A Georgia man may have gotten more than he bargained for when he bagged a 14-foot alligator on a recent hunting trip.
Derrick Snelson knew the gator was big, but it wasn’t until he got it into his boat that he realized just how big, Channel 2 Action News reported.
The alligator was 14 feet, 1¾ inches, and it weighed 700 pounds.
Snelson, who lives in Meriwether County, was hunting on Lake Eufala in Quitman County when he caught the gator, according to Channel 2.
“It was just unbelievable,” he said. “You really can't describe it ... It was just wild.”
Deck hand John Trammel said getting the alligator into the boat wasn’t exactly easy. It took the five-person crew more than five hours to reel it in.
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
“He was pulling us around all over the water at his leisure,” Trammel said.
When it was all said and done, Snelson and his daughter Shelby had a new state record.
Now, they have to figure out what to do with it.
“We'll have it life-size mounted. I guess I'll have to build a house around it,” Snelson joked. “It's gonna be a monster lying on the living room floor for a while."
Georgia’s alligator hunting season runs from early August to mid-October, according to Channel 2. Hunters need a special permit and the bag limit is one.
Snelson’s catch comes just months after locals spotted a 750-pound gator in a Sumter County ditch.
RELATED: Massive, 750-pound gator found in Georgia ditch
Wildlife officials said at the time that the 13-foot alligator grew so large by avoiding humans.
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