BROOKLINE, N.H. (AP) – A fisherman may be glad this one got away.

John Jalbert hooked a big one Tuesday evening in Melendy Pond, and when he reeled it in, he said it was a 5-foot-long alligator.

Police Chief Thomas Goulden said Jalbert reported the alligator tried to bite him and jumped back into the pond, still connected to the line. When officers arrived, Jalbert attempted to reel the line back in and it snapped.

The police didn’t see an alligator and called Fish and Game.

A Fish and Game officer was checking the pond on Wednesday, but said an alligator wouldn’t have been able to survive in the frigid water.