Gator hunting

[downoffthemountain]

I've always been interested in the idea, but after what I discovered right in my yard last night, I'm motivated.
My place is right on the bayou adjacent to Big Branch. When I walked out to get the mail last night, a guy was fishing off the bridge adjacent to my property. He walked over & asked me how I got along with the 14' gator he'd seen hanging out in my yard. I told him I didn't know I had anything that size hanging around. It was apparently just enjoying the afternoon sun on the bank right there where I've been walking my new puppy. I knew of a 7'er that hung around but not this guy and in the past year that I've been here, I've never seen any of them actually up in the yard before.
Needless to say, the pup just had all free-roaming priveleges revoked and I'm filling out the application for a hunting tag. Season opens here 4 weeks from today. For the next few weeks, climbing in/out of my canoe will take on a new light.
I printed out all the regs and have read thru them. I know you have to have "so much" land/habitat to qualify for a tag. The place I'm renting is roughly 13 ac. with about 7 of it being marsh and "per google maps" about 9000' of shore line. I would hope that that is enough to qualify for a tag.
Does anybody actually know how much habitat it takes to qualify?
Yak-a-lou?
Where-yak?
Anybody else?

[Where Y'ak?]

I don't know what the formula is. My basic understanding is that they have a formula that takes into account the location and size of the property in deciding how many tags to allot.

Last year was a very poor alligator season. Poor in that there was no price on the hides and many, many tags went unused. That only means that the population is even higher this year.

I was picked for the lottery last year and had three tags for Pearl River WMA. I filled two of them, but the last one went unfilled because I was holding out for an even larger one that I was seeing. It was fun and I've put in for this year's lottery which should be picked soon. The largr gator in the photo is a 10 footer. If you have a 14' in your yard, that really is a beast.

If you don't have any luck getting tags for your property, you may be able to call the local nuisance trapper to come and remove the big beast before he snacks on your puppy--or you.

Good luck.

[Branch_Office]

Call "Billy the Exterminator" lol...

[Yak-a-Lou]

Sorry but I've no idea what their formula may be. Other than that, Where Yak covered it very well (as usual).

Try to make certain that no one in the area is feeding such a beast. That includes dumping edible stuff like fish carcasses in the water with any regularity whatsoever. The retired guy who lives upstream and dumps fish guts off his dock three times a week could be the reason he stays around, if he does stay around.

[downoffthemountain]

Thanks for the feedback everyone, but Steve most of all. Where Y'ak, I saved that picture from when you posted it last year. Friends & family back home were more than impressed. I will put my application in for a private land tag and see what happens. I'd be tempted to put in for the public land lottery but without a boat (other than my trusty canoe)that seems more than a bit impractical. If I don't qualify, I may very well have a nuisance trapper give me a hand. Having a 7' gator living in the neighborhood is interesting. Having a 14' gator move in is a liability - for both me and the dog - as you said. I'm not aware of anyone local feeding them, but I can't say what gets dumped off the bridge sometimes. I'll let you know how it turns out.

[Yak-a-Lou]

Call your local animal control. They have someone already contracted for gators. They may come and trap him for free. Zoos love big gators.

Doesn't work that way. Nuisance alligator trappers are regulated through LDWF. To get the ball rolling, call 1-800-442-2511. The trappers are independent and get paid by selling the meat and hide.

[LuvDaTigers]

14' sounds like typical fisherman embellishment. That's big. Real BIG. But it does sound like you've got a fairly large bull alligator near your property, it just may not be 14'. And alligators love dogs, you're doing the right thing with the pup keeping him on tighter reigns.
Personally, YAL close your eyes and ears, if it was my property I'd take care of any big gator like that. Anything over 7 foot could be a problem for your dog. And if you have any neighbors feeding the gator, make sure you shoot that particular gator and your neighbor. Just kidding about the neighbor, though I'd probably call the police or WLF on neighbors that are feeding gators. They're putting everyone around you in danger.

[Where Y'ak?]

WhooHoo. Got the lottery letter and was picked again!

[downoffthemountain]

That's excellent Where Y'ak! Congratulations. Pearl River again?

[Where Y'ak?]

Yep. Pearl River WMA. Three tags.

[papawd]

I SAID SAME THING TODAY PROLLY MORE LIKE 10-11'.....A 3-4' GATOR CAN EAT A DOG EASILY AND THE SMALLER GATORS ARE QUICKER ALSO CAN BE AGGRESSIVE KEEP AN EYE ON THE DOG .........

[yak-aholic]

According to Manny Puig, the gators that are more likely to attack are the ones in the 7'-8' range. My feeling on that is that is probably a much more common size gator than the 10'-12'ers. All I know is that I wouldn't want either of them to grab me, my kids, or my dog.

[downoffthemountain]

Where Y'ak - Good luck on the Pearl again this year! Hopefully you get "the big one" this year.
I dropped off my application yesterday. I should know by next Tuesday if I qualify for a landowner tag.
If I do qualify for a tag and am able to bag a big gator that will be the ultimate trophy of my stay here on bayou to take back to Colorado when I finally head home.

