A fisherman in Florida got a surprise this week when he reeled in what he thought was a catfish, only to discover he'd hooked a baby alligator.

The man was angling in a local pond in the Westchase area on Thursday when he felt something take the bait.

"To our surprise we had an alligator on the line!" He said.

"We pulled him out and removed the hook with the aid of a security guard and a growing number of neighbours that were coming to watch," he added.

The alligator was not harmed and was released back into the pond, according to the filmer.