215-Pound Monster Alligator Gar May Be a World Record; How Big Can These Prehistoric Fish Grow?

An alligator gar captured in Texas was so massive that they believed it could break records. Kirk Kirkland and his colleague shared how they got the rare catch.

Monstrous Alligator Gar May Be a World Record

According to a Texas fishing guide, a massive alligator gar caught in Texas may break the previous record for its species. Texas anglers Kirk Kirkland and Art Weston from Kentucky caught the 251-pound monster on Sunday, April 16, in the Trinity River close to Huntsville. Kirkland, who has over 100 world records for the International Game Fish Association (IGFA), calls himself the "world's best alligator gar guide," Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.

Kirkland published numerous images of the alligator gar, including one displaying a scale that indicated it weighed 251 pounds, and called the fish an "absolute monster" in a social media post.

Weston told Field & Stream that he used carp as bait to catch the alligator gar and that he and the fish had a 25-minute struggle. He admitted that they initially believed the gar to be a true alligator due to its strength.

He informed the publication that the gar could circle the boat at one point during the combat. Weston said they were incredibly fortunate to land her while she was still green. Captain Kirk could get the lasso around her when she first surfaced alongside the boat.

According to Field & Stream, the gar had a length of 90.5 inches and a girth of 45.5 inches. In a post on Facebook, Kirkland said the International Game Fish Association is considering the prehistoric fish as a potential world record. A 191-pound gar caught in the same river in 2015 holds the record for the 80-pound line class. Texas is where the majority of alligator gar world records have been set.

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How Big Can Alligator Gar Grow?

According to Florida Museum, the largest of the gar species and one of the biggest freshwater fishes in North America is the alligator gar. They are slow growing because female alligator gars achieve sexual maturity at roughly age 11 and live to be 50 years old.

Male alligator gars reach sexual maturity around age six and survive for at least 26 years. Most alligator gars reach a height of 6 1/2 feet (2 meters) and weigh over 100 pounds. (45kg). However, they can reportedly weigh up to 350 lbs. and are about 3 meters (10 feet) long.

Alligator gar grows swiftly as they get older. It can take many years for fish to grow to larger sizes. They can attain lengths of up to 30 inches by their first winter and more than 5 inches after just one month.

A six-foot alligator gar can weigh up to 100 pounds and is typically between 10 and 30. It could take 20 to 50 years to grow to be seven feet tall, according to Texas Parks & Wildlife.

Females are more likely than males to be over 6 feet tall since males rarely do. The current world record alligator gar was 8 feet 5 inches long and weighed 327 pounds when caught in Mississippi in 2011.

It was thought to be 95 years old. Although most fish won't live that long, some enormous specimens recently found in Texas have been estimated to be older than 60 years old.