844-Lb. Alligator Found Lurking in South Carolina Lake is Confirmed as Second Largest Gator in the State

The giant reptile was pulled from Lake Moultrie after a years-long pursuit

NEED TO KNOW

• The 844-pound alligator, nicknamed “Snaggletooth,” is the second-largest confirmed harvest in South Carolina
• The massive reptile was pulled from Lake Moultrie on Sept. 28 after a years-long pursuit
• It was initially measured at 14 feet, though a second measurement hours later came in at 13 feet, 8 inches

An enormous alligator pulled from a South Carolina lake is making a place for itself in the state’s record books.

The 844-pound reptile, nicknamed “Snaggletooth,” measured 14 feet after being pulled from Lake Moultrie on Sept. 28, making it the second-largest confirmed alligator harvest in South Carolina, according to The Post and Courier.

The massive animal was captured around 11 p.m. after a years-long pursuit by Cole Poplin of Renegade Bowfishing, who was hunting with William Ard and clients Chris Webb and his father, Craig Webb, according to The Post and Courier.

The hunt was anything but straightforward.

Chris recalled that the group encountered an alligator measuring more than 11 feet only about 20 minutes after beginning the outing. Rather than take it, they continued searching. Over the course of the night, the group pursued at least 20 alligators before their attention turned to the animal that would ultimately be identified as Snaggletooth, according to a Facebook post.

As the group made another pass through the grass, Poplin and Chris spotted the much larger alligator. They scrambled to secure it, with several harpoons ultimately landing in the animal as the group worked to bring it under control, Chris wrote.

The process of getting the alligator onto the boat proved to be nearly as challenging as catching it. Chris said the group struggled to free and move the animal and nearly wore out a winch in the process. By the time they returned to the boat ramp, everyone was estimating that the alligator was somewhere in the 13-foot range, he wrote.

Then came the measurement.

Chris said the group initially measured the alligator at exactly 14 feet, prompting them to realize just how significant the catch was.

“STATE RECORD BABY! Last night was a hunt of a lifetime! We hit the lake with Renegade Bowfishing LLC for a big gator and the trip did not disappoint,” Chris wrote on Facebook.

He described the catch as an experience he expected to remember for the rest of his life and thanked Poplin and Ard for their efforts during the hunt, as well as Cordray’s assistance in helping unload, weigh and process the animal.

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Snaggletooth wasn’t Poplin and Ard’s first encounter with a giant alligator this season.

Earlier in September, Poplin harvested a 12-foot, 9-inch alligator weighing 769 pounds while hunting the Santee Cooper lakes with Ard, according to FitsNews.

Poplin told Carolina Sportsman that the animal was a “certified giant,” although it wasn’t the alligator the pair had originally been searching for, FitsNews reported.

Lake Moultrie has long been associated with some of the state’s largest alligators, the outlet reported.

The largest confirmed alligator harvest in South Carolina came in 2010, when Massachusetts hunter Maryellen Mara-Christian caught a 1,025-pound, 13-foot alligator at Lake Moultrie, according to The Post and Courier. Mara-Christian, who had experience hunting other animals, said at the time that it was her first alligator harvest.