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http://wtvr.com/2013/09/03/727-pound-alligator/ (http://wtvr.com/2013/09/03/727-pound-alligator/)

It might be a state record, but 13 feet?  The biggest American Alligator ever measured was 18 feet, 11 inches!!

Being you're from Texas, I always wondered..this is a bit off-topic, but on River Monsters it was said that the largest Alligator Gar (a very interesting and downright prehistoric fish) was 14 feet long.  It's supposed to be hanging up in some bar somewhere if I remember right. Is that a true story or did the fish grow as the fishermen lifted their weight 12 ounces at a time?  :wink:   

I've heard of gar up to 11 feet and have personally seen one about 8, but 14 foot seems awfully big . . .

It's still an impressive catch; some of those pictures look like stills from a swamp-based JAWS rip-off!  :bouncegiggle:

Having said that, is it wrong to feel sorry for the alligator?  Yes, I know there are too many of them, but still, to have lived so long...

I can agree.  They are interesting and largely harmless creatures; I would have been happy to photograph it and send it on its way.

That's still a respectable fish, to be sure. Thanks for the info!  What gets my interest is that this is the same fish that swam alongside the dinosaurs millions of years ago, and hasn't changed one bit. I also find it fascinating that their scales are so hard that the local Indian tribes say they used them for arrowheads. That's really something! Anyhow, back to gators..

There are several records for the alligator gar. According to Wikipedia, the largest alligator gar (in weight) was caught bowfishing and weighed in at 365 lbs. The next largest was caught using a net and weighed in at 327 libs and measured 8 ft. 5 in. in length and 4 ft. around the middle. It was caught near Vicksburg, Mississippi in February, 2011 and is on display at the Mississippi Museum of National History in Jackson, Mississippi. And the largest caught using a rod and reel weighed in at 279 lbs. Now, back to our sponsor IZOD.

There's a bigger one.  Louisiana had a 19.2 foot one. 

There are NOT, and yes, it is fine to feel sorry about the murder of such a magnificent creature.  Here in Michigan they were dragging the lake looking for a missing man and found a 5.5-foot gator living there.  If you think it take a long time for a Texas gator to get to that size, think how long it takes for a gator in Michigan to reach even 5 feet long, being forced to hibernate half of each year.  He must have been there practically forever.