INDIANAPOLIS STAR (Indiana) 03 June 06 Young angler got a bite, all right - DNR official says alligator likely was released into private lake by disenchanted pet owner (John Tuohy)
Fifteen-year-old Nick Bonds has quite a fish tale.
It's about an alligator.
While casting for catfish last weekend at a private lake in Decatur Township, Nick instead reeled in a 41/2-foot gator.
The reptile chomped on Nick's fishing line and didn't let go until he'd reeled the animal 20 feet to shore and into a fishing net.
"I was kind of freaked out a little bit,'' the Decatur Central High School sophomore said. "I'd been fishing there for a long time and I was shocked to see an alligator."
Another fisherman, who claimed to already own an alligator, took it off Nick's hands. But not before he and uncle Bill May posed for pictures.
"I held him by the tail, and he was hissing a lot and getting kind of angry,'' Nick said. "His teeth weren't that big, but they were big enough for me."
Alligators don't reside in Indiana but are sometimes released into lakes and rivers by people who bought them as pets, said Indiana Department of Natural Resources spokesman Russ Grunden.
"It happens once or twice a year. People buy these cute little pets, but then they get to be 3 to 4 feet long and all of a sudden they are more trouble and more dangerous and they want to eat more," Grunden said. "So they get thrown out to fend on their own.''
It'd be impossible for a gator to last through an Indiana winter, said Harry Dutton, alligator planning coordinator for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
"Anyplace that has hard freezes, the gator can't make it," he said, adding that a 4-foot gator could be 2 to 6 years old. The average length for an adult gator is 9 feet for males and 7 feet for females.
Nick, the son of Robert and Tracy Bonds, said his catch finally gave him a victory over his father in their friendly fishing competition.
"We are always trying to see (who) can bring in the biggest thing,'' Nick said. "I don't think you can beat a gator."
Young angler got a bite, all right