Hunting team catches record-breaking alligator in Mississippi

VICKSBURG, MISSISSIPPI — A group of alligator hunters in Mississippi have set a new record for the longest gator caught in public water in that state.

The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks says the alligator measured over 13 feet 7 inches -- beating the last record holder by an eighth of an inch.

"When we put him in the boat we knew he was big. Bigger than any of the six of us good seeing it, caught or hoped to catch but the thought of a record never crossed our minds," says Tiffany Wienke.

"We didn't realize how much work it was actually going to be to put that nearly 700 pound alligator in this boat."

The monster gator was sold and will be processed for its meat and skin. The hunters say they don't do it for the pay, but for the adrenaline rush.

"It is time consuming. It's long hours. We were in the boat for 20 hours Friday night before we went back out Saturday night. But once you hook into something that big and you experience that controlled chaos you're at that animals mercy," says Wienke.

Cox Media Group