Lake Livingston angler lands 153-pound alligator on 2-pound test line, IGFA record pending
Just when I thought Art Weston’s resume couldn’t get any more impressive, another incredible big fish story to shock the imagination comes barreling down the pike.
I call the story incredible because it’s built around a truly remarkable fishing feat.
Using ultralight fishing gear in combination with razor thin 2-pound test line, Weston recently landed a 153-pound alligator gar that is a pending International Game Association line class world record. Additionally, the fish is destined to become the heaviest freshwater fish of any kind ever caught worldwide on 2-pound test.
For those who may not not know, Weston is an adrenaline junkie from Union, KY., with an insatiable appetite for going after giant fish with tiny tackle. Success seems to come his way pretty often, too.
To wit: Weston is the owner of dozens of International Game Fish Association freshwater fishing records. Plus, he is the first angler in IGFA history to complete a “clean sweep” of all line class world records, and to reel in the all-tackle world record for the same species.
Weston’s clean sweep of records is built around alligator gar. All were caught in Texas over the last five years. The largest was a super heavyweight that tipped certified scales to 283 pounds.
Weston caught and released the massive 8-foot, 4-inch fish in September 2023 at Sam Rayburn while guided by Capt. Kirk Kirkland of Trinity. The angler was using a spinning outfit in combination with six-pound test line that was tethered to a 175-pound test steel leader.
The huge fish eclipsed the former IGFA all-tackle world record of 279 pounds record that at the time had stood for 72 years. It also stands as the current six-pound line class world record — a mark that will likely never be broken.
Lake Livingston Monster
Weston’s most recent big fish encounter came together on April 8 at Lake Livingston, another East Texas reservoir with a rich history of producing some of the state’s biggest gar. There, Weston boated the 153 pounder that took him the better part of the afternoon to land with the help of Kirkland, arguably one of the biggest names in the gar guiding business.
The men were fishing on the main lake in the vicinity of the U.S. Highway 190 bridge when the fish gobbled up the bait — the head from a threepound common carp. Kirkland had weaved the meat of the severed carp head onto an 8/0 Gamakatsu Big River J-hook before Weston lofted it a short distance from the boat. The bait settled to bottom in about 12 feet of water.
The Magical Bite
Weston said the magical bite came about 1 p.m. Not surprisingly, the Kentucky angler called what happened next a “nerve racking” experience as the guide fired up the jet-drive outboard engine to keep pace with the powerful fish as it fled to open water. The idea is to use the big engine to stay close and eventually wear the fish down so that it breaches the surface next to the boat long enough for Kirkland to get a lasso on it.
“We chased her for probably two miles over the next four hours, but it wasn’t until the last 30 minutes that we had the feeling that we might actually be winning the battle,” Weston recalled. “It’s always a nerve-racking experience when you’re doing this, especially on such light line. Everything has to go just right and there is so much that can go wrong when you’re having to dodge trotlines, stumps, snags and other obstacles. All a fish has to do is rub against the thin line or rake it against a stump or something and it’s gone. Luckily it all worked out for us. It was definitely a one percent catch.”
Outdoors Briefs Lady bass pro Pam Martin-Wells passes at 62
Lady bass pro Pam Martin- Wells of Bainbridge, GA., passed away on April 11 following a lengthy battle with cancer. She was 62.
Highly regarded as a fierce competitor and trailblazer among women in pro fishing ranks, Martin-Wells was a 32time national champion, 10time Angler of the Year and one of only two females in the history of the sport to qualify for the male-dominated Bassmaster Classic.
She finished 22nd in the 2010 ‘Classic held on Alabama’s Lay Lake. In 2007, she was inducted to the Legends of the Outdoors Hall of Fame and is the all-time leading money winner in women’s bass fishing.
Welcher smacks 118-12, Texan Combs nets fifth
Talk about a big bass beatdown.
Alabama bass pro Kyle Welcher blew away the field in the Bassmaster Elite Series event held April 10-13 on the Pasquotank River in Elizabeth City, N.C. It was a thrashing that was likely heard about by anglers all around the globe.
Welcher, 32, weighed a four-day total of 118 pounds, 12 ounces on 20 bass, topping second-place finisher Brandon Lester by a whopping 45 pounds, 7 ounces. The winning margin is the largest ever recorded in Elite Series history. It shatters the former mark of 29-10 set at Texas’ Lake Fork in Nov. 2020 by South Carolina pro Patrick Walters.
Welcher pulled off the historic win using forward-facing sonar to target spawning fish along a mile-long stretch of the Pasquotank, just a short distance for the morning launch. He cracked the 30-pound mark on three consecutive days and capped the stellar performance with 23-10 in the final round. The winning bait was a black/ blue Bronco Bug, a four-inch creature bait he rigged on a 4/0 Gamakatsu G-Power hook and a pegged, 1/4-ounce tungsten weight, according to Bassmaster reports.
Welcher banked $100,000 for the win, his first since joining the Elites in 2020. He also earned three big bass bonuses totaling $4,000, including a 10-8 pounder that was heaviest of the event. The Alabama pro will receive a Century Belt trophy that goes to each angler who cracks the 100-pound mark in an Elite Series event.
Keith Combs of Huntington grabbed fifth place and was highest finisher among seven Texans in the field. Combs weighed in 67-5 and earned $11,750, plus $1,000 for catching the heaviest bass on Day 1. Lee Livesay of Longview, 18th, $6,500; Chris Zaldain of Fort Worth, 50th, $5,500; Dakota Ebare of Brookeland, 51st; Brad Whatley of Bivins; 55th; Ray Hanselman of Del Rio, 80th; Ben Milliken of New Caney, 101st.
The Elites will make their Texas swing in May. It begins at Lake Fork in Yantison May 8-11, followed by the Sabine River in Orange on May 15-18.
Sealy Outdoors Big Bass Splash April 25-27
Sealy Outdoors will host its 41st Annual Big Bass Splash on April 25-27 out of Umphrey Family Pavilion on Sam Rayburn.
The three-day “amateur only” event is guaranteeing a payout of $590,000 in cash and prizes, including a firstplace boat/truck/cash package valued at about $150,000 for the tournament’s heaviest bass overall, according to Sealy Outdoors’ Nicole Bennett. Second place pays $20,000; third, $15,000; 4th, $10,000 and 5th, $5,000.
Additionally, anglers will fish for $250,950 in hourly cash with 15 places paid for the top bass each hour. First place each hour is $2,500, $300 for 15th place. There also will be $5,000 cash awards for the first 3.00, 4.00 and 5.00 exact weight bass each day and three places awarded for the three single heaviest bass weighed in by lady anglers.
Entry fee is $290 for three days, $240 for two days and $190 for one day. Bennett says organizers are expecting around 3,000 entries this year.
The upcoming tournament will be the organization’s first ‘Rayburn event since the passing of tournament founder, Bob Sealy. Sealy died last July following a battle with cancer. He was 75.
For more information, see sealyoutdoors.com or call 409-698-2591.
Matt Williams is a freelance writer based in Nacogdoches. He can be reached by email, mattwillwrite4u@yahoo. com.
Well-known lady bass pro Pam Martin-Wells recently passed away after a bout with cancer. Martin-Wells was was a 32-time national champion, 10-time Angler of the Year and one of only two females in the history of the sport to qualify for the male-dominated Bassmaster Classic. She was 62 years old. (Bassmaster Photo)
