‘Catch of a Lifetime': Livonia Kids Reel In Rare Alligator Gar

A summer day of fishing turned unforgettable for a group of 12-year-old friends from Livonia when they reeled in a rare, dinosaur-like fish from a neighborhood pond.

If this doesn’t remind you of Stand by Me, we just can’t be friends.

The five boys were hanging out at Jaycee Park’s retention pond, hoping to catch a few bluegill. Instead, they pulled in the catch of a lifetime: a massive alligator gar, a toothy, prehistoric-looking fish not native to Michigan waters.

🎥 Watch: Livonia Boy Shows Size of Rare Catch

We don’t have an official measurement, but Nathan Wilson gives us a sense of its size in the video below, stretching his arms wide.

“It’s a monster fish,” Wilson says. “It’s like a once-in-a-lifetime kind of fish.”

His friend Max Murphy knew the gar didn’t belong in Michigan. He quickly called his dad and sent pictures. Ian Murphy tells WXYZ-TV that, at first, the parents weren’t convinced.

“They call us up and tell us they caught this alligator gar,” he said. “We were all a little skeptical about it. Then they sent us the pictures, and we get on Google and go, ‘Ehh, maybe they’re right.’”

🐟 Not Native: DNR Weighs in on Rare Catch

Even the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) had its doubts. DNR fisheries biologist John Buszkiewicz told the station that alligator gar are native to the Mississippi River basin, not Michigan, and suspects someone transported it and released it into the pond.

The boys released the gator back into the pond, but that day of fishing is a memory none of them will soon forget.