Hunter Jason Ullendorf hooked this 10-foot-plus alligator in the Pascagoula River. The beast broke two Mississippi state records—length and weight for a female alligator. (Photo courtesy of MDWFP X Page)
December 12, 2024
By Lynn Burkhead
It’s nearly the halfway point between Thanksgiving and Christmas, meaning that you’re running out of time if you still have some Yuletide shopping to do .
It also means that deer seasons are moving into the post-rut and winding down unless you’ve got a key to a prime gate in the South Texas brush country where the rut is just now hitting its peak in early December. For hunters up north, it’s time for late-season tactics on pheasant and grouse hunts. While down south, it’s time to chase second split ducks and geese, look for a few squirrels and cottontails destined for the stew pot, or maybe grab the bird dog and head into the deep woods and thickets to chase migrating woodcock arriving in the Southland.
But believe it or not, this week’s Game & Fish magazine’s outdoor news digest is filled with record book alligators, sunfish and even a big shark catch in Florida. So, if it’s cold and snowy where you are, sit back and read a few tales from warmer spots:
World Record Gator in Mississippi? Remember the old adage back in the World War II era about how loose lips can sink ships? Well, they can also lead an alligator hunter to a record-book-sized alligator.
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That's what happened this fall when gator hunter Jason Ullendorf received a tip from a cousin who was buying a part at a boat shop in early September. While that cousin was there, he received a tip about an alligator in the Pascagoula River—one spotted near a sandbar and big enough that it made some Mississippi outdoors enthusiasts a bit on the nervous side.
That's when Ullendorf went to work with some of his hunting pals, trying to catch up with the big gator according to various media reports, including one by outdoors writer Brian Broom in the Mississippi Clarion Ledger .
"We figured we'd help them out and get it out of there," Ullendorf said in Broom's story. "We went down there to look at it, and it was a pretty good gator. It's kind of crazy how it happened."
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That didn't mean that tagging the gator was an easy task, as the final weekend of the Mississippi season ran its course. But when Ullendorf and his pals hooked the big gator, the real work began as the initial hooks pulled out or broke off when the giant alligator went under logs down in the river.
"We chased it from about 9 o'clock until about 3 a.m.," Ullendorf said in the newspaper story. "By then, we'd lost all our hooks."
When Ullendorf and friend Joseph Mangano returned, the gator was still there, but it was the same alligator hunting song, second verse. But around 4:45 a.m., the hunter got a break when the big swamp lizard surfaced, and the two men hooked the behemoth with a rod and reel, then got a hand line in it.
That's when the fun began in earnest as the big alligator pulled their 18-foot pontoon boat upriver. The gator really came alive when they got it near the boat, slapping the bottom of the boat with its giant tail. When they got it in the boat, Ullendorf and Mangano were stunned by its size and thought that it was certainly a big old male.
Except that it wasn't. When the pair got the dispatched gator to Mangano's business in Richton, the Running M Meat Company, they discovered that it was a female. When Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks Alligator Program head man Andrew Arnett arrived later on, he confirmed that it was indeed a huge female gator and then some.
Afterward, the MDFWP confirmed the record breaker with a tweet on its X account : "A new female alligator length & weight record was taken on the Pascagoula River by Jason Ullendorf earlier today! The alligator’s length was 11 ft. ¾ in. & weighed 324lbs, belly girth was 37 in. & the tail girth was 32 in. Congratulations Jason on your record breaker!"
At those dimensions, the gator certainly breaks two state records in Mississippi, exceeding the previous benchmark for the longest female gator ever recorded in the Magnolia State , a 10-foot, 2-inch female gator caught in August 2022 by Madison, Miss. resident Jim Denson.
According to MDFWP , Ullendorf's gator also breaks the previous Mississippi state record for the heaviest female alligator ever caught in Mississippi, the previous mark being a 319-pound female gator caught by Mendenhall, Miss. resident Craig Jones in August 2015.
But there’s even more to this outsized alligator story. According to Broom's excellent story, Arnett then went looking on the Internet to find out how this Mississippi female alligator compares to other big girl gators tagged by alligator hunters elsewhere in the U.S.
While there is no official world record list kept by any organization, it appears that the longest female alligator previously tagged was a Florida gator that stretched the measuring tape to 10 feet, 6.75 inches, a mark that Ullendorf's gator exceeds.
So, in the end, this Mississippi alligator hunter ended up with the biggest alligator of his life, two different state records and an unofficial world record for the longest female gator ever tagged anywhere. Not bad for a loose-lips hunting tip at a southern Mississippi boat shop, huh?
With that kind of news, who needs an old one-time hit country music song about a squirrel going berserk at a church service in a sleepy little Mississippi town, right? Because right now, Pascagoula is on top of the alligator hunting world.
Great White Shark Caught, Released in Florida As the nation heads into the winter months, old St. Nick's sleigh is probably carrying more pairs of Merino wool long johns than fishing gear destined for warm water spots.
Even so, a Yulee, Fla. angler made news this week with the catch of a lifetime when he hooked, landed, photographed and released a great white shark estimated to be nearly 10 feet in length. The catch came as Alberto Vanegas used a blackfin tuna head for bait and got it out some 400 feet off the Fernandina, Fla. beach on Tuesday, Dec. 10.
While Vanegas was targeting bull sharks on his beach fishing trip, it turned into one very rare catch in Florida, one that took about a half-hour to land, according to a report by the state's First Coast News channel .
