Judging gators at night

nate2800

Senior Member
I know it's a long shot but was just wondering if some of the veterans would chime in and give a lesson on judging the size of a gator at night. Or is the something you look for to determine if he's worth taking a look at.
 

ryan_beasley

Senior Member
Here's what works for me...

Most of the time you get either a side view or a head on view. With the side view, the rule of thumb is from the nostrils to the eyes in inches=total feet of alligator. Of course this varies, but it gives you a good/quick idea whether to pursue or not. When they're looking at you, you'll learn quickly that the small ones (2-4 feet) barely have any space between their eyes. To me it looks like a finger width. The 6-9 footers appear to have eyes about 3 finger widths apart. The big boys looks like you can put your hand between their eyes. Keep in mind distance plays a part so if they're far away then the eyes look closer than they really are. Some of these guys have seen many more than me so maybe they'll chime in, but there is no replacement for being on the water and learning what works for you.
 

mizuno24jad

Senior Member
I'm no pro, but I try to get a head on view if possible, and judge them by the space between their eyes, you can normally tell pretty easy if it's a solid gator or not
 

nate2800

Senior Member
I've only been for a couple years now. I've bout figured out the side view and if you can see them from the front. But my question is , is there a way to tell by just seeing there eye? I know some shine brighter and some are more of a resist it seems like. Do the bigger gators have a distinctive look when there eyes glow?
 

chambers270

Senior Member
If you can get them to look at you and see both eyes, I feel you can make a pretty good judgment. The side view only works for me if you can see the entire head or at least the eyes and nostrils.

Now the guy I hunt with says he can usually tell by just seeing the eye if he thinks it is a good sized one, but I cant tell anything from the reflection alone.
 

Toliver

Senior Member
I have found it to be nearly impossible to figure the size of a gator by eye shine only. This past Tuesday we were on a gator that was out in open water which is generally an indication it is a bigger gator because the little ones like to stick to cover to avoid becoming lunch. But as we got up to it, it was actually only about 4 feet long. But its eyes looked just like the hatchlings on the bank and the bigger ones that we had identified. And talking to a professional guide, he also said it is very difficult to judge the actual size of a gator by what you see when the eye reflect your light. Maybe if you've done it for years and have lots of experience you can judge their size fairly well, but I'm certainly not there yet.
 
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