Art Weston and Kirk Kirkland set out on Lake Livingston near Houston on April 8 with the specific aim of catching a world-record fish. Weston was fishing with a two-pound test line, which means that a force of more than two pounds could snap the line. However, a swimming fish usually doesn't apply as much force as lifting a dead weight. Still, it takes finesse to bring in a fish that greatly outweighs the strength of the fishing line. Weston, a champion fisherman, was up to the challenge.
They caught an alligator gar that was seven feet, three inches long and weighed 153 pounds! That was after chasing the fish for four hours, twice as long as Weston had predicted. This catch could very well be a world record for a two-pound test line. That decision will rely on the photographs and measurements that Weston and Kirkland took, since they then released the alligator gar back into the water. Weston is an avid fisherman, but he's also a conservationist. Alligator gar can live for decades and grow to several hundred pounds, and you can't replace a fish like that. Read about the catch and see plenty of pictures at Smithsonian.
(Image credit: Art Weston via Facebook)
