The seed for this hunt was planted in my dad and myself over a year ago by our good buddy and fellow Trad Gang member Benjy.
Three seasons ago Benjy was lucky enough to draw a South Carolina gator tag and harvest a gator on his first night out.
After his hide was tanned he asked my dad about building some items for him out of his hide.
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The following Spring Benjy calls us with the idea of putting in for tags in the hopes of one of us drawing.
As luck would have it I drew that year and planning begun.
Honestly I knew nothing about hunting gators but Benjy was there pumping information to me about what he had learned.
To put a long story short we both learned a ton about hunting gators and also the challenges of finding them in tidal rivers.
After 3 weekends of hunting our effort was paid off with his little fella.
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Fast forward to this spring and the application process.
Both me and my dad applied for South Carolina in hopes of hunting with Benjy again.
We also started looking into Florida gator hunting and lakes close to us that provides good opportunities for hunting the big lizards.
There was not much available in our area of Northwest Florida but just below Gainesville there were several lakes that looked promising so we applied for the one in our area and four more down in the Ocala/Gainesville area.
When the smoke cleared neither me or my dad drew in SC but he drew area 722 (Orange Lake). Of course much research on the Lake was started and from reports it appeared to be a good lake but finding big gators was hard.
Of course we wanted to boat a big gator but decided that anything large enough for quivers, knife sheaths, and armguards would not be passed up...plus the smaller gator seem to have better tasting meat:)
I like where this seems to be heading! :campfire:
Keep it coming Chris, you're doing great so far!
Thank you!
God bless,Mudd
Now onto the hunt...we headed out from my place in Georgia on Saturday afternoon towards our base of operations the Twins Lakes Fish camp.
Upon arrival everything was quickly thrown into the cabin, the boat was put into the water, and readied for a scouting trip onto the lake.
On the way down the creek I could not help but imagine what the Thompson brothers felt like the first time they hunted the swamps of central and South Florida.
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The amount of animal life on the creek was amazing not to mention the birds which I was completely fascinated with...I can tell you driving an 18 foot boat on a narrow creek trying to take pictures is not advisable:)
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Very cool Chris. You know I'll be following this one close. ;>)
This is looking good :campfire:
QuoteOriginally posted by Whip:
Very cool Chris. You know I'll be following this one close. ;>)
Why's that, Whip? ;) :wavey:
:campfire: :coffee:
i'm liking what i read chris i'll be following this one closely. awesome gator by the way!
Man o man... I'm ready :thumbsup:
QuoteOriginally posted by Chris Surtees:
The amount of animal life on the creek was amazing not to mention the birds
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I call myself a duck hunter but just do not recognize this one. It LOOKS like a duck, I assume it QUACKS like a duck :saywhat: so .... what kind of duck is it?
Looking forward to the hunt results post. Good luck. :pray:
:clapper: :coffee: looking good......told the wife this year I'd like to get a gator hunt in the works. Looking forward to the rest of your story. Thanks for posting.
Mike
Looking forward to this one! My old stomping grounds!
Make sure you take the time to visit Marjorie Rawlings house just down the road from twin lakes.
If you go back to town for gas the Pearl station in Micanopy has some of the best BBQ in the state.
PowDuck, The black duck is a Gallinule. We call em coots.
Good luck!
Brad
Nice pictures, keep them coming, good luck!
:coffee:
I've been reading a lot of threads about father and sons/daughters. I'm another lucky dad and grandfather when it comes to traditional archery. Three generations worth of shooters with me, my son, 2 grandsons (1 in Iraq), and my granddaughter.
Before Chris gets into our adventure over these last 4 days, I just want to say that my son is one fellow that goes the extra mile in everything he pursues. I'm a proud dad as many on here are with their children. Chris is a good father, soldier, Trad Ganger, but most of all my best friend.
Speaking of best, this was the "best" . . . repeat the "best" . . . Father and Son hunt I could have possibly imagined. Forgot to mention that my wife / Chris' mother was also with us.
Thank you Son for making this a most memorable hunt, and taking the extra time with your old dad.
Now quit holding up the show and get on with this story . . .
My wife and I are vacationing and staying with Chris. It'll be a while before he is back from the Post, so I thought I'd share a couple of pics of his boat. Not the best pics, but the boat is more than impressive and can get just about anywhere there is water -- Chris had this in some places and with the Mud Buddy motor it easily cut its way through mud and foliage that I thought only an airboat would be able to travel:
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Saturday afternoon we head down the creek towards the lake on a scouting trip.
While traveling down the creek we notice all the spotted gar and decide tomorrow that a little bowfishing is in order as we head out for opening night.
To say Orange Lake has gators is an understatement! We seen no less than two hundred gators a night...most of course where in the two to four foot range.
Little guys like these were laying everywhere but picking one up is not recommended as they have quite a temper.
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Notice the missing foot! Life in these waters is rough but even with all the gators there is no shortage of wildlife.
Also as a side note this is a legal gator for harvest in Florida. A gator only has to be 9 inches from the nostrils to the vent. This one was quickly released back into the creek so it could go about it's business.
