VIDEO — ‘Catch of a Lifetime’: Mississippians Snag 802-Pound Alligator on First Day of Hunting Season

Hunters in Mississippi are reveling in the glory of catching a monster in the Yazoo River on Sunday, the opening day of alligator hunting season.

The group was in a 21-foot jon boat when the hunters used their skills to snag the big alligator, Field and Stream reported Thursday, noting that the creature weighed 802 pounds and was more than 14 feet long.

An image shows the hunters with their humongous catch:

Tag holder Megan Sasser was with several family members when they saw the gator, but they did not realize how big the creature was until they got closer.

The group was eventually able to snag it with treble hooks tied to stout bait casting rigs. It took the hunters an hour to fight the creature to get it close to their boat, but Sasser and the crew were eventually able to hook it. The Field and Stream article continued:

In Mississippi, hunters have to “secure” their gators before dispatching them with a gunshot. In order to do that, the crew snared the alligator in two different spots and pulled it right next to boat.

“We decided we were going to dispatch him, and then he started to death roll,” she tells F&S. “He rolled close to 10 times and tore up both of the poles we’d hooked him with. Finally, he stayed still long enough for us to dispatch him with a 20 gauge shotgun.”

Sasser later obtained the official measurements and said, “We were just a few pounds shy of the record weight, two inches short of the record length, and less than an inch shy of the girth measurement needed to break the state record, but we’re not disappointed. It was still the catch of a lifetime.”

In August 2023, other hunters in Mississippi set a state record when they caught a massive alligator, Breitbart News reported.

The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks said:

A new state record for the longest alligator harvested was broken today! They harvested this male alligator in the West Central Alligator Hunting Zone. He measured 14 feet and 3 inches long, with a belly girth of 66 inches and tail girth of 46.5 inches. He weighed 802.5 lbs!

According to WAPT, the alligator that Sasser and her team caught is estimated to be more than 60 years old, and it was caught on the first day of alligator hunting season.