Gator hunting

[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?