Oklahoma angler pulls in 192-pound alligator gar

An Oklahoma angler has set a new state record after reeling in a 192-pound, 1-ounce alligator gar last month.

James Tucker of Ardmore, Okla., landed the 7-foot, 7 1/2-inch-long behemoth Jan. 27 while fishing the state's Red River. The fish, with a girth measuring 3 feet, 3 inches, was confirmed by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation as a new state record last week. 

Tucker's fish broke the previous Oklahoma alligator gar record by more than six pounds. Sean Chatham, also from Ardmore, held the former record for a 184-pound, 3-ounce fish caught from the same river in 2006.

Though an impressive catch, Tucker's fish doesn't come close to the International Game Fish Assn. all-tackle world record for the species -- that distinction belongs to a 279-pounder pulled from the Rio Grande in Texas in 1951.

-- Kelly Burgess
twitter.com/latimesoutposts

Photo: James Tucker of Ardmore, Okla., landed a new state record alligator gar Jan. 27 when he landed this 192-pound, 1-ounce fish from the Red River. Credit: Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation

Comments

[Kelly Burgess]

Jones Kuppfer,

I posted an item on the 327-pound alligator gar later the same day this post ran ... here's a link to the item:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/outposts/2011/02/327-pound-alligator-gar-possible-new-world-record.html
thanks for reading, and commenting,
Kelly Burgess

[Jones Kuppfer]

This article already contains outdated info, and it's only 2 days old. A likely world-record 327lbs gar was caught in Vicksburg, MS on the 18th. Check the included URL.

http://www.aolnews.com/2011/02/17/327-pound-alligator-gar-may-be-biggest-ever-caught/

[Paul Walsh]

Check this out.Paul

[Hunter]

To Dean Blake,
HE DID .
I would have expected an animal-rights activist to recognize the "sling" the fish is resting on as a specially-designed apparatus to allow the powerful fish to be gently held next to the boat, brought ashore, weighed, and safely released.
It is used commonly for elongated fish such as pike, musky, gar and the like that don't fit properly into a traditional net.

[Dean Blake]

Throw it back.