16-year-old reels in ‘rare’ fish that rivals Texas record — then lets it ‘swim away’
Callan Frazier was fishing at Lake Sam Rayburn in eastern Texas when he caught a longnose gar.
“Whoa, what a gar,” Texas Parks and Wildlife said when sharing photos of the big fish on April 25.
It was about 58 inches long, rivaling the “official state record longnose gar” caught by Amanda Martin in June 2021, according to Texas Parks and Wildlife. Her gar, caught in Brazos River, measured in at 30.3 pounds and 58 inches long.
Callan, 16, and his dad don’t know how much his “rare” catch weighed, as they didn’t have time to get official measurements after spending 10 minutes reeling it in, according to MySanAntonio.com.
“Gars are kind of hard to hold because from the gills up it’s just solid teeth,” father Bryan Frazier told the news site. “So we went ahead and put it back in the water. We know it was a trophy class but, at that moment, it was good to let it go and watch it swim away.”
Longnose gars can be found in most Texas rivers, according to the state parks department. The fish species can also be found throughout the eastern U.S.
Lake Sam Rayburn, also called Sam Rayburn Reservoir, is about 140 miles northeast of Houston.
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