The full moon was so inviting that Justin and I headed out for a night-fishing expedition. The cool quietness of the night was wonderful and our efforts were rewarded with a 3.9-pound speckled trout and one alligator!

The 3--foot alligator put up quite a struggle, but we eventually got Justin's jig free from its leg and released it unharmed.

We don't know whether the alligator was striking the lure or if the line simply dragged across the beast until the jig struck home. It wasn't until I had the net out and switched on a light that we realized it wasn't a shark or big redfish.