Fishing With Gators???!!! 2025
dag623 reply :
So I checked out the live blog from the Seminole Elite Series event, and the blogger mentioned that there were several 10 to 11 foot gators nearby where Shaw Grisby was fishing. Being from New Hampshire, I have never even seen a gator, let alone could I possibly fathom fishing with several nearby lol.
So I have to ask you Southern guys a question... What is that like to fish gator infested waters?
MemphisFF reply :
Interested in that also.. They look real spookish to me on TV but I know from watching swamp people they are territorial and when they have a nest their aggressive.
AK-Jax86 reply :
You have to remember that you are in their territory they aren't in ours.
Majority of them are just curious they aren't going to attack your boat or anything like that. I have had some go after my top water lures, but never my fish but have seen it on videos.
Check out Captain Shane's YouTube channel he has some amazing videos of being run off by gators and gators going after his fish, lol don't let that put you off about fishing in FL though.
BassinLou reply :
I will be fishing amongst gators tomorrow in the Glades. You get used to them. Just don't taunt them with food of any kind or any fish that you catch. Then you will have a problem on your hands. As long as you leave them alone and respect them they will usually not mess with you. They are impressive to look at. Especially those 10-11 footers. They are massive animals.
dag623 reply :
Funny u should say that. After enduring one of the worst winters I've ever seen, my retirement plan is to spend January thru April living in and fishing Florida. Just the thought of reaching down to lip a bass knowing what's in there...
Ok, time for a change of underwear just thinkin about it lol.
BassinLou reply :
On 3/15/2014 at 1:27 AM, dag623 said:Funny u should say that. After enduring one of the worst winters I've ever seen, my retirement plan is to spend January thru April living in and fishing Florida. Just the thought of reaching down to lip a bass knowing what's in there...
Ok, time for a change of underwear just thinkin about it lol.
No, it doesn't quite work like that. If a gator is approaching you will see it coming full speed ahead. LOL. It's not the movie Lake Placid that a monster gator pops out of the water and tears your arm off going after your fish. LOL...
dag623 reply :
On 3/15/2014 at 1:33 AM, BassinLou said:No, it doesn't quite work like that. If a gator is approaching you will see it coming full speed ahead. LOL. It's not the movie Lake Placid that a monster gator pops out of the water and tears your arm off going after your fish. LOL
BassinLou reply :
On 3/15/2014 at 1:38 AM, dag623 said:
I understand where you coming from being from another part of the country where alligators don't exist. You will be ok . just follow the simple tips I provided and your good. Have a productive trip. 
Dwight Hottle reply :
I was talking to a renowned florida fishing guide who told me about a gator that attacked his client's first DD bass right at the boat as the guide was getting ready to grab it. He said he was so startled that he almost jumped out of the boat on the opposite side. They had not seen the gator previously. Needless to say the poor guy never got a picture with his trophy bass.
geo g reply :
Like Lou said, you get used to them. Fishing the everglades all the time we will see loads of gators of all size during the low water dry season. Sometime we would be pushing ten decent size gators down a canal as we move along. They seldom come within 10 feet of the boat. If you move toward them they usually move along with you. I have hooked a gator by accident and it hung onto my bait until it decided enough was enough. I would not want to be in the water with them, especially at night.
MarkH024 reply :
Yeah yeah yeah yeahhhhhhhhhhh!
BassinLou reply :
On 3/15/2014 at 2:15 AM, MarkH024 said:Yeah yeah yeah yeahhhhhhhhhhh!
Mark.. LOL... that looks like a croc on the right.... Those on the other hand, I would stay clear from. We had reports of 2 Nile crocs not so long ago that were released in the Glades. FWC put a shoot on site for them.
Wayne P. reply :
They like plastic worms too. See the Culprit worm this one took?
MarkH024 reply :
On 3/15/2014 at 2:20 AM, BassinLou said:Mark.. LOL... that looks like a croc on the right.... Those on the other hand, I would stay clear from. We had reports of 2 Nile crocs not so long ago that were released in the Glades. FWC put a shoot on site for them.
Croc..Gator...I'm not messing with either. I believe that hand belonged to a fella in China or Taiwan putting on a show for a crowd. He lost obviously but only his hand. If you search out the video you can find it. I'm sure its too graphic for the site.
On the flip side, fried gator is good eats. Serve it up!
slonezp reply :
On 3/15/2014 at 2:15 AM, MarkH024 said:Yeah yeah yeah yeahhhhhhhhhhh!
You should take a drive south. I've run into them on Santee Cooper and Toho. The one on Toho was nesting and keeping a close eye on us fro the water. The ones on Santee Cooper were sunning themselves and one got spooked by the boat and dove in the water probably 25ft from us. The splash it created almost knocked me off my feet. That wouldn't have been pretty. Me having my man boobs eaten an all...
dag623 reply :
LMAO
MarkH024 reply :
On 3/15/2014 at 2:47 AM, slonezp said:Me having my man boobs eaten an all...
Man boobs covered in doughnut crumbs is a sweet treat for a gator. I've been in the glades on an airboat with 6-8 footers right up by the boat. Even that stuff is a little too close for comfort for me. I don't like to mess with things that can eat or dismantle my body.
slonezp reply :
On 3/15/2014 at 2:51 AM, MarkH024 said:Man boobs covered in doughnut crumbs is a sweet treat for a gator. I've been in the glades on an airboat with 6-8 footers right up by the boat. Even that stuff is a little too close for comfort for me. I don't like to mess with things that can eat or dismantle my body.
