Not FF: The 234 pound alligator gar

Attachment 9316I thought this would be of interest because it is a huge freshwater fish. Not sure how it was caught as the release below is not very specific.

Vicksburg, MS, July 6, 2011 - It?s official! The 234 pound alligator gar harvested by Robert Belk and Randy Rippy in the Yazoo River on June 24 has been certified as a new Mississippi Trophy Record by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks according to record keeper, Tom Holman. The gar was 7 feet 2 inches long and 43.5 inches around the middle. Trophy record status is awarded to fish caught with gear other than hook-pole-and-line and excludes fish caught with commercial fishing gear.

?It?s amazing that fish of this size still swim in our state waters? said Holman. ?This one smashed the old record set almost 20 years ago by 59 pounds.?

The Department is looking into using alligator gar as a means of controlling Asian carp populations in Delta lakes impacted by the 2011 Flood. (Phote courtesy of Allen Katzenmeyer, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)

Archery??? Quite common to 'hunt' these with bows.

looks like a bow fishing arrow sticking out of it..