Prehistoric Monster Fish Caught by Fisherman, Could Be Largest Ever

Forget about the catch of the day. Kentucky fisherman Art Weston angled the catch of a lifetime in the form of a record-breaking, prehistoric monster fish. Here is what you need to know about his epic score in Texas. 

Weston, 52, reeled in a massive alligator gar on his fishing trip led by expert guide and fisherman Captain Kirk Kirkland. Their goal? To hook a 130-pound fish. 

"It's one of the species that people travel from every country in the world to fish for, and we have the best population here in the Trinity River," Kirkland told Fox News.

Weston traveled to East Texas and went out on Kirkland's fishing boat, "Garship Enterprise," in Lake Sam Rayburn.

Kirkland detailed the catch in a Facebook post. "Well … Here it is the culmination of my guiding career… I have guided my client Art Weston to a anglers dream fish.We weighed measured and released the largest alligator gar ever caught with rod and reel and did it on 6 lb line, quite the accomplishment for both angler and guide," he wrote. 

He added that "it takes both to do everything right with lots of shifting forward and reverse, spinning the boat around, the angler putting just the right amount of drag ,not letting the line touch the boat and 2 hrs and 45 long minutes later I was able to get a rope on a very tired alligator gar."

"This old girl has seen a lot of carp come and go but the Malakoff carp did it for her. I had a very tired angler (Art ) he was shaking and visibly fatigued. He commented 'Kirk' it looks bigger than the 251 lb alligator gar we caught in April," he wrote. 

"I had really not looked that close until we took her the short boat ride to the beach to do the weight and measuring required to certify a IGFA WORLD RECORD," he continued. "WHEN I put the tape on her she was a amazing 100 inches long with a impressive 48 inch girth."

"We quickly set up our tripod system to get the weight of our catch. We both had a look of shock when the scale just kept going higher and higher…… when I got her tail off the ground we both said OMG this is a new all tackle world record," he added. 

"283 lbs this record has stood since 1951 for prospective that fish was 93" long. I won't lie we both jumped up and down as Art shouted we just beat a 72 yr old record…….We have digitally submitted the application at the end of the fishing trip Art will send the line and rest of the documents needed to be officially declared by the IGFA the new ALL TACKLE WORLD RECORD."

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"Art Weston and Captain Kirkland are both passionate conservation-minded anglers who continue to demonstrate that breaking barriers, and world records, is still possible within the sport of fishing," Jason Schratwieser, president of the IGFA, told Fox News Digital in a statement. "Catches like this are the result of months of meticulous planning and preparation, including an understanding of IGFA Angling Rules which promote ethical sportfishing practices." If approved, he confirmed that the records will beat existing feats that have been held for more than 70 years "resulting in one of the greatest recreational angling achievements to happen this decade."