Alligator Hunting in Florida 
by Patty Twardzik

Florida Alligator Hunting
Alligator hunting in Florida is an exhilarating hunting experience for those that have not experienced the high-adrenaline action packed hunt that these reptiles can provide. You must be willing to go on dark waters and with a flash light in hand spot alligators in hiding that lurk from beyond the boat. There is the constant excitement of seeing larger and larger eyes looking back at you, only to know that there is a larger reptile at the other end of those eyes that comes with such a spotting.

Running a boat along side one of these monsters is truly an experience in and of itself. Alligators look almost “prehistoric” up close and personal”. Some old-time Floridian’s call them “water lizards”, but when you are close enough to reach out and touch them you will see that their nickname is not well suited to these “prehistoric giants”. They have teeth as sharp as razors, and eyes that look “steadfast and gleaming” back at you. The safety issue at this point is that you may forget to claim your gear and carry on with why you came out there to begin with!

Talking about gear… there are a few things you will need to have that you may never have had to purchase for other hunts that you may have gone on. When you apply and get picked under Florida’s “random drawing” for open alligator harvesting season you will receive a lot of information in the form of instruction on where you can hunt, when you can hunt, how you can hunt, and how others may get an “assisted trappers” license or what FWC refers to as “alligator trapping agents” to help you out. That is great, except for the fact that the instructions are a bit confusing to the average “gator wrestler” and can be quite overwhelming for most.

Here are a few basics rules you should know and understand completely. Your permits will be for a certain “harvest area” within the state. It is important that you know where your area is contained and where it is not. This can be a bit tricky due to the vast areas where you may hunt, and the confusion on where it starts and ends. If you don’t know your way around it would probably be advisable to have a knowledgeable assistant trapper that can help you out with this aspect. There are other rules to know as well, like can you harvest an alligator in a canal behind someone’s personal property? The answer is “yes and no” like so many of the questions and answers that you may have. Read and reread your “training and orientation” manual so that you know your stuff! It will save you a lot of headaches when you are out there hunting and could possibly save you a trip to the local jail based on the severity of your ignorance.

But don’t get discouraged, this is definitely an awesome experience to be had that you will not want to miss and with the proper knowledge of what it entails it can be a fun and exciting experience that you and your buddies will be talking about for a long time to come. It’s also fun to share with your grandkids at a later date and time!

Last year I obtained an alligator harvesting permit for Charlotte County, Florida and was elatedly quite successful in landing a “big one”. Keep in mind I’m a wife, mother, and grandmother and although I’m not a “girly girl”  But I was prepared (with lots of back up from my friends- with their “assistant trapper licenses in hand”) to tackle whatever size alligator came my way.

Prior to the week my permit was up, we scoured the area to find out where the best places in the County/area that would be most accessible and had big gators already there. Keep in mind, just because you see an alligator somewhere one week, doesn’t mean it will still be there when you come back. Alligators can travel far and wide with the proper waterways, canals, ditches, and culverts that connect these waterways. Even on a lake they can move from area to area during this time as alligators are very territorial and when a big bull (male) alligator is removed by another hunter in a lake other big bull alligators will move in to claim that “newly found” territory. Florida alligators mate in May and the alligator harvesting season begins in August so your not so much intruding on their mating season as on their “setting up for next year’s mate” season.

Keep in mind, though, since alligator mating season was in May and it takes about 40 days for an alligator egg to hatch, you may, and most likely will, run into a lot of baby hatchlings that are nesting or swimming around and, you know the old saying... where there are babies... there is almost always a mother nearby. Yikes! The unwritten rule is, you leave her and her babies alone and she will do the same. Besides, we are out to get a big bull alligator with a nice hide for an impressive wall mount or some awesome quality boots and purses (okay that’s for me) and or some souvenir wallets for the relatives and/or friends that have to endure your endless tales of “alligator hunting madness”.

Back to the gear… you possibly will need a fishing pole (Shimano 6500 fishing reel with 200 lb braided line and a 1500 lb wire leader with a #16 snatch hook or an approved dowel set-up), a knife, a bang-stick, a strong flashlight (with backup batteries), bug spray (or Therma-cell), a strong gaffe, a high-quality harpoon, a bait bucket, gloves (to bait with), waterproof tape (to wrap the gators snout shut and tie the feet up on top with) and a flats boat (if your lucky enough to have one). Other must haves are: protective clothing (mostly for the mosquito’s and other flying critters), rubber boots, your license, a picture ID, your cites tags, & your paperwork for your tags, and a pen.

Keep in mind that “quiet” is the key to hunting these bad boys. Continual flashlight spotting is counterproductive in most cases. Sitting quiet and being patient pays big dividends. Of course, this is very difficult to do when you are excited and antsy to get that big one to bite! When you do get a bite (alligator actually prefer to swallow their bait whole) you will need to let out some line to let the gator “take it” and swim off with it for a bit. Sometimes they will run after a bait and immediately take it, other times they will take it for a bit and then swallow it down. Either way, you will need to give them a little line to ensure that they have the bait. Once you can, start reeling it tight, it is advisable to keep reeling and keep the line snug. Gator can thrash easily and if it is coming towards the boat, you need to keep it coming that way and not let it get turned around.

Keep in mind at this point, that until you see the alligator “upclose and personal” you really don’t know the full size and length of the gator that looked “not so big” from afar. Gators can be deceiving, when up by the boat you should be able to see what size and width you are dealing with, and, believe me when I tell you, the strength these creatures have is amazing. Just when you think the fight is over, they have another one to give you at times. Don’t under estimate them. They are eating, breeding, and swimming machines, and if you are stopping them from doing any of these 3 things you will not be looked at lightly.

If they are too big (if there is such a thing), you may need to make arrangements to tie the gator behind the boat and head to the dock. You will need to bang-stick the gator before you transport it and put the cites tag in the tail properly as soon as possible. This tag stays with the gator from there. They are permanent tags that go with the hide wherever it goes, this is the way they can track the alligator harvested at any time/place. You also need to send a copy of the cites paperwork with the hide wherever it goes (taxidermist, tannery, etc). This is a must! We suggest you do not do business with any taxidermist that tells you otherwise, remember it could be your hide that gets tanned! Taking alligators illegally is serious business and could mean a trip to jail or prison for an offender, knowingly or not! Again, stick with the rules and you will be fine.
 

Looking forward to another fun gator hunt this season and hope you bag the big one!

~Patty~
 

 


 

Photo of Patty with a Florida
7 ft 9 in alligator harvested in 2008
 

Note: This article is meant to be entertaining only and is not to be interpreted as the legal rules and procedures on hunting alligator in the State of Florida or any other State.  Refer to the Florida alligator hunting handbook supplied to you by the FWC (Florida Wildlife Commission) for complete instructions and proper procedures to follow when hunting Florida alligator.