When Brad Johnson looked out his kitchen window in Harbour Lakes yesterday (July 15), he saw the Big One sunning himself across the lake behind the cul-de-sac in Cape Sable. 

He was one of numerous residents who had seen this animal earlier in July and knew it was still at large, so he knew just what to do.  He called Property Manager Loren Kellock, who immediately tracked down Brian, the trapper who caught the 6-footer in the Lakes earlier in the week.    Brian jumped in his truck, sped out to the Lakes from another assignment on Dixie Highway and drove to Brad's house. 

The pair went out to the lake bank behind Brad's house, from which Brian cast a hook that dug into the side of the Big One.  But the gator was too big to maneuver on one hook, so he told Brad to get the other one from his truck and cast away.  Bullseye Brad hit the target with the second hook.  The two began to pull the gator across the lake to the Harbour Lakes side.  By the time they got this critter up on the grass, he was out of gas.  Brian closed its mouth with his foot and taped it shut.  Mission accomplished.

The Big One measured 9 feet 4 inches -- one of the largest alligators Brian has caught in his many years as a trapper and a licensee of the Florida Wildlife Commission.

As for Brad, the shirtless one in the above photo, he is now contemplating a second career!  Meanwhile, let's all give him a tip of the hat for helping to capture the Big One!