Three hunters from Central Florida have taken down what may be the second-heaviest gator in Florida’s history.
Kevin Brotz is an alligator hunter and the owner of Get Bit Outdoors, a fishing supply store, in Orlando. He posted a picture on Facebook that showed the 920-pound gator he captured alongside Darren Field and Carson Gore.
Brotz captioned his post, “Gator for a lifetime.”
Brotz, in a telephone interview, said that the group had caught the 13-foot-long, nearly half-ton-ton, alligator early on Friday morning, August 25, in a local water.
Brotz said, “I’ve hunted alligators for clients and myself, but I’ve never encountered a monster like this.” We’re mounting the whole body for that reason. “He will forever be remembered.”
Brotz said it took him, Field, and Carson about four hours to land the gator.
Brotz stated that he has been a licensed charter captain and hunting guide for 20 years. He said that extremely large alligators have shown muscle degeneration, but the one pictured looked healthy.
Brotz recalls that it took two attempts for the trio to catch the gator.
According to Brotz, the alligator appeared to have crawled down to the bottom to try to outwait the other group.
“He didn’t death roll. Brotz stated that he was truly exhausted when he arose. It was like staring into the eyes of a T. Rex. It was surreal.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC) current weight records show that the heaviest alligator in the state weighed 1,043 lbs and measured 13 feet and 10.5 inches.
The gator was captured from Orange Lake, Alachua County.
The Florida FWC was contacted for comment on the record-breaking gator.
Brotz: “I never thought of that [potentially] when I first harvested the fruit.”
“It’d be amazing. It’s humbling. It’s very cool for our families. This is part of our livelihood, not just for income, but for pleasure. It’s a passion,” he added.
