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14-foot gator caught by Georgia man could be a state record

It took five people more than five hours to bag the 700-pound alligator.
 
Derrick Snelson, second from right, of Meriwether County, Ga., is believed to have set a state record when he bagged a 14-foot gator earlier this month on Lake Eufala.
Derrick Snelson, second from right, of Meriwether County, Ga., is believed to have set a state record when he bagged a 14-foot gator earlier this month on Lake Eufala. [ Facebook/Derrick Snelson ]
Published Sept. 9, 2019|Updated Sept. 9, 2019

A crew of five needed more than five hours to haul the gator into the boat.

Getting it into the living room could be an even bigger task.

Derrick Snelson of Meriwether County, Ga., is believed to have set a state record when he caught a 14-foot gator earlier this month, according to WSB-TV in Atlanta.

The gator, bagged on Sept. 1 on Lake Eufala in Quitman County, officially measured 14 feet, 1-3/4 inches and weighed 700 pounds, according to the station.

“It was just crazy," Snelson told WSB-TV’s Berndt Petersen. "The boat started going right to left, right to left. It was just wild.”

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Posted by Lethal Guide Service on Sunday, September 1, 2019

Deck hand John Trammel of Lethal Guide Service, which specializes in gator hunting and bowfishing, said he and Snelson knew they had something extraordinary on their hands when they pulled the gator alongside their boat.

“That’s when Derrick and I got most excited ...,” Trammel said. “We were pretty stoked at the moment knowing he could possibly be 14 foot or bigger.”

Snelson told the TV station he plans to have the gator stuffed and mounted at full size to display in his home.

“I guess I’ll have to build a house around it,” Snelson told WSB-TV. “It’s gonna be a monster lying on the living room floor for a while.”

The gator was caught during Georgia’s hunting season, which runs from early August to mid-October. Hunters need a special permit, and the bag limit is one.