[Branch_Office]

Nothing says you got to go back lol....... you could start calling this home and hang out more with us.

[MDR]

Nothing says you got to go back lol....... you could start calling this home and hang out more with us.

Ditto. Who wants to go back to "Texas west" ? LOL (Only folks that lived there may truly appreciate that)

You'll be resigned to catching those rainbows and browns instead of specks and reds. True, we don't have elk, but you're not gonna find many gators in CO. And after awhile you get used to the humidity. (At least they keep telling me that. After 25 years or so I keep waiting for that one)

[downoffthemountain]

Boys,
I'm truly enjoying my time down here and as I'm "bachin it" again, all my spare time is being spent either on the water or beginning this weekend back in the local woods scouting for pigs. I'm going to get an earlier start this year baiting them in & getting them settled in a "happy place" that just happens to be within bowshot of a "stand-friendly" tree. As soon as they start showing up on a regular basis, I'm going to start harvesting, regardless of the heat & bugs - my freezer is empty of pork. That's bad. If the gods smile, perhaps I'll have fresh fish, pork and gator going into the freezer within the month.
A gator skull & hide, a big boar head and a lunker red or trout for the wall would be the best batch of souveniers I could hope to take back west but west I will go.
I fully intend to get out on the water with you guys - likely starting with outcast II at Mag - but the wife is already gone. She started her new job a month ago. I hope to get back that way by the end of the year, before Thanksgiving if possible. I like the bayou, and just this morning I told my wife that I think I've fully aclimatized to the humidity again (was raised in Missouri).
However, when I can't see mountains every day I simply am not 100% alive.

[downoffthemountain]

It turns out that I have enough habitat to qualify for 1 tag - I picked it up yesterday and season opens next Wednesday. I'm literally hunting in my back yard.
Based on conversations with some locals, I'm planning on suspending a cornish hen or small roasting chicken (nicely ripened in the sun for a few days prior) a couple feet above the water. I've got a big live oak to anchor too and have a design for using some bamboo poles with which to build the suspension rig - while the tree is plenty big, no branches hang over the water the way I'd like them to.
Now I've got a new set of questions:
What do you recommend I use for line - heavy cord? What weight? Where do I get it? Cable? If cable, use a std. cable clamp to attach the hook?
What hook size/type?
Where Y'ak?
Anybody else?

[bigredbobber]

here's a site with good info on gator hunting in GA. It has good info even though the regs are different here. it's a decent start for someone not from here. I wish our LWF had publications like this for gators. Last time I went to the LWF library at the HQ, it was moved and basically a room with maps of WMAs only. Nothing and no one else there. Stinks.

http://icwdm.org/wildlife/alligator/GAGator20Hunt20Guide.pdf

Most people I know use nylon cord, not cable. I have no idea the test strength or anything, but I'll ask.

[bigredbobber]

Here's a good local article:

http://www.rodnreel.com/articles/articles.asp?cmd=view&StoryID=704

[bigredbobber]

here's LWF's Youtube Video about Gator Hunting. It will answer a lot of questions you might have.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrtwz1rPq48&feature=player_embedded#!
Carry a .22 to put them down. It doesn't take much, just the right shot placement.

Here's a bayou boy tip that most people not from LA don't know. If you want a bigger gator, you have to hang the chicken higher than usual from the bamboo. Only big gators can get those baits. It depends upon the length of the gator to determine how far they can "tail walk" their way up and out of the water. Smaller ones will just miss it and fall back into the water. That'll save you some time and cut back on the fun job of letting the extra gators free.

[Where Y'ak?]

It's nothing fancy. A large 12-0 non stainless J hook. The line is heavy twine. Gus's in Slidell sells both the hooks and the twine. I simply tied the hook directly to the line.

If you don't have a limb to suspend the bait over the water you can use a willow pole or piece of PVC pipe. As long as you have something stout to tie off the base of the line to. Use about 30' of twine. I use a simple wooden clothes pin to suspend the bait. Adjust the height by clipping the line in the clothes pin.

The lower you put the bait, the smaller the gator that you can catch. I kept mine about 24" above the water. I guy in the class last week said he puts his about 36" and says the he catches gators 7' and up. He apparently was a very experienced gator hunter.

You cannot use a shotgun to dispatch the gator. Best is a 22 rifle with the shot placed in the center of the head behind the eyes.

We used chicken quarters. Fresh seemed to work well.

Let me know if you have any more questions. The lottery hunt doesn't begin until Sept. 4.

http://i566.photobucket.com/albums/ss101/cvholmes/alligator/01.jpg

http://i566.photobucket.com/albums/ss101/cvholmes/alligator/02.jpg

[downoffthemountain]

BRB, thanks for the links and Where Y'ak? for suggesting Gus' to source supplies. I'll be heading over there 1st thing Saturday morning. Your picture validates what I had planned to rig up. I'm also excited to hear that fresh chicken works - a lot nicer to handle than rotten! I'm excited about next week. I figure I'll start my set up at nearly 3'. I've got a big one lurking around and that's who I'm after.