iStockphoto / CRobertson
An alligator hunting guide in Florida has just bagged one for the records books after capturing the second-heaviest gator in Sunshine State history. This living dinosaur tipped the scales at a mind-bending 920-pounds!
Kevin Brotz is a hunter, hunting guide, an owner of the Get Bit Outdoors Fishing Supply Store. During Alligator Hunting Season in Florida, which runs from August 15 to November 1 every year Brotz helps guides clients on alligator hunts.
This time around he was able to capture the trophy himself instead of putting a client on this massive gator.
His once-in-a-lifetime Florida alligator catch has gone viral. The 920-pound, 13-foot gator was featured on Fox & Friends Weekend and a picture that Brotz shared on Instagram is truly stunning. Here is another photograph of the alligator going into his boat:
Alligator Hunting In Florida
Here in Florida, hunters need an Alligator Hunt Permit in order to go after a gator. The permits cost $272 for residents but it’s not as easy as forking over the cash. Florida’s Statewide Alligator Harvest Program is a critical component in alligator conservation, even if that may seem backward to some outsiders.
Each year the number of available permits changes based on population management and control. For the 2023 Alligator Hunting Season in Florida, there were an estimated 15,000 applicants from hunters for an estimated 7,000 gator permits.
Once a permit is acquired, 65 of Florida’s 67 counties offer hunting opportunities. Miami-Dade County and Monroe County in the Florida Everglades are the only counties that don’t allow gator hunting. Beyond that, it gets moderately complicated. Hence why hiring an alligator hunting guide like Kevin Brotz is recommended.
A Record-Setting Alligator
Once at the scale, Kevin Brotz’s record-setting alligator weighed 920 pounds. It also measured 13 feet, 3.25 inches from end to end. Brotz, who owns FloridaGatorHunting.com, says it took him 4 hours to reel in this alligator. He didn’t divulge specifically where it was caught, just ‘Central Florida.’
Kevin Brotz also says a biologist told him the alligator was estimated between 60-90 years old, based its size. This is the second heaviest alligator ever weighed in Florida, the heaviest was a 1,043-pounder!
It has been a banner year in the Southeast for alligator hunting, so far. A 14-foot, 800-pound gator was recently captured in Louisiana.