Kalee Guin mustered every ounce of strength she could find as she battled a massive 12-foot alligator on Ross Barnett Reservoir on Sept. 3. Though the battle raged on for more than an hour, Guin and the River Reaper Alligator Team finally wore him down and got him to the boat. The tail girth was 36 inches and the belly girth was 54 inches.
Guin, who lives in the Clarkdale community near Meridian, first got a taste of alligator hunting a few years ago on a Southern Outdoors Unlimited hunt for disabled youths where she snagged two gators. This time, she was able to draw a tag and hunted with the River Reapers Team.
“We saw a few smaller gators that we didn’t want to fool with,” Guin said. “About 9:45 p. m. we spotted this gator and hooked up with him.”
The alligator was hooked near the edge of the Pearl River in fairly about 14 feet deep, which made it difficult to wear it down.
“When I got him on the rod and reel, he was thrashing around and put up a heckuva fight,” Guin said. “It was really exciting.
“It took three hooks and poles to subdue the alligator,” said Sally Long, Kalee’s mother. “He drug the boat all over that river and took about an hour to wear down.”
The end of the battle
According to Mississippi regulations, alligators must be hooked and brought to the boat before they can be dispatched and harvested. That’s easier said than done, and wrestling an alligator that big took all of the strength that Guinn and the team had — just to wear him down and get him to the boat.
After an epic battle, Guinn and her team maneuvered the gator near the boat and the young lady set her sights on the kill zone on the gator’s head.
“Boom!” The shotgun roared and belched fire that lit up the night and delivered an instant kill to the massive predator.
Though Guin was born with cerebral palsy and has a few other physical problems, she has not let that stop her from doing things that many only dream about. Her opportunity to participate in the outdoors, harvesting big game and hunting around the country is a testimony to her desire and determination. Not too many young ladies even dream of tangling with man-eating alligators, but Guin has done it several times now.
“I just wanted to do it,” said Guin. “It’s so much fun and exciting, and it gives you a rush that is hard to get anywhere else. You just don’t know what’s going to happen when you go on a gator hunt after the sun goes down.”
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