Shrimper pulling nets discovers he accidentally caught large creature, NC photos show

It’s an ominous sign when something in the water starts “jerking around” a boat, and it started happening as Zachary Willis pulled his shrimp nets from North Carolina’s Neuse River.

Clearly, he caught something big, but it was only after a large tail appeared in the net that Willis realized he had a problem.

A huge and angry alligator materialized alongside his 20-foot skiff, and it was hopelessly tangled in his net, Willis told McClatchy News.

The dangerous encounter happened Thursday, Aug. 15, and Willis only had a crew of one: His 13-year-old son, Ashton Hunter.

”This was pure craziness. He was fighting and twisting and turning and snapping, and had gotten completely twisted up in the net,” Willis said in a phone interview.

“It was a first for me and I was excited, stressed and worried. This thing was the size of a kayak. Sheer size made it intimidating, and I had to call for help.”

Another angler, Legacy Fishing Charters Capt. Lathan Price, was nearby and quickly responded, Willis said.

The two men worked together to lift the alligator out of the water, tie its jaws shut, then unravel it from the net.

“It was sort of like pulling a foot out of a sock, but backwards,” Willis said.

It took nearly and hour, due to the alligator continuously twisting and rolling alongside the boat, Willis said.

He estimates the reptile was 13 feet long and weighed 500 to 600 pounds.

“We also removed several pieces of fishing line and a small piece of rope that had been on him awhile,” Willis said. “My boat handled it OK, but my back is tore up.”

The alligator was released back into the river, he said. Alligators are native to the Neuse River, which empties into the Pamlico Sound along the Outer Banks.

Willis, who is based out of Morehead City, says it happened where the Neuse and South rivers converge, about 100 yards from the bank. He suspects the alligator was chasing a red drum when it got caught in the net.

Video of the alligator being freed was shared Aug. 15 on Facebook, and it had 92,000 views as of Aug. 19. Hundreds have commented on the post, including many who didn’t realize alligators live that far north in the state.

“He took a heck of a chance trying to (untangle) that. Meanwhile I’m sure his little boy is thinking this is the coolest fishing trip ever,” Ann-marie Crawford wrote on Facebook.

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