I hate alligators 2025

The wife and I took a trip to Hilton Head to visit my folks and do some fishing.

Just as we always do, we have a very good trip with a guide we've booked 6+ times now.  But I also wanted to do some bass fishing on the golf course ponds.

Got up nice and early and headed down to a sweet little spot I found last time I was here.  On the second cast, a bass inhales my spook but shakes off.  OK, they're here.  I get another HUGE blowup that missed the bait, but I also land one about 2 lbs.

Then, the uninvited guest arrives.  The pond I'm fishing is long and skinny, and I just happen to look down to the right and see a gator cruising in.  He stops about 40 yards from me, so I continue to fish.  My concern is that the weeds right at the waterline are not trimmed, so he'd be able to hide.

As he inches closer over the next few minutes, I decide to try a different spot on the same pond, just around the corner.  I hop in the car, park over there and hop out.  And then guess who cruises over to join me again?  I mean, this dude swam directly at me from my previous spot.

Looking at the size of this gator, I think it's the same one I found on this pond last time I was here.  He didn't take too kindly to me swatting mosquitoes off me, an actually came up out of the water at a friend and me.  That ended THAT fishing day, and he ended this one for me as well.

On a side note, apparently a 12-ft gator was spotted in the ocean off Hilton Head this weekend, and has so far eluded capture.  It was last spotted swimming 400 yards off the beach.  How'd you like to be out fishing for mackeral and see this beast cruise up beside your boat?  Hehe...

KROIKE mate!!!!  Wheres Steve Irwin when you need him?

When I was young we used to throw golf balls at them for fun.  Thinking back,  that was D.U.M.B  

It has been my assumption that golf course gators are meaner than others. I don't know if it's because people mess with them or they are hit with golf balls, but they have more of an attitude and they won't swim off or even go below the surface when approached. Most of my encounters off the golf course with them are just them being curious and they retreat when approached.

I don't think its fair to call them meaner. They are probably just used to seeing people and extra curious and not at all afraid.

Just carry a .44mag on your hip and if one gets close put a few between his eyeballs and keep fishing. Some gators have ruined publics ponds here in Florida as they are protected. The place I fish is private property and with a permit we can take care of the gators pretty quickly making the fishing more pleasant. Just know if one had the chance they would take you out no doubt about it (8ft+). I've came up on a 15ft gator in Stick Marsh in a 12ft jon boat, and he wanted to get in the boat. My GF wasn't very excited about that. Typically they are shy but trust me, if you swam across a canal here in florida, you wouldn't make it to the other side with a large gator in the water. That alone makes me want to shoot em.

SIZE

Female alligators rarely exceed 9 feet in length, but males can grow much larger. The Florida state record for length is a 14 foot 5/8 inch male from Lake Monroe in Seminole County. The Florida record for weight is a 1,043 pound (13 feet 10 1/2 inches long) male from Orange Lake in Alachua County.

Golf course gators are a bit more dangerous because of the garbage tossers. Those that are eating lunch and are too lazy to walk to a garbage pail with their leftovers, using the ponds instead as a receptacle, are the cause.

They love white marshmallows.

Bring some marshmallows and feed them so they will go away.

Then again...........  ;D   ;D   ;D

Causes of alligator attacks

#1 is trying to pick up or catch an alligator

#2 Swimming in an area thick with gators

#3 Retrieving lost golf balls

#4 unintentionally bopping one on the head with a 1 oz weighted sweet beaver while flipping thick grass!

A small lake I fish in central Florida was teeming with gators last year.

My wife & I love alligators, but this year we haven't seen a single one.

On my way in, I met two fellows at the ramp. One appeared to be salivating with joy,

and volunteered the fact that they were on their way out to hunt alligators.

I said, "That's a D**M shame...no wonder why we haven't seen any gators lately".

He fired back, "Oh, we're only allowed to kill two gators". I said "TWO...I haven't seen ONE all year".

