Lakeland friends catch 565-pound, 12-foot gator

LAKELAND, Fla. — Two friends in Lakeland caught a 12-and-a-half foot, 565-pound alligator.

Harris Woodsby and Matthew Fellows said they caught it in the Kissimmee River.

The pair said it took them more than two hours to subdue the gator and they worried their boat would sink while they headed back to shore.

"Every now and then he would come up and thrash around and we'd be holding onto the gaffe and it almost breaks our wrists when he starts spinning," Woodsby said.

Woodsby said he plans to display the gator at a restaurant he's opening in Lakeland.

WFTV