If you have ever been fishing in Texas you might have heard stories about catching massive alligator gar. These fish are bridges to our prehistoric past.

They have been unchanged for more than 60 million years. When you find an extremely large example they are usually well over 100 years old.

Payton Moore is a YouTuber from Sugar Land, Texas with over 85K subscribers following his fishing channel, WILD LIFE. The video of him catching this fish on May 7th, 2022 has so far garnered almost half a million views.

Texas Man Catches 300 Pound Alligator Gar In Houston Bayou

Moore will not reveal the exact location where he caught the gar in an effort to protect this native species. If you fish in the area you might recognize this stretch of the Houston Bayou.

Though the fish was too large to weigh on the banks of this river, he estimated the weight to be almost 300 pounds. He did this through measurements and years of experience.

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Instead of potentially killing the fish to see if it was a world record, the YouTuber released the monster as quickly as he could to give it the best chance at survival.

Alligator Gar Play A Key Role In The Ecosystem In Texas Lakes And Rivers

If you are looking for Alligator Gar, just find a river or stream that drains into the Gulf Of Mexico. They can also be found helping maintain healthy numbers of many other fish species in Lake Sam Rayburn and Toledo Bend.

This one was caught on an entire half of a mullet head. Take a look at the video below.

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