By this time, I couldn't stand looking into his face any longer, so just turned around and walked away.

I have a letter going out to the FWC, as I'd like ONE reason why these men were given permission to murder alligators.

Roger

"My Mama says that alligators are ornery because they got all them teeth and no toothbrush." - adam sandler/waterboy

News flash: Gators dont eat fishermen.

To the OP: that gator wasnt trying to eat you. He was either hoping you would catch a fish that he would steal, or that you had some food.

pitchnbass: i hope you dont think that gator at farm was trying to eat you and your gf. haha. He was just showing you who was boss of the marsh.......and he is. He doesnt deserve to get killed for that.

I am all for population control when it is called for and american alligators are thriving down here.......but shooting one just because you are scared of it doesnt make sense to me.

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Causes of alligator attacks

#1 is trying to pick up or catch an alligator

#2 Swimming in an area thick with gators

#3 Retrieving lost golf balls

#3 here.  Last time I was at Hilton Head SC  I was golfing and I hit a ball close to one of the ponds.  Well I went down by the pond and there sat my ball about 3 feet from a gator.  Needless to say,  he kept it. ;D

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News flash: Gators dont eat fishermen.

To the OP: that gator wasnt trying to eat you. He was either hoping you would catch a fish that he would steal, or that you had some food.

pitchnbass: i hope you dont think that gator at farm was trying to eat you and your gf. haha. He was just showing you who was boss of the marsh.......and he is. He doesnt deserve to get killed for that.

I am all for population control when it is called for and american alligators are thriving down here.......but shooting one just because you are scared of it doesnt make sense to me.

I'm looking into this as we speak.

Needless to say, it is always careless people who get bears and alligators into trouble just for being bears and alligators.

In our National Parks, officers are forced to transport or destroy precocious animals that have learned

of man's physical inferiority and sloppy food handling. These individuals are labeled "nuisance bears" or "nuisance gators".

Sadly, Florida has superseded this mode of operation, and the killing of alligators has now become a commercial process.

I'm not sure who's aligned for monetary gain, but I do know that the FWC has lost control and insight

as to the damage caused by the commercial destruction of alligators.

Roger

I fish the ponds in Plantation on Hilton Head. with popping bugs . I have had some less than pleasant encounters with some gators there.  One particularly aggressive one insisted on taking a fish from me that I just wanted to release. He wound up getting it ,too.When the fish jump the gators come quick.By the time I could get this fish to the bank, the gator was there so I backed up and slid the fish on the grass out of the water.the fish flopped and came off the hook.the gator came out of the water and we were equal distances from the bass. the fish flopped one more time and the gator charged in and got it.  I wasn't feeling like Tarzan so I didn't wrestle him for it.  Later on the same gator came out of the water after my son.He did not have a fish. He was , however, backing away quickly enough fro the gator to stop and stare at him like he was wondering if he could catch him.It scared him pretty bad.Once they are over 8 feet they have no fear of humans at all. I have experience with back country gators in Florida and in my opinion these residential gators on the golf courses at Hilton Head are more dangerous.  Gators in Florida are subject to being hunted and seem to know that humans are dangerous to them and are more likely to keep their distance. The golf course gators  have no reason to fear humans because no one is allowed to harm them.You can throw golf balls or sticks or rocks ,if you can find one,at the big ones and they won't even flinch.They will just give you that cold stare like they are saying "  why don't you come a little closer to throw that at me." And that is all I have to say about that.

Here is my short, sweet and 100% honest opinion that I will always follow.

If my life is in danger, if I feel my life is in danger, or if my family or anyone I know is in danger. I will shoot, Stab, Punch, Kick, beat with a stick or use any means of protection possible.

Now... if gators are high in population its fine by me to hunt. Gators taste like chicken. There's no difference between gator hunting and deer hunting. Without hunting population will grow and food will become scarce causing more and more human attacks.

Now let me ask all you gator lovers a question. How would you feel if you, your wife, or kids were attacked by a gator?

