USA: Alabama Gator Hunt

Bobpuckett

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Guy not sure were to post this one so here goes. I've never hunted Gators before but it's always been on my list, well I finally fulfilled my dream. Randy and I finally got my gator we seen 20 in 2 days from 2 feet to 6 feet then this big 8 foot female came out Tag Your It.
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Well folks now for the rest of the story. As most of you have now seen my gator I had a heck of a time and would do it again in a skinny minute. I had chased another Gator for over an hour and it may have even been a little bit bigger but when I cast my snag hook out and landed right in front of it, it scared it and it dove and I never seen it again. on the way out of the slew I spotted another one at the mouth of the slew and the chase was on. We went about a hunderd yard chasing it and when I say chase it is at a snales pace. She stopped about 35-40 yards in front of us broadside and I cast the hook. It landed perfect about 2 feet the other side of her and I gave it a second to sink then jerked the pole to set the hook, WOW!!! all Hell broke loose Gator On!!! we fought for about 45 minutes to an hour I was using 100# braided line and she was dragging us around the slew like a tug boat. As she got tired she turned and went back under the boat and in to the cattails. As we got close I told Randy Puckett to get ready with the 16/0 gaff hook I had made and hook it and I don't care where. As he tried to hook her it hit her in the tail and she was off again. This time she went under the cattails turned left and came back under the boat again,I've got 15 yards of line under the weeds and she's still going, I said this is where were going to loose her all that line under the weeds. Randy said no we're not and pulled the boat closer to the cattails and started pulling them out of the ground until he had my line free. Fight was back on! She was getting tired and as I pulled her from the bottom randy set the gaff hook we pulled her up put a snare around her neck as is required by Alabama State law, they have to be alive and brought along side the boat secured before you can dispatch them. Gator Down! But while we were having so much fun in the next county down from us was another fight going on in the same hunting area. A man running dogs chasing hogs had one of his dogs eaten by a Gator so he told the gator hunters where to find it. In the back of a slew was a gator and it's a big one. they went looking 2 women 2 men and about a 15 year old kid at about 11 o'clock they hooked in to him and he was a monster it was dragging them around the swamp for a while it was 5 O'clock AM before the Lady was able to Dispatch him he was so big they couldn't get him in the boat so they went back to the dock and called a friend with a car hauler and an ATV to drag him out for them, as they got to the checkout ststion late that morning they found out that they had not only set the New Alabama State Record but if they were SCI members she Had just Set the New SCI World Record at 15 Feet long and weighing in at over 200 pounds more then the one taken in Texas.
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I would like to add my thanks to the rangers working this site they start at 8PM and get off at 6AM this pic was taken at 9AM they had to put in a few hours of overtime for the hunters but I didn't hear 1 complaint. Good Job
 
Baiting with dogs gets you record book Gators. Hmmm, I don't think that will catch on.

Congrats on your trophy. Interesting hunting method.

15 feet would be a Rowland Ward Croc, never mind a Gator. Big critter.
 
Baiting with dogs gets you record book Gators. Hmmm, I don't think that will catch on.

Congrats on your trophy. Interesting hunting method.

15 feet would be a Rowland Ward Croc, never mind a Gator. Big critter.

I don't know I get about 1 stray dog a month showing up at my place! LOL
 
Sounds like it was 1 helluva adventure Bob. It's on the bucket list for sure. Gonna start stock piling stray dogs for a whopper:D
 
good stuff bobby
when you said you got a gator , I thought you shot it , not on a line , that's kinda cool ,mate.
dogs seem to be good berley for all crocs and gators everywhere, it seems .
thanks for showing us , bud......
 
That is one really big gator! Stay out of that water!
 
Thanks Guys! It was a blast, as we were standing there talking to the Rangers he said thats a big one but that record will be broke to. I got to thinking what he said and it makes sence they closed Alligator hunt here in Alabama back in the 60's and just opened it back up 7 years ago so they've had 30 years of growing time with only a few problem gators being taken out. And the Park Ranger had told us of one here and her husband had seen while fishing they were in a 16' boat and the gator went under thier boat and was over 15' long I thought she was just kidding.
 
Congrats on the nice trophy. I know nothing about hunting gators and I'm wondering why do you guys tape the mouth shut?
 
They have a habit of playing dead! Give you another story, just before I checked my gator in they had another one being checked in these gators have to be checked for size weight and sex. the Bioligist working the site 1 man and 1 women were checking the gators and recording the info. well it was the lady's turn to check the gator and when she stuck er finger in to check for sex of animal the gator started wiggling and the Bioligist damn near shit her pants when I brought mine up she stepped back and the guy looked at the back of the head to see where I had dispatch it and then laughed and ask the lady if she wanted to check this one? It won't wiggle!:ROFLMAO:
 
l believe that all crocs and gators don't have lots of power on the opening of there mouths ,but shitloads on the chomps side .
when you see live crocs/gators being transported , they only have their snouts tied with string , or electriacl tape
 
Make sense, thanks for the explanation and the good anecdote.

I don't mean to hijack this tread but I read this article in one of our newspaper here in Canada about a record size gator harvested a few days ago.

http://ww2.nationalpost.com/m/wp/bl...foot-alligator-weighing-more-than-1000-pounds

LMAO Same Gator but not the right facts some cover-up stuff for the anti's no doubt. The Story I told was the one told to the Game Warden as I eased drop in at the time of check in my gator was the one being checked in just before Mandy's and there was 240 permits for gators in Alabama in three different hunting areas the area that Mandy's party and I were hunting in only had 50 permits. Now thats not saying I didn't miss understad some of what was being said I am hard of hearing but that is what I understood while ease droping.:ROFLMAO:
 
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