There are some parts of the Lake where gators of this size are so plentiful that it is hard to count the eyes when shined with a light.
Opening night proves to be very eventful with lots of gators and gator hunters on the water.
I must say that even with all the boats on the water the first night there was no issues with being on top of each other.
If a hunter was in a area other boats gave them a good distance so not to disturb their hunting. Very impressive to say the least.
As the night goes on we are only seeing smaller gators up to maybe five feet.
Finally we move in on some eyes and I hear the the bow go off. The shot went high as when a gator submerges it tends to slide backwards a little.
No worries as we have three more nights of hunting.
Hunting quickly resumes and no more shooter are seen on the first night.
We decide to call it at 0530.
We leave a little early on the second evening so my dad can get some bowfishing in on the way to the lake.
Needless to say there will be no pictures of gar as they give my dad as much trouble as they do me.
I found this rather comical since I have never put an arrow into one of the little pencils either.
Next year this will all change though!
:thumbsup:
Second night starts out much like the first with only seeing smaller gators.
It was a fun night but the large gators would not let us get close enough for a shot.
We did see several good ones from a distance but no shots were taken.
Then around 0530 that all changed...we were in a bunch a little gators when we spotted a lone set up eyes in the middle of a opening in the lilly pads.
As we moved in a could see it was not a large gator but appeared to be around 6 feet so I told my dad to take the shot if he wanted.
He drew back and made a perfect shot on the gator. The line stripped out and then the float went into the water.
Since we were only in about 6 feet of water I was not worried about the gator pulling the float under so we set out getting the catching equipment ready.
Once set we moved into position and pull in the float in.
This gator came in really nicely until his head broke the surface. I wish we could have gotten some video or pictures of it but this guy had our complete attention.
Once subdued the gator was pulled into the boat, taped, and tagged.
Turned out this one was a little smaller than we thought coming in just under 6 feet.
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We then headed back to the cabin and started cleaning the gator.
Notice it is daylight! We left for the river at 1815 the day prior.
This was a long night but neither of us would have had it any other way.
Ended up getting about 15 pounds of meat of the gator and when skinned ended up with what is going to be a nice piece off the back for a quiver, what is going to be a nice but small tail quiver, and some good sections for knife sheaths and accessories.
Way to go. Chris thanks for the story. Looking forward to seeing both of you at the hunting camp.
Same here Jeff...
This is only half the story we still had two more nights and another tag so my dad was far from being done.
Nice looking boat you got there Chris! Dang that gator "looks" bigger than 6 feet! Great job Larry! :thumbsup:
:wavey: :thumbsup:
Great story of a fun hunt, Chris! I smiled all the way through, thinking of you and your Dad cruising along.
Great photos, too. I miss cruising the St. Johns, seeing the water turkeys, uncountable number of coots, egrets, etc. and gator tail!
:bigsmyl:
way cool Bro!!!! :clapper:
The third hunt was pretty much like the first two with us only seeing small gators up until after about 0130.
It seemed that when most of the boats left the water the larger gators started more out in larger numbers.
Dad passed on a gator about 5.5 feet and we started towards the next set.
He calls back to me that it is small and then I see a large gator come to the surface right next to the boat. I start trying to direct my dad to the location but he started looking the wrong direction and by the time he started looking on the left side of the boat he was scanning too far out.
Needless to say with all the commotion he went under rather quickly.
Next we start moving towards another section of pads that a couple gators where lying in.
We made a few passes through some other sections of pads seeing only small gators and having others submerge before we could close the distance on them.
Towards the end of the hunt dad missed a larger gator...this time not from backsliding as it submerged but because it turned as it went under.
:campfire:
Finally on the last hunt we closed the distance on a really nice gator. This one had to be somewhere in the ten foot.
We made it with yards of the gator and as my dad drew the gator started going under. He underestimated the speed at which the gator was submerging and shot right over it's nose.
That became the topic of conversation for the rest of the hunt.
For the next couple hours we only were able to get close the small gators until we were heading back the mouth of the creek.
As we were moving through a channel in the pads my dad caught eyes closing in front of us. This gator was moving fast than normal trying to get into the pads before we got to close.
He made a fatal mistake and stayed in the channel too long. As he started going under my dad remembered the lessons taught by the others he has missed and shot lower this time.
At the shot I seen the gator go under the boat and yelled you have him.
My dad thought he had missing as the one just went the bottom and did not run. He then manually pulled the line from the reel and threw the float in the water.
We then gathered up the equipment to subdue him and went back to retrieve the float.
This fella decided he wanted to bury himself in the grass at the bottom of the lake so it took us longer to get him off the bottom.
He was no where as active as the first gator my dad shot and getting him under control and it to the boat was easy.
This gator was shot at 0500 and came in at about 6.5 feet.
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Keep it coming Chris! This is great stuff. I was South of you around Okeechobee and we took 4 nice gators. The really big gators don't get big by being dumb.