Roger, I respectfully disagree with your stance on the hunting of gators, and, the job the FWC is doing with it, they have very strict seasons, restrictions,a dn permitting processes. they also restrict the number of permits per state, region, and waters, per year, and there are size limits, helping to ensure the population is not hurt in the process. I have personally witnessed this process by fishing very popular gator hunting grounds (the headwaters of the st. johns river, lakes washington, hell-n-blazes,and  sawgrass) Every bend fo that river down there has 4-5 gators sitting on it, I have come to canals with gators so thick you could walk across the canal on them. I can assure you in those populations are NOT hurt by legal hunting.

now, fi the lake/pond you enjoy fishing's population has dropped,there may be other factors involved, adn it may need an FWC biologist's assessment about the necessity of hunting on that waterway.

George, while the record gator in fl. may be 14+, I very seriously believe there are much bigger lizards out there, I know for a fact that I have seen some on the stick marsh, garcia, as well as in a small pond that were over the 14' mark, and I do believe were over 15', I can remember one swimming by the boat on Garcia that was about 20' form us, it appeared to stretch from bow to stern, and that was a 16' glastream, I believe within the next few years of hunting seasons, that 14+ will be broken.

All of this being said, I do not hunt gators, I don't have the equipment or the means, let alone the money to get the permits or hire a guide, I do however have friends who enjoy hunting them, and I absolutely love gator meat, it's not true that it tastes like chicken, its much better

remember what they say, even a puddle in florida is liable to have a gator swimming in it.

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Now let me ask all you gator lovers a question. How would you feel if you, your wife, or kids were attacked by a gator?

gator lover? Nobody is talking zoophilia here.

To answer your question i would feel horrible. First off because either myself, my wife, or my kid would be in trouble. Secondly I would be mad at myself for my lack of judgment in letting myself, my wife, or my kid get into a situation where a gator could attack them.

Gators dont shoot out of the bushes at the mall and grab wives, and they dont pick kids off of swingsets.

Lately I have been seeing quite a few gators around my part of Florida. For the most part they spook real easy and just leave, but the golf course ones are used to seeing people and they don't spook, I'd be wary of them.

A year or two ago a lady was jogging down in Tamarac I think and gator came out of a pond and attacked her, she didn't make it.

I have hooked a number of small gators that were interested only in the bass on my line, they swim faster then I can reel. They will hit a top plug as well as a plastic worm.

I'm not a fan of hunting them legal or not, but if you must do it like a man......wrestle them and the best 2 out of 3 falls win, my dough is on the gator. ;D

BTW, Florida gator record is 17'5.

Florida gator record is 17'5.

the record is fairly new, by the way I can tell you for a fact there are gators in the St. Johns and several other areas have gators pushing if not exciding this size.

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Lately I have been seeing quite a few gators around my part of Florida. For the most part they spook real easy and just leave, but the golf course ones are used to seeing people and they don't spook, I'd be wary of them.

A year or two ago a lady was jogging down in Tamarac I think and gator came out of a pond and attacked her, she didn't make it.

I have hooked a number of small gators that were interested only in the bass on my line, they swim faster then I can reel. They will hit a top plug as well as a plastic worm.

I'm not a fan of hunting them legal or not, but if you must do it like a man......wrestle them and the best 2 out of 3 falls win, my dough is on the gator. ;D

BTW, Florida gator record is 17'5.

It wasnt a pond it was a canal. And the final conclusion was that she fell in drowned and the gator found her after.

Fish and Game sets the record claim and they have it as previously quoted. I went to their claim because I didn't want anyone to think "George said".

I am sure that their are bigger gators out there. Fish and Game regularly move gators that approach the 13' mark from our local lakes and move them out into the marsh areas if they are notified of their presence.

As for visible sheer numbers - I know that both the Marsh and Garcia have scads of the little puppies. I have fished with as many as 24 within casting distance of the boat. Every year Fish and Game harvest thousands of eggs so as to ensure a steady recruitment even if for some reason, forces of nature would have made it otherwise.

