Mississippi woman's massive alligator beats hunting record by 1/8-inch

PORT GIBSON, Miss., Aug. 29 (UPI) -- Mississippi wildlife officials confirmed a woman's massive alligator catch is a new state record by a margin of only 1/8 of an inch.

Tiffany Wienke of Vicksburg said she was alligator hunting with six others Saturday night when the massive alligator pulled their attention away from a smaller specimen.

"We were off the Mississippi River south of Port Gibson," Wienke told The Clarion-Ledger Newspaper. "Bayou Pierre is where we were hunting."

"He was swimming across the water in front of us so we could see his profile and could see he had a big head," Wienke said. "We knew it was a big gator."

She said it took her and her crew more than two hours to secure the beast.

"If he wanted to go to the front of the boat, we went to the front of the boat. If he wanted to go to the back of the boat, we went to the back of the boat. All you can do in those circumstances is hold on."

The 686-pound alligator was officially measured at 12 feet, 7-7/8 inches. The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks said in a Facebook post the alligator beat the previous record for an alligator caught on public land by 1/8 inch.