Well after 4 year of waiting for a tag my son and I got drown for zone 8. We got hooked up with a guide and headed out last week end to give it a go. My son was going to use his bow and the guide had snares hooks and harpoons. We were set.
First I want to say that it is easy to see a gator in Lake Seminole. The first night we must have seen 300. Getting anywhere near one for a shot is another story.
Our first night started with excitement. We got into our boat and kind of putted out about 500 yards from the ramp and we were into Gators. We had about 3 around us when my son announced the boat was taking on water and I mean taking on water fast. It seem his weight on the front of the boat cause the front to go under the water as we move forward. We quickly moved to the back of the boat took stock and things settled. We were fine but it was exciting for a second. It was pretty obvious we needed to head back to the ramp for chance to drain the boat so we did. Kind of interesting to almost fill the boat with water with Gators all around. You have to be careful on a Lake like Seminole. Stumps and grass man it is crazy.
Well we got resituated drained the boat and headed out again. I will say that the Gators on Lake Seminole are crazy spooky. Every time we would shine a light near one they would just drop into the water and disappear. Any noise or sound and they went down. We literally hunted till 6:30am and really did not get too close to a gator even though we saw lots. It was tough and I wondered if it was even possible to get one on this lake.
We were worried Sat might be a wash with heavy rain but it actually turned out better to have some rain. The light rain and clouds made it easier to get up on the gators vs the bright full moon the night before. I told our guide after the first night any legal Gator would be good for us. I really believe any legal Gator on Seminole is a trophy after seeing how spooky they were.
Anyway the next night started off better. Right out of the shoot we eased up on a 7 foot gator swimming right away from us. Just as my son was about to drop the hammer he went under. At least we were close.
This night we did not turn on the boat motor at all and just kept the lights out most of the time. We would locate the gators with a green flash light and let the wind push the boat up to the gators totally quite. When we got up close enough I would put the Green light on the gator and my son would take the shot. Well we got up on another one and the guide said he was legal. My son made a 10 ring shot on a 5.5 footer with a 15 yard shot and we had one on the line. After a pretty good tussle through nasty grass we got him to the boat and we had a Gator. We were thrilled. Now for tag 2.
The same strategy seemed to work and we got up on a few more that were about this same size but we passed looking for a bigger one.
About 1:00am we saw one crossing the channel and floated down on him as we got about 20 yards away it was obvious he was going to get by us so we hit him with the treble hooks on the fishing line and the fight was on. I tugged on him as he went to the bottom of the lake looking for a stump. He was much bigger. We finally got another hook in him but it took about an hour as the grass and mess in the lake make it tough to get him up to the boat. After some nasty fighting at the boat we got this 8 footer in.
We were pumped. Not sure I will ever get another tag but it was a super memory for me and my son.
Great memories The smile says it all. I am glad to have a son who likes adventure.
First I want to say that it is easy to see a gator in Lake Seminole. The first night we must have seen 300. Getting anywhere near one for a shot is another story.
Our first night started with excitement. We got into our boat and kind of putted out about 500 yards from the ramp and we were into Gators. We had about 3 around us when my son announced the boat was taking on water and I mean taking on water fast. It seem his weight on the front of the boat cause the front to go under the water as we move forward. We quickly moved to the back of the boat took stock and things settled. We were fine but it was exciting for a second. It was pretty obvious we needed to head back to the ramp for chance to drain the boat so we did. Kind of interesting to almost fill the boat with water with Gators all around. You have to be careful on a Lake like Seminole. Stumps and grass man it is crazy.
Well we got resituated drained the boat and headed out again. I will say that the Gators on Lake Seminole are crazy spooky. Every time we would shine a light near one they would just drop into the water and disappear. Any noise or sound and they went down. We literally hunted till 6:30am and really did not get too close to a gator even though we saw lots. It was tough and I wondered if it was even possible to get one on this lake.
We were worried Sat might be a wash with heavy rain but it actually turned out better to have some rain. The light rain and clouds made it easier to get up on the gators vs the bright full moon the night before. I told our guide after the first night any legal Gator would be good for us. I really believe any legal Gator on Seminole is a trophy after seeing how spooky they were.
Anyway the next night started off better. Right out of the shoot we eased up on a 7 foot gator swimming right away from us. Just as my son was about to drop the hammer he went under. At least we were close.
This night we did not turn on the boat motor at all and just kept the lights out most of the time. We would locate the gators with a green flash light and let the wind push the boat up to the gators totally quite. When we got up close enough I would put the Green light on the gator and my son would take the shot. Well we got up on another one and the guide said he was legal. My son made a 10 ring shot on a 5.5 footer with a 15 yard shot and we had one on the line. After a pretty good tussle through nasty grass we got him to the boat and we had a Gator. We were thrilled. Now for tag 2.
The same strategy seemed to work and we got up on a few more that were about this same size but we passed looking for a bigger one.
About 1:00am we saw one crossing the channel and floated down on him as we got about 20 yards away it was obvious he was going to get by us so we hit him with the treble hooks on the fishing line and the fight was on. I tugged on him as he went to the bottom of the lake looking for a stump. He was much bigger. We finally got another hook in him but it took about an hour as the grass and mess in the lake make it tough to get him up to the boat. After some nasty fighting at the boat we got this 8 footer in.
We were pumped. Not sure I will ever get another tag but it was a super memory for me and my son.
Great memories The smile says it all. I am glad to have a son who likes adventure.
If your guide took you to the wrong zone and you caught gators you are in violation of the law. Harvesting a gator from a zone other than the one for which you were drawn is poaching.
Maybe? Otherwise 
It sounds like you both had a great time 
