have very long necks and are pretty quick to crank around and grab a finger or hand.

I saw a big alligator snapper in the St Marks river flounder gigging. The body was about the size of a 55 gallon barrel. The head was about as big around as a five gallon bucket. The beast filled the hole in the bend of the little creek just off the river. I’ll never forget it.