A monster fish. A threadbare line. And a four-hour standoff that ended in a freshwater fishing world record no one saw coming.

On April 8, seasoned angler Art Weston and his go-to fishing guide, Captain Kirk Kirkland, pulled off one of the most jaw-dropping catches in modern sportfishing. Deep in the waters of Lake Livingston, Texas, the pair reeled in a 153-pound alligator gar — using nothing more than a two-pound test line. That’s not a typo.

This catch isn’t just Weston’s personal best. It’s the heaviest freshwater fish ever landed on a line that thin, worldwide.

A Catch That Defies Logic — And Physics

To put it in perspective: a two-pound test line is typically used for crappie or small trout. Catching anything over 10 pounds is pushing it. So how do you land something that weighs 75 times more?

One word: patience.

Actually, maybe three: patience, precision, and pain.

The battle stretched over four hours. Weston and Kirkland took turns, adjusted tension, read the water, and fought off fatigue. The fish, a hulking seven-foot alligator gar, wasn’t making it easy either.

And honestly, why would it?

The Man Behind 80 Records — Now Aiming For 81

This wasn’t a fluke. Art Weston isn’t your average weekend fisherman tossing a line on vacation. The Kentucky native already holds 80 world records with the International Game Fish Association (IGFA).

• He’s the only angler in IGFA history to sweep every record for a single species.

• He already holds the all-tackle record for alligator gar: a 283-pound beast caught on a six-pound line in 2023.

• He previously set the two-pound line record with a 110-pound gar caught at Choke Canyon Reservoir.

And yet, he keeps raising the bar.

“We went in knowing we had to beat 110 pounds,” Weston told Outdoor Life. “Just not by this much.”

The previous two-pound line record was brutal enough, he said. That fight lasted two and a half hours and left both men wrecked.

This one? Even longer. Even heavier. Even harder.

Captain Kirk Kirkland: Texas’ Gar Whisperer

You can’t talk about this record without talking about Kirkland. The man is practically fishing royalty in Texas. He’s guided anglers from 27 countries, appeared on National Geographic and Animal Planet, and is known as the world’s leading alligator gar specialist.

He knew exactly where to take Weston — and exactly how to give him a shot without overpromising.

They launched onto Lake Livingston with a quiet hope of cracking the 110-pound mark. What they got was something else entirely.

“We hooked into it, and pretty quickly I knew this wasn’t a small fish,” Weston said.

It wasn’t just heavy. It was clever. It ran deep. It thrashed. It surged. The fish did everything in its power to snap that two-pound line.

And somehow, it didn’t.

The Numbers Tell The Story

A few stats show just how wild this record is:

This wasn’t just a world record. It obliterated the previous one by 43 pounds.

“The Most Challenging Catch Of My Life”

Weston didn’t hold back in describing it. In a Facebook post, he called the fight “the most challenging catch of my life.” That’s not hyperbole coming from a guy with 80 records.

After four grueling hours, they finally brought the fish in close. Even then, landing it wasn’t easy. Kirkland had to carefully net the gar while Weston kept tension just right. One wrong move, and that line would’ve popped like dental floss.

But they got it done. And once it hit the deck, it was clear: this was a moment for the record books.

One small hook. One fragile line. One massive fish.

Why This Record Matters More Than Just Bragging Rights

Some might wonder: why go through all this for a record? Why not use a thicker line and make life easier?

Because it’s not just about catching the fish. It’s about precision, restraint, and skill under pressure.

Weston and Kirkland weren’t trying to muscle their way to glory. They were testing the limits of human patience and control in one of the most unpredictable environments on Earth.

This was art — sweaty, exhausting, fish-slimed art.

And in the end, they didn’t just break the record. They blew it out of the water.