A quote from the Sun Sentinel: Earlier, Officer Jorge Pino, spokesman for the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, said the department had witnesses who had seen a woman matching Jimenez's description dangling her feet over the water's edge, but no one saw an attack, Pino said.

The above being in reference to the jogger that was killed in Davie.

The 12 year old that was eaten near Orlando a couple of years ago was very much alive when the gator got him .He made the mistake of swimming in the wrong place at sunset and may actually have been showing off for his buddies showing them how close he would get to the gator. The point is that alligators will and do attack people and they don't care whether or not you are a fisherman or whatever. The gator is above humans on the food chain. We are no different than a dog or deer or anything else that gets close enough to grab to them. Also,some of them are meaner than others .That can be interpreted as more aggressive if you prefer, but if one ever pops up at the waters edge and grabs you by the leg you will be awfully lucky if you get to go fishing again in this world.   I came real close to being a statistic one day on Gator creek north of Parish Park near Titusville.Any body that doesn't think gators are mean just hasn't been around many of them.I am all for being respectful of all God's creatures, but some of them will eat you if they get the chance and alligators can and will.  I would not want to fall out of a boat on the St.John's near Palm Bay .I have been there.

For me, gators ar ejust part of the ecosystem. As a rule I will not go putting myself in a position (if I can help it) to be grabbed or threatened by one.

That being said, if I have one threatening me and I cannot retreat, it is going to die. If I even think it is threatening one of my kids or my wife, it is going to die.

i think the worst parts are where folks deliberately put themselves in situations where they likely to get attacked. Or like at a client site I was at in Charleston, where people are sloppy as all heck with food and actually throw food at LARGE gators. of course they will start to consider humans as food sources.

I have also had a period where i did a lot of deer hunting. Provided it is managed, I would see nothing wrong with hunting gators. Poachers though, should be fed to them.

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I fish the ponds in Plantation on Hilton Head. with popping bugs . I have had some less than pleasant encounters with some gators there. One particularly aggressive one insisted on taking a fish from me that I just wanted to release. He wound up getting it ,too.When the fish jump the gators come quick.By the time I could get this fish to the bank, the gator was there so I backed up and slid the fish on the grass out of the water.the fish flopped and came off the hook.the gator came out of the water and we were equal distances from the bass. the fish flopped one more time and the gator charged in and got it. I wasn't feeling like Tarzan so I didn't wrestle him for it. Later on the same gator came out of the water after my son.He did not have a fish. He was , however, backing away quickly enough fro the gator to stop and stare at him like he was wondering if he could catch him.It scared him pretty bad.Once they are over 8 feet they have no fear of humans at all. I have experience with back country gators in Florida and in my opinion these residential gators on the golf courses at Hilton Head are more dangerous. Gators in Florida are subject to being hunted and seem to know that humans are dangerous to them and are more likely to keep their distance. The golf course gators have no reason to fear humans because no one is allowed to harm them.You can throw golf balls or sticks or rocks ,if you can find one,at the big ones and they won't even flinch.They will just give you that cold stare like they are saying " why don't you come a little closer to throw that at me." And that is all I have to say about that.

Hey guys I go to Hilton Head too.  I stay in Sea Pines usaully and I have fished the 3 small lakes in the conservation area.  I was told alot of the pond are brackish water b/c of flood I guess that wasn't true.  So which ponds are good and safe to fish?

Like I said , I fish in Plantation.The ponds in there that have direct connections to tidal creeks have salt water running into them at high tide.They have redfish and ladyfish and mullet   The ones that are fed only by run-off are full of bass and bream (huge bream you can barely reach around and that will suck down a #2 popper with no problem.  So all of them are good to fish.but as to safe;none of them are. watch out for those gators.

Great so any of those ponds in the golf cousres and parks have bass?

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