I feel the same way. I like to be at the top of the food chain
nascar2428 reply :
FYI If you go to Shaws facebook fan page, he has a video of a nine footer posted.
Koofy Smacker reply :
I live in PA, have seen gators before down in Orlando so they werent foreign to me but last year I went down to Okeechobee for 3 days in March and thought it was really neat to fish with them. Several spots I saw 15-17ft gators. Absolutely massive, longer than your car and my guide even said there were more large ones out than he has seen in a long time. That said, they didnt bother me at all. Was actually really cool to fish in an ecosystem different than up north and they left me alone completely. Even went around and walked on the docks at the marina and was standing 4 ft from them taking pictures (I was on the dock they were in the water)
OkeechobeeAngler reply :
Dont sweat'em.
PS, they taste good.
fishinthedacks reply :
As not only a fisherman that has done some fishing in the south and lived there. But I also was a large scale reptile breeder. High end ball pythons, leopard geckos, bearded dragons, boas etc etc etc. had thousands. I know a lot of people who own American alligators and caimen crocs etc. I've handled my fair share of crocs and gators so they don't bother me. From 18" babies to helping sedate a 14' american alligator. If you know how to handle them and avoid them when fishing you're fine. They also can give you an indication if you're fishing in a good area if you know how they behave.
However the size is up to you to believe. I've shown people 8 ft gators they believed had to be 12-13 ft lol. Gators just scare people so they tell you they are that big the same way they tell you they caught a fish "THIS BIG" haha. Truth is just mind your business and they will mind theirs. Just don't hop out of that boat.
fishinthedacks reply :
On 3/15/2014 at 10:48 AM, OkeechobeeAngler said:Dont sweat'em.
PS, they taste good.
MMM deep fried gator tail beer battered and dipped in Louisianna hot sauce and the best. GATOR JERKY!!!!! Also have blended my share of gator/wildboar/venicine sausage. Amazing stuff.
Tartan34 reply :
They are amazing animals, and haven't given me (or anyone I know) any safety issues.
They will get occasionally get curious on a frog being walked or fish being reeled in, but no worries fishing around them.
The Duck of Death reply :
I remind them that georgia southern beat them. They usually wont bother you for the rest of the day
Troy Taylor reply :
I was stationed in Orlando when I was a young man. My neighbor an I would shore fish a lot of the ponds in our area. As we would walk around we constantly watched out for fresh gator poop on the trails around the water.Warm gator poop and we would get the hell out of there as quietly as possible. Everything was so over grown you never knew where the gator might be. Yea it was scary at times.
Troy Taylor reply :
We also took my neighbors dog. He was good for warning us about gators on shore in our area while we where fishing. Again we would leave.
1234567 reply :
Don't leave your lures hanging over the boat either! Down in the glades two years ago I was on the trolling motor in about 4 feet of water. As I looked down I saw a gator laying on the bottom. That's when it started up to the surface and came after the crankbait hanging over the side. I kicked my pole with my foot and luckily it missed. That could've been an expensive day on the water for me.
RAMBLER reply :
I have several Rapala floating minnows that are now key chain fobs. Those little (2-3') gators are quick and they like to lay in the weeds and ambush anything that moves and is smaller than they are. After they've crushed the lure and wrecked it, they give it back.
I fish in an area where there was a 13 foot gator. I'd drift through very quietly and he would slide off of the bank and float around near me and roar once in a while. When he would roar, I knew that I was closer than I should be so I would slowly and quietly move on out. I know he was 13' because I talked to the guy that killed him during a legal hunt. I miss seeing that old gator.
Gotfishyfingers? reply :
Just don't go swimming....
Oregon Native reply :
What gets me is those stories of people who float tube and fish small boats around the swamps. Dang...gators, snakes oh my!!!
BassinLou reply :
On 3/15/2014 at 10:57 AM, fishinthedacks said:As not only a fisherman that has done some fishing in the south and lived there. But I also was a large scale reptile breeder. High end ball pythons, leopard geckos, bearded dragons, boas etc etc etc. had thousands. I know a lot of people who own American alligators and caimen crocs etc. I've handled my fair share of crocs and gators so they don't bother me. From 18" babies to helping sedate a 14' american alligator. If you know how to handle them and avoid them when fishing you're fine. They also can give you an indication if you're fishing in a good area if you know how they behave.
However the size is up to you to believe. I've shown people 8 ft gators they believed had to be 12-13 ft lol. Gators just scare people so they tell you they are that big the same way they tell you they caught a fish "THIS BIG" haha. Truth is just mind your business and they will mind theirs. Just don't hop out of that boat.
Fishinthedacks, can you please elaborate on the red highlighted text. I may learn something new on what you have to say. Yesterday for example, the place I went to fish in the everglades usually has a lot of gators. Fishing was ok, but we only saw a handful of gators, when in the same area last month we saw a lot more.
Hyrule Bass reply :
id feel better in a boat than on the bank if i was fishing with gators. if i was bank fishing id stand way back. they would make me really nervous and cautious. i'd probably focus on them more than my fishing. just might not enjoy that regularly, from the bank that is. snakes are another thing im terrified of, if a snake of any type is around im gone. i was in NC back in february, and my bro in law had to kill a copperhead in his backyard, in freaking february. there were a few warm days, but dang, it wont that warm...sucker blended right in with the pine straw...
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