If anyone has ever had the though of doing a do it yourself gator hunt it is possible.
Terry,
You are spot on about the big ones getting big by not being dumb.
For being the top of the food chain they sure know when to get out of dodge.
Talking with some of the locals they feel the later hunts are better for taking the big guys...of course they use other methods of hunting them which seemed to be more productive for taking the larger gators.
Chris, you and I are of the same ilk when it comes to gator hunting. We enjoy hunting them basically as spot and stalk. If it was only about taking a big gator, we could have all taken 10 foot plus gators in about half a night. Lots of guys on air boats harpooning them at 30 MPH or snagging them with grappling hooks. Some even shot them with crossguns.
Really enjoyed tagging along with you and your dad on this hunt.Congrats and thanks for sharing with us.
Chris & Larry,
Great hunt! I can't wait to give that a try with ya'll...Benjy did ya hear me :) Didn't get drawn for SC gators but building points...Doc
:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :campfire:
Way to go Larry! Good job putting your Dad on some nice gators Chris...what some memories! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Thanks Chris for sharing a great hunt along with some wonderful pictures.
Larry, as a father to an 11 year old boy I aspire everyday to have the type of relationship you have with Chris. Thank you for sharing such heartfelt words.
Most excellent fellas, congrats on a great father/son hunt that you'll never forget!!
Thanx for sharing :clapper:
Looking forward to hunting with you both in TX!
QuoteOriginally posted by swampdrummer:
PowDuck, The black duck is a Gallinule. We call em coots.
Brad
Thanks Brad. I've heard of gallinules and we even have a season for them here in AR but have never seen one. Coots, on the other hand, are numerous. Black body with white beak and feet. We don't hunt them though.
This has been an awesome thread. Looks like a blast. I may have to put in for an alligator permit in AR. They allow something like 10 permits here (for the whole state.) I imagine if I were to draw one cousin ArkyBob would supply the boat.
Great story Chris! I wish I would have been there! It is great that you and Larry were able to spend alot of quality time with each other. Gator hunting is very relaxing, peaceful, frustrating and exciting! That's the best I can explain it!
Larry, with 2 preferance points, you and I will be hunting Gators in SC next year!
Chris, Great Looking Boat!!!!
Benjy,
We are certainly looking forward to next year.
I'll bring my boat along and do the driving while y'all spot and hunt.
:bigsmyl: :thumbsup:
Great story Chris ... Congrats Larry :thumbsup: sounds like team work is the order of the day. Those are some long hunt'n hours, but sounds very exciting.
Best to ya the rest of the season.
Congratulations Larry! and you're "spot on" concerning Chris....hope to see yall in a few weeks.....Wilson Clan
One of the best parts of the hunt...the first meal.
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Fried Gator
Fried Okra
Sweet Tater Fries
Corn Bread with a touch of Orange Blossom Honey
Not sure about that Okra stuff ... but I love Sweet Tater Fries :thumbsup:
The Yankee ..... Elkken
Great Story Guys!! Congrats Larry! I'd really like to try that one day. :archer:
nice job on the gators and nice boat, I live about 16 miles south of Orange Lake but only go there to bass fish. Glad you guys had a good time!
How cool! :notworthy:
Hey Elkken, If the okra is fried and crunchy, you would love it.. good stuff and a better story Chris & Larry. Congrats !!!!
Lanier
Well done guys! Thanks for sharing the hunts with us.
Great story and pics, thanks!
Chris,
Can you elaborate on the "challenges with hunting them in our tidal rivers" comment?
I spend a good bit of time on the tidal rivers (not hunting gators) and am just curious what you are referring to with that comment.
Great thread and thanks for sharing!
Duckbutt, When Chris and I could go gator hunting the tides were high causing the Gators to be way back up in the grass. Also dealing with the current made things interesting.
We spent time in the Ashepoo, Combahee, and the Edisto. Beautiful Rivers by the way! I have a friend that has a tag in the Charleston area this year if you know where one is hiding :bigsmyl:
Benjy
sounds like ya got bit by the Gator bug Brother :biglaugh: :laughing:
that bird is a purple gallinule - female. A gallinule is different than a coot- the common coot is black, with small white areas on it..if this bird were out of the water you'd see enormous toed feet on long stilty legs probably as long as its body but the toes allow it to walk across the lily pads its so fond of.
Coots on the other hand travel in flocks and disappear under the water and swim a distance, then resurface. Two completely different birds.
Great story can't wait to hear more...way cool :clapper:
I stand corrected Ray. You are 100% correct. My wife agrees with you! :p
Shoot man...I've got them in my neighborhood!
I don't care much about the gator hunt but I did put in for a tag this year just because my 7 year old son would eat it up.
If the S. Santee is part of the Charleston area for gator tags, I'd probably go there. Cooper River would probably be a good bet as well.
Nice pic of egret.
:clapper: :clapper:
Congrats guys, great hunt! :clapper:
Looks like a blast.Thanks for the story. :thumbsup:
Dang....missed the 2nd part of this one too!!!!! Congrats again to both of you!