I Caught The BIGGEST FISH You've Ever Seen! (300lb MONSTER!)

In this episode I catch a true river monster: an alligator gar several inches over eight feet long and estimated in the neighborhood of 300lb! Very few fish like this even still exist. Alligator gar are a native species that play a key role in their environment. Efforts to expand protections for these incredible animals is ongoing but in the meantime, should you catch one like this, be sure to release it alive! Check out some of these links below to learn more about the alligator gar and the need to protect them...

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[michaelshaw]

An absolute privilege to share a once in a lifetime moment. I hope that beautiful creature adds to the gene pool and that it’s progeny thrive in the future. One further example of just how vital it is to protect and maintain the ecosystems that these amazing animals live in.

[KitchenOnTheLeft]

Man, it’s been a few days and I’m still blown away by this. Genuinely, I don’t think the average person could have pulled this off between the snags and the sheer size of this fish. Years of hard work and experience have led up to this catch, and the respect you gave the fish is the icing on the cake. Makes me proud to be a subscriber and a patron!

[COLE_and_JAY]

I hope this vid gets 10 million views. That was incredible!

[patrickbrown]

The skills that you need as a fisherman to not only keep him on the line and pull him in, the entire process shows your skills are extraordinary!

[damongwinn]

I'm not even close to what you would call a fisherman, but I definitely felt the emotion of your catch. Outstanding job and I look forward to more of your catch and releases

[justenhearn]

Congratulations brother! As an angler I can appreciate the tears of catching a fish of such caliber. While gar themselves are not rare gar of that size are. And when you think about its age that gar could be upwards of 90+ yrs. Probably closer to 95+ yrs. The things that gar has seen under the depths the rivers it's traveled. Truly a remarkable catch. Great job bubba!

[wildlifefishingshow]

Hey everyone! Thanks for watching. As ALWAYS, I'm sure there will be many among you who are very upset about my estimation of this fish's weight. For those of you that will read this comment before sounding off, here's how I came to the figure of 300lb...

I measured the fish's length three separate times and with three separate methods (nose to tail, tail to nose, and the old big game hunting method of "between the pegs") and this fish is 8 feet and 2 inches on the dot. I even held my 8 foot rod over it's back and there was extra fish on both sides. Unfortunately, in my haste to return it to the water, I did NOT measure the girth (better for the fish, at least). HOWEVER, as I lied next to it and attempted to hold it and struggled very hard to maneuver it for the camera, it was abundantly clear this fish was bigger around than my entire chest and shoulders together, which tape at 47 inches. So I don't know the exact girth, but I know it was AT LEAST 47 INCHES. If you "don't think it looks that big" remember you only have a 2D format to view it and I actually held the thing. Remember also this measurement on a person is an oval and on the fish it's closer to a circle, something a 2D format can really betray if you just focus on shoulder width.


Another very easy way to do this is to hold your arms in a circle (as you would bear hug someone or, in my case, that fish). As long as you put your hands on your wrists where they were when your arms were completely around the fish's midsection, you can get that girth measurement pretty easy. I moved the fish between takes and used a gable grip with my arms completely full of fish... about 49 inches.


SO, using more than one formula (which actually leave out multiple variables that can contribute to weight) and comparing it with the very few other fish of this size ever recorded (length, girth, and weight), it is well OVER 270lbs AT THE VERY LEAST and quite possibly OVER 300lbs... Stating the fish is about 300lb is 100% reasonable no matter how you look at it.

I am also well aware that you might very well have seen a fish bigger than this (I mean, sharks are thing, lol). First, I'm talking about this particular species and second, It's called 'marketing.' Just making that bag.
Also, I don't really care if you're mad about these things just so long as you watch the video and comment and bunch... As Floyd Mayweather says, it doesn't matter WHY people buy the tickets...

AND REMEMBER...

If you take ANYTHING away from this video it should be the very good news that fish of this size are still here and that they are worthy of our protection! Alligator gar are incredible animals and are very important to the ecosystems they inhabit!

[iamchaunceman]

I’ve seen hundreds of gar growing up in N Texas, but most were streams and tributaries flooded from the trinity. Seeing one like THAT is incredible. The snouts and teeth compared to the ones I’ve seen this one was a dinosaur. And apparently, that’s what it basically is. Good on you for documenting this and letting it go. Something that rare and awesome deserves to get back to living.

[johnpaparella]

What I'm about to tell you is absolutely true.
About three years ago I built about a one acre pond in the back part of the property and stocked it with bass and bluegill. I was fishing the pond last fall when, to my surprise, I hooked an alligator gar twice the size of your gar, then my girlfriend woke me up.

[gerardoshaughnessy]

That was truly the fish of a lifetime. Well done .

[rew]

Absolutely amazing! Not only were you able to get that fish on the end of your line, get it up close enough to see it, but then to land it and successfully and release it by yourself is just awesome! Congratulations man and thanks for sharing it with the world!

[akennas]

I grew up in Texas, and as a Boy Scout went several times to Worth Ranch Scout Reservation on the Brazos River. One year when a buddy and I were canoeing mid-river, I looked to my left at a log besides the canoe. Only it had scales. And eyes. And a toothy snout. The alligator gar (easily over six feet) looked at us, we looked at it, and after lazily swimming parallel to us for a minute, slowly veered away and submerged. Over fifty years later, and that experience is still vivid.

[rheverend]

I really appreciate the skill and strength it takes to land a fish like this, and I’m so thankful when the animal is released again back into the waters. It’s tragic to me that so many large, amazing animals are killed after surviving for so long

[exe]

What a beautiful and powerful moment between two incredible species.

[johndoe.]

It must be a very odd experience for the gar- it's swimming around doing its thing, gets hooked pulled into another dimension and spooned by an alien haha. Fish encounters of the third kind!

Congrats on pulling that thing in. It's freakin' huge.

[kawaiichan]

I just want to say thank you for your ethical fishing. You could have easily risked the fish's life to weigh it. But, chose to do the right thing so this monster can get even more epic. Well done!

[bobcat]

Wow! That was truly amazing! I am so proud and thankful that you do the right thing… you handle these fish carefully and release them to spread their genes and to give someone else the possibility to experience what you experienced making this great catch. There are way too many selfish anglers out there who kill any trophy fish they happen to catch without any regard. Way to go! Great example, and just incredible how you keep topping all your previous videos. As for alligator gar… if you top this, you just may be setting the new world record

[OkraPlutonium]

Dude thank you so much for filming this! I can't imagine how awesome this was for you, I'm so glad we got to share it with you. It IS emotional!

[ykzna]

Big fish story, only real very very real. Congrats 👏

[ClayConnelly]

Absolutely epic! The exact number doesn't matter to me, the eye test says it was a once-in-a-lifetime catch, bigger than the vast majority of people who watch this. I'd love to see you explore the Amazon for Arapaima and other monsters!