Mississippi Crew Catches ’13-Foot Monster’ Alligator from Reservoir

A group of Mississippi hunters pulled in an unbelievably large catch from the Ross Barnett Reservoir.

According to local outlet the Clarion Ledger, the impressive 13-foot, ½-inch alligator, weighing an estimated 600 to 700 pounds, was landed by Joe Wyrick from Coldwater, Miss., along with his 13-year-old son, Ryan Ragsdale, Hunter Parrett from Weir, Miss., and Camron Massey from Hernando, Miss.

“Everything went perfect,” Wyrick told the outlet. “Everybody worked so well together. Everybody knew what to do, when to do it, and nobody had to say anything. We put the shot on him in 15 minutes.”

Before making the big catch, the group had been spotting smaller alligators through the night. Alligator hunting season in Mississippi is currently open, with the state’s public waters hunting season closing at the end of Sept. 8, according to the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks.

On Aug. 31, Wyrick had his eyes on something larger. “Everything I’d heard, they were saying an 11-footer was a big size to get out of there,” he said. “I had no idea I’d pull a 13-foot monster out of there.”

The hunters first noticed the animal near the bank after 11 p.m. “We actually stopped in that spot to get a smaller gator and just happened to see him hanging out under some [tree] limbs near the bank,” Wyrick said. “Hunter knew it was a big gator. We just didn’t know how big.”

When the alligator surfaced, the team cast their line. “We hooked into him, and he started dragging the boat around,” recalled Massey. “It was crazy.”

Parrett quickly secured the animal with a hand line, which he said was critical for safety. Additional lines and a harpoon followed before the hunters subdued the gator. The fight reportedly lasted about 15 minutes.

“It was the easiest gator I’ve ever caught,” Parrett said. “Everything just kind of fell into place.”

Despite the relatively short battle, the size of the reptile made it a challenge to load. Wyrick and Massey estimated the reptile weighed close to 700 pounds. The hunters received assistance from another crew with loading the alligator all the way onto the boat.

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“If it wouldn’t have been for them, I don’t know how we’d got that gator in the boat,” Parrett said of the hunting party that stopped to help. “It took five of us to get him in.”

For Wyrick, the adventurous experience was just what he was looking for. “It was all I wanted, I can tell you that,” he said.