fredw
09-13-2004, 12:05 PM
Friday afternoon. On I-16 heading towards Savannah. Rain pouring out of buckets. Three guys (one certainly old enough to know better) planning to attach a string to a free roaming monster (complete with huge teeth and a bad attitude) just so they could pull him up to a boat where the real fun could begin. Alligator season opens in less than ten hours.
The Georgia Department of Natural Resources provides successful quota hunt applicants with a nice booklet on hunting alligators. Included in the detail is the following quote:
"An alligator hunt will be unlike any prior hunting experience and will be something you will remember for a lifetime."
I can attest to the first part of that statement and feel sure about the second part.
My son Chad (GA Carpkiller), his friend Justin, and I launched a 19 foot center console Carolina Skiff at the ramp on highway 17 in Darien shortly before midnight on Friday night. Our plan was to hunt the rivers and creeks surrounding the Altamaha Wildlife Management Area. Outfitted with a compound bow complete with the Muzzy Gator Getter setup, a harpoon, a snare, a .357 Magnum bang stick, and a .40 caliber Beretta handgun we felt we were prepared for the adventure.
After arranging our gear for easy access, we spent a few minutes running up the river to the creek we planned to hunt. All the way I was asking questions of my partners. They had hunted this area last year and were successful with taking a 7 foot 4 inch female alligator.
At 12:02 a.m., the q-beam was turned on. We started moving up the creek running the gasoline motor at idle speed. It was just moments when we saw the reflection from the first alligators eyes. We eased up on the alligator, bow ready for a shot. The alligator was only about four foot long so we kept going.
We quickly got into a pattern. We used the q-beam to locate an alligator and then switched to a 3 cell mag lite for the "stalk". The gasoline motor was shut down and the trolling motor used to get close to the alligator. The shooter stood on the deck next the guy holding the light. The third person ran the trolling motor. As we eased up on the alligator, the two guys on the deck would try to estimate the alligator length by determining the distance between the nostrils and the eyes. This distance, in inches, is roughly equivalent to the length of the alligator in feet. We found that this isn't as easy as it sounds.
Our first excitement came when we spotted a nine footer. Unfortunately he spooked before we could get the shot off.
Just a few minutes later, we spotted an eight footer in shallow water over a mud flat. The bow was drawn and just a second before the arrow was released all heck broke loose when a school of mullet (frightened by the boat approach) started leaping over the back of the alligator. The alligator didn't take kindly to the commotion and made quite a splash as he submerged. The alligator caused even more mullet to take to the air.
Once things settled down we continued up the creek. It didn't take long to spot another good sized alligator. We got within fifteen feet of the alligator and took a shot. Unfortunately my aim was off and I shot about a foot over the alligator's back.
Things got really exciting for the next hour. We spotted a large alligator, made a stalk, took a shot, and thought we had missed. As we were pulling in the arrow, we realized there was an alligator on the other end of the line pulling like crazy. Back overboard goes the float. In a couple of minutes we got ahold of the float and tried pulling the alligator in. The string (600 pound test) was too thin to handle comfortably with our bare hands. We grabbed a short piece of 2X4 to wrap the line around as we tried to pull the alligator in. Each of us took turns trying to get the alligator to the surface. When it finally surfaced we could not believe what was attached to the other end of the line. It was absolutely huge. The head was enormous, the body so large that we would not have been able to reach around it, and we estimated it to be somewhere between ten and twelve feet long.
The alligator did not take kindly to being pulled to the surface. With one swipe of its tail, it dove for the bottom again. It was so strong that we couldn't hold on. We got ahold of the float again and started pulling. Up to the surface he came. Down he went.
After repeating this process ten or twelve times, we finally got the snare around his snout. As the snare was tightened all heck really broke loose. The alligator started spinning, rolling itself up in the lines attached to the snare and to the arrow. Through the trashing and spinning, water was sprayed everywhere. The alligator made one last dive. As he did, the snare slipped off his snout. As we tried to work the alligator back to the surface, the arrow pulled loose! An hour fight with a monster alligator ended with the three of us standing there in silence with a dumbfounded look on our faces. With weak knees, I went back to the rear of the boat, picked up the bow and started rigging up another arrow.
In retrospect, I don't know how we would have gotten an alligator that size into the boat. I can just imagine the three of us on one side of the boat trying to pull an alligator that weighed hundreds of pounds over the transom and having the boat capsize.
After re-rigging and letting our nerves settle a bit, we went back to the hunt. Around 4:30 we shot another alligator. This one came in fairly easy (certainly in comparison to the monster). We got it up to the boat, put the snare on it's snout, and put a 158 grain .357 Magnum Federal Hydra-Shock bullet through the brain with the bang stick. Instant death. We taped the mouth shut, pulled the alligator in, taped the legs together behind the back, attached the temporary tag, and headed back to the dock.
We were back at the dock and in the truck at ten minutes to six. In the four and a half hours we hunted, I had counted 67 alligators up to and including the one we took. We saw another dozen or so on the way back to the dock. Having seen what lives in those rivers and creeks I don't think you could pay me to get in the water.
We learned one big lesson. When you get an arrow into a big alligator, follow that up with another arrow at the first opportunity.
My alligator was a bull that measured 7 foot 10 inches. We just couldn't get an additional two inches on him regardless of how many times we measured! Never the less, a nice trophy from a unique hunt and an experience that I will never forget.
