The ultimate fisherman's tale - and it's true! 10 year-old reels in an alligator - dailymail.co.uk

28 May 2011

A smile is guaranteed wash over the face of even the most jaded angler when he thinks he has hooked a minnow but his catch turns out to be a monster.

But imagine the expression on young Michael Dasher's when he reeled what he thought would be a fairly big fish only to find that he'd hooked a 4ft alligator - or a 5ft 9in alligator if you believe the fishy tale told later.

We will never know quite how the 10-year-old reacted when the beast emerged from the water, but what is known is that once it was on dry land he promptly wrestled it to the ground and slung over his shoulder.

Schoolboy Michael Dasher was fishing in a Florida canal when he caught an alligator and dragged it back to his nearby home, suffering only scratches and cuts to his arms and hands

He then marched it off to impress his grandfather, Benjie Cox, and the rest of his family, fearing they would dismiss the story as a flight of fancy.

'When it came through the water and slapped him in the face with its tail ... his two friends ran, but Michael wouldn't be normal like that. He went after it ... taped up its mouth and brought it half a mile home,' his mother Tonya Dasher, 33, told The Times.

The alligator got its rude awakening during an after-school fishing trip in Rockledge, Florida.

Mrs Dasher said that one of the Sunshine state's Fish and Wildlife Commission officers who went to her house with sheriff's deputies told her that he had measured the alligator at 5ft 9in. But Lenny Salberg, a spokesman for the commission, said that the officer's official notes had recorded it at 4ft.

'I think it just kept growing, which seems to happens with fishing stories,' Mr Salberg said.

Mr Cox, 57, said of his grandson: 'He ain't scared of nothin. Nothing.'

The alligator was later released. Tampering with wildlife is an offence punishable in Florida by a $500 (£300) fine and up to 60 days in jail, and Michael received a stern warning, said Mr Salberg, adding: 'He knows now that we don't mess with alligators. The next time, he'll run.'

Michael Dasher (right) caught an alligator and took it home. His grandfather called police when he saw the killer reptile in their front yard. The youngster was let off with a warning by police and wildlife officials