Six men in Alabama hauled in a massive gator on Lake Eufaula August 14 that measured 13-feet 6-inches and weighed about 920 pounds, according to AL.com.
The reptile was caught by friends Scott Evans, Jeff and Justin Gregg. The gator was weighed at Dixon Lumber Co., AL.com reports.
It was caught on opening day for gator hunting on Eufaula, a 45,000-acre lake that is nationally known for its bass and crappie fishing.
The gator, which should produce about 250 pounds of meat, “won’t go to waste,” Evans told AL.com. He is planning a Labor Day cookout.
“It was surreal,” Evans said. “We weren’t expecting anything that big.”
It took six men, including two Alabama conservation officers, to pull in and secure the 13-foot 6-inch gator, according to AL.com. Evans’ group snagged the big gator almost immediately after starting their hunt Friday night, the opening day for gator hunting at Lake Eufaula. Apparently, the alligator got out of the first hook. Evans and his friends continued to follow it about another 75 yards and hooked it for the second time.
The alligator is believed to be the Lake Eufaula record, which goes by length not weight.
The gator is believed to be the second heaviest alligator ever killed during a regulated hunt in Alabama, just behind last year’s world record 15-foot 9 inch alligator, which weighed in at 1,011.5 pounds.
Alabama’s alligator population has grown to the extent that they pose a nuisance in many areas, according to the Alabama DNR. It says implementing a regulated alligator hunt on a small scale is an important step toward controlling populations and better managing this unique reptile. All successful applicants for the hunt are required to attend and complete the Alligator Training Course provided by the Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries staff offered in Eufaula or elsewhere in the state.