A Texas teen and his dad got more than they bargained for after being selected as two of the lucky recipients of 10 alligator permits awarded tis year by the Texas Parks and Wildelife Department. 18-year-old Braxton Bielski was on his first-ever alligator hunt, a five-day excursion with his father that would prove to make headlines.
The teen hunter claimed a record catch on the Choke Canyon Reservoir: a monstrous gator coming in at 14 feet, 3 inches and a whopping 800 lbs.
Braxton chose one of the lines as his set; the other would be his dad’s. When the two hunters returned the next morning, they realized they had their work cut out as both lines were down indicating they had two alligators hooked. A hook and line set baited with raw meat is used to catch the alligator; only after it has been hooked can a gator be dispatched at close range with a firearm.
They weren’t the only ones having a successful first day. All the hunters participating in the hunt had landed gators, which proved equally challenging for the WMA staff.
Learn more about the catch as well as Texas’ application process.