"Yesterday was simply unforgettable," Vanegas said in the news report. "What started as a normal Tuesday, fishing at my favorite spot on Amelia Island, turned into a monumental catch for myself and for land-based shark fishermen."
A tracking page of tagged great white sharks by the non-profit research organization OCEARCH recently had a 10-foot, 3-inch, female great white shark named Penny ping off the northeastern Florida spot earlier this month, but Vanegas said the shark he beached and released this week was a male.
A Smaller Mississippi State Record It might not look like much, but this panfish is a new state record in Mississippi thanks to a small red Micro Finesse ElaZTech invertebrate imitation. Eric Mayo caught the fish recently using a Z-Man soft plastic bait on a homemade 1/16-ounce jighead. (Photo courtesy of Z-Man Fishing Products) If the Magnolia State made the news rounds earlier this year thanks to Jason Ullendorf's giant female alligator, the state also celebrated another much smaller state record.
And that was a state record longear sunfish, the kind that thrill kids, light tackle enthusiasts, and fly anglers each spring and summer. The new state record came a few weeks ago when Mississippi angler and pond owner Eric Mayo caught, weighed, photographed and released a bespeckled longear specimen that measured 8 3/8 inches and weighed 0.51 pounds.
Eric Mayo adds his longear sunfish record to the previous nine state records that he has submitted to the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fish and Parks. (Photo courtesy of Z-Man Fishing Products) The Richton, Miss. angler landed the panfish on BFS tackle, four-pound test fluorocarbon, a red Z-Man Micro Finesse LarvaZ soft plastic invertebrate imitation and a homemade 1/16-oz. jighead.
It's also worth noting that Mayo's rod-and-reel record noted above isn't the only half-pound benchmark he owns. In fact, among the nine different state records he has landed in the Magnolia State's record book is also the Mississippi state record longear sunfish caught on fly tackle, something he accomplished back on June 19, 2024, with another longear specimen that weighed 0.51 pounds. Mayo's first state record was a fly rod-caught brown bullhead, one that sent him on a journey to chase down some of the records within his grasp.
AGFC Chief Lands with Banded Current Arkansas Game and Fish Commission director Austin Booth is leaving the AGFC in early January. When he does, Booth will step into a new role as the CEO of Banded Holdings, which includes powerhouse waterfowl hunting brands Banded and Avery Outdoors among others. (Photo courtesy of Banded Holdings) For duck hunters in Arkansas, all you have to do is look at a duck call lanyard filled with silver jewelry to know that bands are a big thing in the Natural State.
And for at least one Arkansan, bands can also mean big things in the work world too. Last week, we told you that Austin Booth, the current director for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, announced that he is stepping down from the AGFC post in early January.
Last week, Banded Holdings, the parent company of Banded, Avery Outdoors, and Thacha announced Booth as its new chief executive officer. In addition to championing waterfowl and wildlife conservation in the Natural State, along with expanded opportunities for Arkansans, Booth brings a wealth of experience and leadership into his new role.
A native of Little Rock, Booth graduated from The Citadel, earned a law degree from the University of South Carolina, served as a Judge Advocate in the United States Marine Corps and was deployed to Afghanistan. After his military service, Booth held various executive-level roles with the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs prior to taking his role at AGFC.
Joining Banded Holdings is an incredible honor,” said Booth in a press release . “As someone who has always been passionate about the outdoors and hunting traditions, I’m thrilled to lead a company at the forefront of equipping hunters and outdoor enthusiasts. The Banded family of brands has set the standard for innovation and quality, and I’m excited to build on that legacy with our talented team. Together, we will seize new opportunities, grow our impact, and inspire the next generation of outdoor enthusiasts.”
Mountain Lion Run Over in East Texas Longview Police Department officer struck and killed a female mountain lion inside the East Texas city limits. (Longview Police Department Facebook Page) Mountain lions are no stranger to portions of Texas, namely the state's mountainous southwestern corner and the Brush Country region near the Rio Grande River.
There have even been a few occasional sightings in the Red River Valley of North Texas, like recent sightings in Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex suburban areas have shown.
But a mountain lion in an east Texas city in the heart of the Pineywoods? Yup, and the Longview Police Department can prove it because the cat was accidentally struck by one of the town's patrol cars.
It caused quite a stir and prompted the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to release the following statement at midweek:
"In the early morning hours on Tuesday, Dec. 10, a mountain lion was struck by a Longview Police Department (LPD) patrol vehicle," stated a news release . The police department contacted the Gregg County Game Warden and coordinated the retrieval of the deceased lion.
"Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) staff took possession of the deceased lion to collect DNA and other biological samples. The lion was estimated to be a 3- to 4-year-old female weighing 83.5 pounds.
"Several of the samples will be sent to the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute as part of an ongoing research project and some were retained by TPWD staff as part of our effort to learn more about mountain lions in Texas.
"In Texas, mountain lions are primarily found in the Trans-Pecos and parts of South Texas, however individual lions can move long distances and can show up far from their native ranges.
"East Texas residents are asked to please report any additional mountain lion sightings to TPWD Nongame Wildlife Biologist Dave Holdermann, dave.holdermann@tpwd.texas.gov."
If you'd like to learn more about the big predatory cats as they wander through the Lone Star State, visit the TPWD mountain lion website page for more.
