Father and son hook 162 pound alligator gar in Alabama, setting new state record

A father and son who were fishing in the Mobile-Tensaw Delta, have caught a record-breaking giant alligator gar.

Keith Dees and his son, Huntley, caught a 162 pounds alligator gar while fishing in Alabama.

"About 11:30 we decided to fish one more spot. I made a cast and about half way back to the boat my chatterbait just went slack," Dees said in a Facebook post. "Reeling as fast as I could, I got it tight just before I saw a big fish swim by my trolling motor. Had no idea what it was until it surfaced after about 30 minutes."

At first, Dees thought he had hooked a redfish, but when the animal finally surfaced the pair realized it was an alligator gar—and a large one at that, measuring around seven feet in length.

"When it comes up, I knew it was big, but I didn't even remotely know it was a state record," Dees said.

"That never crossed my mind. I love to cook, so I thought I want to catch this joker so we can eat him," he said. "I've got a bunch of Cajun friends, and they take it and cut it in steaks and blacken it and do medallions. It's just delicious. I'm thinking I'm about to get a bunch of freezer meat."

Around two and half hours after hooking the alligator gar in the Mobile-Tensaw Delta, Dees and his son finally managed to get a rope around the giant fish's head and eventually dragged it into their boat.

"When he hit the boat, we cut up like two schoolgirls, like nobody is going to believe this happened," Dees said.

The pair had the fish officially weighed at Orange Beach Marina with the scales registering at 162 pounds. This is larger than the previous Alabama state record for an alligator gar, which weighed 151 pounds. The latest catch was subsequently certified as a state record by the Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division of the DCNR.

What is Alligator Gar?

Alligator gar is a ray-finned euryhaline fish related to the bowfin in the infraclass Holostei. It is the largest species in the gar family.

They are among the largest fish in North America, commonly growing up to around 6.5 feet in length and more than 100 pounds in weight, although larger specimens have been recorded.

The known range of the alligator gar, which is found in the Mississippi River basin, extends from southwestern Ohio, southeastern Missouri, and Illinois, to parts of the Gulf Coast and small portions of northeastern Mexico.

The fish has disappeared from much of its historic range as a result of habitat destruction and indiscriminate culling.

The animal's name refers to its distinctive alligator-like snout and sharp teeth. Alligator gars are often referred to as "living fossils" because their fossil record dates back nearly 100 million years.