Who knew that fishing was such an extreme sport?
In Florida, I like to think that basically everything is an extreme activity, since an alligator could show up at any moment. Grocery shopping? Going to the ATM? If a scaly reptilian could come in at some point to spice things up, those errands are now extreme errands.
The kid in this footage was just trying to cast a few lines and do some pond fishing when he got the surprise of a lifetime. Not only did he have something on the hook, but the young angler also had the interest of an alligator that was lurking nearby.
As the fish was reeled in with the line, the gator was basically reeled in by the flopping fish. A camera set up facing the Florida pond showed the young fisherman backing up as he ferociously reeled in his catch, then quickly backed away and out of the frame.
The gator paused for a second on the bank of the pond, as if that was as far as it originally wanted to go. Then it seemingly said, “Ah, the hell with it,” and decided to run the rest of the way up on land to snag the fish right off the hook.
We don’t get to see the reptile grab the fish, since that happens out of frame and off camera. However, we do see the alligator stumble back to the water shortly afterwards with the scaly snack in tow. It’s a really cool video that was posted by Florida meteorologist Matt Devitt, who had this to say about the clip:
“Check out this gator quickly lunge out of the water to steal a fish for an easy dinner in Estero, Florida!”
WOW! Check out this gator quickly lunge out of the water to steal a fish for an easy dinner in Estero, Florida! Credit: @WINKNews viewer Gavin Borsky #Florida 🐊👀 pic.twitter.com/GjY2a2FMRN
— Matt Devitt (@MattDevittWX) May 8, 2024
Remind me to never go pond fishing in Florida.
Those that saw the fish-swiping-gator video online were stunned that an alligator would be that aggressive to where it would follow someone up onto shore to steal away their catch. They were shocked, to say the least, and left these comments below the video:
Holy smokes. I hope the fisherman let his rod go!
— LaVonne Bilby (@BilbyLavonne) May 8, 2024
It’s a hard knock life down here 🌞
Tell my son always scanning for alligators & cotton mouths when fishing on foot https://t.co/iU6tzE0gan
— Salty Snarkleflaps ™️ (@RobinstacksArw) May 8, 2024
It crazy to fish in these ponds, I’ve seen people with little kids doing it! 😳😳😳
— Debra Monroe (@dmonroe59) May 8, 2024
hell. no. i am never fishing in ponds in florida 😬 https://t.co/KiBIxxnT4O
— Callie Bubb (@Callie_Bubb) May 8, 2024
wtf. I thought gators were supposed to be slow. 😬
— MNobbiee (@MNobbiee) May 8, 2024
Nope! Alligators are actually pretty fast on both the land and in the water.