The meat is in the freezer, the taxidermist has been contacted, and I'll be taking the hide to the DNR office in Gainesville tomorrow to get the permanent Cites tag. The memories will linger on.
The Georgia Department of Natural Resources provides successful quota hunt applicants with a nice booklet on hunting alligators. Included in the detail is the following quote:
"An alligator hunt will be unlike any prior hunting experience and will be something you will remember for a lifetime."
I can attest to the first part of that statement and feel sure about the second part.
My son Chad (GA Carpkiller), his friend Justin, and I launched a 19 foot center console Carolina Skiff at the ramp on highway 17 in Darien shortly before midnight on Friday night. Our plan was to hunt the rivers and creeks surrounding the Altamaha Wildlife Management Area. Outfitted with a compound bow complete with the Muzzy Gator Getter setup, a harpoon, a snare, a .357 Magnum bang stick, and a .40 caliber Beretta handgun we felt we were prepared for the adventure.
After arranging our gear for easy access, we spent a few minutes running up the river to the creek we planned to hunt. All the way I was asking questions of my partners. They had hunted this area last year and were successful with taking a 7 foot 4 inch female alligator.
At 12:02 a.m., the q-beam was turned on. We started moving up the creek running the gasoline motor at idle speed. It was just moments when we saw the reflection from the first alligators eyes. We eased up on the alligator, bow ready for a shot. The alligator was only about four foot long so we kept going.
We quickly got into a pattern. We used the q-beam to locate an alligator and then switched to a 3 cell mag lite for the "stalk". The gasoline motor was shut down and the trolling motor used to get close to the alligator. The shooter stood on the deck next the guy holding the light. The third person ran the trolling motor. As we eased up on the alligator, the two guys on the deck would try to estimate the alligator length by determining the distance between the nostrils and the eyes. This distance, in inches, is roughly equivalent to the length of the alligator in feet. We found that this isn't as easy as it sounds.
Our first excitement came when we spotted a nine footer. Unfortunately he spooked before we could get the shot off.
Just a few minutes later, we spotted an eight footer in shallow water over a mud flat. The bow was drawn and just a second before the arrow was released all heck broke loose when a school of mullet (frightened by the boat approach) started leaping over the back of the alligator. The alligator didn't take kindly to the commotion and made quite a splash as he submerged. The alligator caused even more mullet to take to the air.
Once things settled down we continued up the creek. It didn't take long to spot another good sized alligator. We got within fifteen feet of the alligator and took a shot. Unfortunately my aim was off and I shot about a foot over the alligator's back.
Things got really exciting for the next hour. We spotted a large alligator, made a stalk, took a shot, and thought we had missed. As we were pulling in the arrow, we realized there was an alligator on the other end of the line pulling like crazy. Back overboard goes the float. In a couple of minutes we got ahold of the float and tried pulling the alligator in. The string (600 pound test) was too thin to handle comfortably with our bare hands. We grabbed a short piece of 2X4 to wrap the line around as we tried to pull the alligator in. Each of us took turns trying to get the alligator to the surface. When it finally surfaced we could not believe what was attached to the other end of the line. It was absolutely huge. The head was enormous, the body so large that we would not have been able to reach around it, and we estimated it to be somewhere between ten and twelve feet long.
The alligator did not take kindly to being pulled to the surface. With one swipe of its tail, it dove for the bottom again. It was so strong that we couldn't hold on. We got ahold of the float again and started pulling. Up to the surface he came. Down he went.
After repeating this process ten or twelve times, we finally got the snare around his snout. As the snare was tightened all heck really broke loose. The alligator started spinning, rolling itself up in the lines attached to the snare and to the arrow. Through the trashing and spinning, water was sprayed everywhere. The alligator made one last dive. As he did, the snare slipped off his snout. As we tried to work the alligator back to the surface, the arrow pulled loose! An hour fight with a monster alligator ended with the three of us standing there in silence with a dumbfounded look on our faces. With weak knees, I went back to the rear of the boat, picked up the bow and started rigging up another arrow.
In retrospect, I don't know how we would have gotten an alligator that size into the boat. I can just imagine the three of us on one side of the boat trying to pull an alligator that weighed hundreds of pounds over the transom and having the boat capsize.
After re-rigging and letting our nerves settle a bit, we went back to the hunt. Around 4:30 we shot another alligator. This one came in fairly easy (certainly in comparison to the monster). We got it up to the boat, put the snare on it's snout, and put a 158 grain .357 Magnum Federal Hydra-Shock bullet through the brain with the bang stick. Instant death. We taped the mouth shut, pulled the alligator in, taped the legs together behind the back, attached the temporary tag, and headed back to the dock.
We were back at the dock and in the truck at ten minutes to six. In the four and a half hours we hunted, I had counted 67 alligators up to and including the one we took. We saw another dozen or so on the way back to the dock. Having seen what lives in those rivers and creeks I don't think you could pay me to get in the water.
We learned one big lesson. When you get an arrow into a big alligator, follow that up with another arrow at the first opportunity.
My alligator was a bull that measured 7 foot 10 inches. We just couldn't get an additional two inches on him regardless of how many times we measured! Never the less, a nice trophy from a unique hunt and an experience that I will never forget.
The meat is in the freezer, the taxidermist has been contacted, and I'll be taking the hide to the DNR office in Gainesville tomorrow to get the permanent Cites tag. The memories will linger on.