Fort Bend teen sets Texas record with monster alligator

Braxton Bielski caught the record 800-pound alligator using raw chicken as bait during a special state hunt on the Choke Canyon Reservoir, 90 miles south of San Antonio. Braxton Bielski caught the record 800-pound alligator using raw chicken as bait during a special state hunt on the Choke Canyon Reservoir, 90 miles south of San Antonio. Photo: Texas Parks And Wildlife Department Photo: Texas Parks And Wildlife Department Image 1 of / 6 Caption Close Fort Bend teen sets Texas record with monster alligator 1 / 6 Back to Gallery

A Fort Bend County man has set the record for an alligator caught in Texas, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

The 800-pound, 14-foot, 3-inch gator could be 30 to 50 years old according to its size. At 800 pounds, it is the heaviest alligator for which TPWD has a certified weight. It is not the longest alligator documented by the agency though.

Braxton Bielski, an 18-year-old high school senior, bagged the giant alligator in the James E. Daughtrey Wildlife Management Area near the Choke Canyon Reservoir 90 miles south of San Antonio.

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Bielski and his father, Troy, who is a Houston Police officer, took part in a drawing to obtain a hunting permit from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to be able to go on a five-day hunt at the Daughtrey WMA. That permit provides the only opportunity to legally hunt alligators on the reservoir.

A two-hour orientation class is a part of hunting the gators as well.

A hook and line baited with raw meat was set just high enough out of the water to catch the record gator, after which it was shot at close range with a rifle. Gators are typically shot in the head with a .22 rifle using Magnum rounds.

Steve Lightfoot of Texas Parks and Wildlife said the Bielskis brought the dead gator to El Campo for processing, and will possibly have the skull mounted for display.

Most everyone in Bielski's group bagged gators of varying sizes the day of the hunt, with most of them first-time gator hunters.

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