327-pound fish caught in Mississippi

JACKSON, Miss., Feb. 18 (UPI) -- Mississippi wildlife officials said a man caught a potentially record-setting 327-pound fish, an alligator gar, in Chotard Lake.

The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks said it weighed the 8-foot, 5 1/4-inch fish at 327 pounds after it was caught by Kenny Williams on the Issaquena County lake on Valentine's Day, WAPT-TV, Jackson, Miss., reported Thursday.

"At first I didn't think he was that big. But as I was getting him into the boat, it was like, 'How big is this thing?' It was a lot of effort just to get him into the boat," Williams said. "I don't even know how to describe it. It was just huge and hard to get into the boat."

Dennis Riecke of the wildlife department said the alligator gar may have been the largest ever caught and is definitely the largest on record caught in Mississippi.

Officials said Williams donated his catch to the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science in Jackson.