06-18-2003, 12:37 AM
[#ffffcc][font "Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"][#ffffff]Mississippi Alligator Gar Record Falls[/#ffffff][/font][/#ffffcc]
[font "Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"][#000000][size 2]JACKSON, MS--Earl Stafford of Natchez, Mississippi, was fishing the Mississippi River May 3 when he hooked a 215-pound alligator gar. Three days later, Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks biologist John Skains, and ichthyologist Todd Slack made a positive species identification, witnessed the certified weight, photographed the fish and recognized it as a new state record. [/size][/#000000][/font]
[font "Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"][#000000][size 2]The gar measured 7 feet, 11.5 inches from snout to tail and had a 41-inch girth. It's the second largest alligator gar to be submitted to the National Freshwater Hall of Fame in Hayward, Wisconsin.[/size][/#000000][/font]
[font "Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"][#000000][size 2]If official tests on the line Stafford submitted confirm that it is 50-pound test, he'll be recognized as the world record holder for the 50-pound line class for alligator gar. [/size][/#000000][/font]
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[font "Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"][#000000][size 2]JACKSON, MS--Earl Stafford of Natchez, Mississippi, was fishing the Mississippi River May 3 when he hooked a 215-pound alligator gar. Three days later, Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks biologist John Skains, and ichthyologist Todd Slack made a positive species identification, witnessed the certified weight, photographed the fish and recognized it as a new state record. [/size][/#000000][/font]
[font "Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"][#000000][size 2]The gar measured 7 feet, 11.5 inches from snout to tail and had a 41-inch girth. It's the second largest alligator gar to be submitted to the National Freshwater Hall of Fame in Hayward, Wisconsin.[/size][/#000000][/font]
[font "Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"][#000000][size 2]If official tests on the line Stafford submitted confirm that it is 50-pound test, he'll be recognized as the world record holder for the 50-pound line class for alligator gar. [/size][/#000000][/font]
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