Fisherman Alberto Flores stated he was “chasing river monsters” and managed to hook one Sunday near Dallas in the West Fork of the Trinity River, also referred to as the River of Death.
Flores landed a 5-foot-plus alligator gar, a prehistoric fish that has survived in the nasty waters of the Trinity, unlike other fish species.
The Trinity River is so polluted it earned the “River of Death” nickname because more than 1 million fish have died in its waters over a 15-year period, as reported by Chron.
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“Decades of pollution and mass death of other species have yet to vanquish this uniquely ancient and resilient fish,” Chron stated.
Flores posted video of his catch on TikTok. (Note: The video doesn’t appear on some media platforms, in which case you’ll need to go to the link to view it.)
@albertoflores5264 Chasing river monsters 🦖🔥🔥🔥 check out the “Fishin is my addiction”Angler Fever dry fit t-shirt💧💧💧#fyp #anglerfever #fishtok #outdoors #alligatorgar #fishing #pescando #dallas #tx #letemgoletemgrow #madkatz
“This girl put up a beautiful fight, beautiful fish,” Flores said in the video. “I think she’s ready to go back, so we’re going to get her back into the water.”
He carried the alligator gar to the edge of the dirty river, put it down on the bank and the fish slithered its way back home.
One commenter on TikTok asked Flores, “That’s good eating, why did you put it back in?”
His reply: “We don’t eat fish out of the Trinity River.”