iStockphoto / tswinner
One of the best aspects of fishing is you never know where the day will take you. Some days you are just out there fishing and other days you are catching nonstop.
Rolling up to a new fishing spot offers endless possibilities. You might catch a new species for the first time or the biggest fish of your life.
Or, in the case of this fisherman, you might get surprised by an alligator who rushed you to steal your fish.
This video has gone viral on Tiktok and it has the caption ‘first time fishing in Georgia’ over the fisherman. He reels in a catfish that swallowed the hook deeply.
While removing the hook, a large alligator surprises the fisherman by rushing out of the water silently and getting within inches of him and the fish before they panic and run away.
@thesmalliepirate We don’t have those in Ohio… #fishing #fishingtiktoks #fishtok #waitforit #gator #alligator #jesus #lmao #fyp
The commenters had some funny things to say about the video. They wrote:
“Gator didn’t like the socks and sandals.”
“Florida native here I knew what was gonna happen by the color of that water before the alligator even came out.”
“Moment he said fishing in Georgia U was like yup there’s gonna be a gator.”
“Saw the Okefenokee swamp tag and immediately knew what was about to happen.”
I definitely remember camping at the Okefenokee Swamp in Boy Scouts and there being gators galore. They should have anticipated this. That alligator was almost certainly visible before with its eyes poking out of the water.
Luckily, they got out of there safely and the alligator got its fish. All’s well that ends well.
Recent Alligator Activity In The South
If you think that was wild, this incident a few months ago in Florida is even crazier. An 18-foot Burmese python swallowed a 5-foot alligator!
These invasive Burmese pythons in my home state of Florida represent a very real threat to the natural flora and fauna. They are capable of eating small deer, birds, raccoons, possums, and even alligators.
There was a 5-foot alligator found inside an 18-foot Burmese python last November.
But it’s not all fire and brimstone for the alligators. They’re fighting back. Case in point, this video filmed by Katina Boychew of an alligator chewing and swallowing a massive Burmese python:
Absolutely gnarly.
Katina told WESH “It was amazing. I sat and watched him for like two hours. I had to. I said, ‘This is something I’ll most likely never come across again.”