Angler catches 153-pound monster after 4-hour battle in Texas. It’s a new record
A renowned Kentucky angler, who already caught dozens of world-record fish, is up to it again.
Art Weston’s latest catch — one that is going in the record books — was the most challenging of his life, he said in an April 9 Facebook post.
Weston, from Union, Kentucky, achieved his latest feat while fishing in Lake Livingston in Texas with his trusty guide, Kirk Kirkland.
Kirkland is the self-proclaimed “world’s best alligator gar guide” and has more than 100 International Game Fish Association world records. The pair often team up for world-record hunts.
He can add another record, as he helped Weston bring aboard an alligator gar that the angler said took four hours to land as they traveled 2 miles across the lake.
Their goal for the day was to catch a gar that weighed more than 110 pounds on a 2-pound test line, according to Sports Illustrated.
They shattered the previous record, hauling in a 153-pound beast.
“This particular fish was very difficult, swimming 8 to 12 feet below the boat, and even resting on the bottom for 10 or more minutes at a time,” Weston told Sports Illustrated.
Weston said the gar took hours to cooperate before they finally managed to secure a rope around the monster fish, Sports Illustrated reported.
The monster 153-pound gar was 7 feet, 3 inches long, Weston said. Once approved, the catch will set a new International Game Fish Association world record.
“A true 1% likelihood catch,” he said on Facebook.
MySanAntonio.com reports Weston “has obtained every line class world record for alligator gar.” Most of the catches occurred in Texas.
“People don’t regard it as much of a game fish, I don’t know why,” Weston told McClatchy News in 2024. “They are amazing, they can jump, they’re huge, they’re abundant.”
His latest catch will be his 81st world record, according to Sports Illustrated. As many as 39 of those records still stood as of November 2024.
“It doesn’t seem rational, but if you are really thinking through it, (the records) are obtainable,” the self-proclaimed “record-hunter” told McClatchy News.
Here’s a look at some of his other astounding catches:
This story was originally published April 14, 2025 at 12:50 PM with the headline "Angler catches 153-pound monster after 4-hour battle in Texas. It’s a new record."