Texas teen catches 7 foot, 5 inch 190-pound alligator gar

NEEDVILLE, Texas -- An 18-year-old from Needville has quite the fish tale!

Jack Pytel shared photos of his big catch - a 190-pound, 7'5" alligator gar.

He said he was in a creek near the Brazos River on Feb. 1 when he hooked the giant fish.

Thirty minutes later, he hauled it in.

Pytel said he usually releases his catches, but he gave this one to a friend's father.

It seems the alligator gar likes to put up a fight.

In Anahuac, two fishermen shared that they got a workout pulling in a 172-pound alligator gar on the end of a fishing line.

But though these are impressive, they're still not the biggest.

According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the state record for an alligator gar catch is 302 pounds. It was caught on a trotline in 1953.