NC couple catch whopper fishing – a 10-foot, very dead gator

A North Carolina couple went fishing over the weekend and caught a whopper that they wish would have gotten away, according to multiple media outlets.

A 10-foot dead alligator.

Lauren Weichinger and her fiancé, Kyle Radford, found the alligator in the Neuse River in the New Bern area on Saturday, reported TV station WCTI. That’s in Craven County, about four and a half hours east of Charlotte.

Weichinger told CBS North Carolina that Radford spotted the gator Saturday floating in the river.

WNCN reports the couple hauled in the alligator and Weichinger said that it appeared it had been shot.

State wildlife officials told WCTI they couldn’t confirm the cause of death, because the alligator was already in a state of decomposition. It was dead several days when discovered, the station reported.

Coverage of the discovery has not indicated what Weichinger did with the dead alligator – or why they even pulled it out of the water.

Two alligators have been killed this summer in the Charlotte area, both hit by vehicles while crossing the road.

North Carolina wildlife officials are talking about the possibility of recreational alligator hunting in the state for the first time since 1973, as a means of population control.

This story was originally published July 25, 2017 at 7:49 AM with the headline "NC couple catch whopper fishing – a 10-foot, very dead gator."