Teen Reels In 12-Foot Gator With Bass Pole
HOBE SOUND (CBS4) – A Hobe Sound teen reeled in a really big one late last week, but it wasn't a large mouth bass or a tarpon.
Instead, 19-year old Tim Stroh hooked a 12 foot long, 800 pound alligator with his bass fishing pole.
Stroh had gone out last Friday with his parents gator hunting when they heard there was a big one hanging out near the locks of the St. Lucie River. After about an hour, they spotted it.
"We slowly crept up on it," said Stroh.
He then hooked it, then wrestled it toward the boat and finally had it right up beside it.
"He came up he was popping his jaw and stuff," said Stroh.
"I was a little intimidated," said Tim's father Steve Stroh.
They first hit the gator with a bang stick which was loaded with a .45 caliber shell. They then harpooned it, hauled it into the boat and then got it home where it quickly became the focus of family photos.
Tim and his dad, who happens to be a taxidermist, don't need pictures for proof of this catch.
They've got the gator in the family freezer.
"I'm going to mount the head for him so he can put it in his room," said Steve's dad.
Tim Stroh said he's saving space on his wall. As for what's next, Stroh said still has that fishing rod and a new goal in mind "go out and try to find one bigger."
Florida Fish and Wildlife officials say there have been bigger gators caught in Florida. The longest was more than 14 feet and the heaviest weighed more than 1,000 pounds.
