Alligator Hunting (Looking for help/tips)

[150class]

Potentially have the green light on some private land in a core county this hear and wanted to get ahead of the ball if everything lines up.

Already started looking around the property to see who is hanging around where and located some biggens. Property has a handful of ponds on it varying in size for back ground and should be able to handle everything from land/the bank.

1) Do gators seem to make any big seasonal moves or as long as food is there they typically stay put?

2) Is a pvc pole and line the best way to tackle this situation since hook and line seem to be the only method of take? Any tips on set up?

3) Any way to zero in on specific gators or is it a "you get whatever you get" situation? Would hate to zero in on a 12-13' and pull the line on a 6' but that could be why they call it hunting!

Thanks guys. Already cruising through old treads.

[Dugie]

The higher you hang the bait the bigger the gator.....they usually won't move to far if they have what they need in a specific area.

[Dugie]

Just make sure you anchor the line well.

[Quackerbox]

Im no expert but managed to fill both tags we drew last year. I took some advice from here and it worked well. @T-roy66 was a big help

We were limited to 12-14" (state hunt) on bait height but if I was targeting a larger lizard it would be much higher. We soured chicken quarters in pantyhose for roughly 3 days. I added some old deer blood I had. We set ours near slides into the canal we hunted

[150class]

The higher you hang the bait the bigger the gator.....they usually won't move to far if they have what they need in a specific area.

Well.... That is embarrassing I didn't utilize that common sense lol!

Thoughts on height for a 12-13'?

[Dugie]

Buy some Tupperware you will end up throwing away....I use breast quarters so that I can run the hook through the bone, prevents it from falling or being pulled off easy.

Put chicken, anything with blood and a couple cans of sardines in the Tupperware, close and put in a trash bag....leave that in the bed of your truck for a couple days....use gloves to hang the bait. Pour juice out on the vegetation or still water under your bait....oil in the sardines will make a slick. Nothing and I mean nothing smells as bad as this...but it works.

[GarGuy]

First get the biologist to issue as many tags as possible so if you do end up with that 6fter you are still in the game. The fall season does not have a limit per person. Only the number of tags issued.

Next hang the bait high for big gators. Believe it or not a 7 ft gator can grab a bait several feet high. I don't like to hang them more than 3 ft high as some big gators are lazy.

Next is bait size. I like big baits for big gators. The heart and lungs from a wild hog are fantastic. Takes a strong cloths pin to hold it up though.

Use big hooks and line. Stainless shark hooks at least 14 o for big gators and mule tape for line. Soak the last 3 ft in your bait bucket.

Be glad to help further if you have questions.

[gander]

Obviously if you're seeing big gators already that is a plus. As stated, the right bait is crucial. I usually buy the bag of frozen chicken quarters, two containers of chicken livers and go buy a bucket with a lid from home depot. Put it all in there and let it sit in the sun for a minimum of a day and a half. With that being said, you don't want it to sit too long because it'll break down so much it basically turns to liquid and is hard to keep it on the hook.

I would go out to the area you have seen the big gators in and try to locate a slide, or a large spot on the bank where they are sunning. Try to place your line there. I always try and use large bamboo to hang the line from, but have used PVC before. I like to think the bamboo is more natural to them. If I don't have a tree to tie the line off to, I hammer a t post into the ground and used to tie it off straight to the tpost but lost a large gator to it rubbing the line so much at the post that it frayed and came off. Now I buy a large solid carabiner or steel ring and put the t post through it and tie off to the carabiner or ring.

I don't know the type of area you are hunting, but I hunt, bayou's, canals, and large reservoirs (240-640 acres), I rarely actually see most of the big gators that I kill before I actually have them caught on the line. I usually find their sign and thats how I set. I see plenty of 8-9 foot gators during the daylight, but the 10+ don't get that big by being seen all the time. If I were you I'd go out at night with a spotlight a few weeks before and try to locate some at night that you probably aren't seeing.

When it gets closer to season, give me a shout and if you want to meet me in Winnie or Beaumont I should be able to get you some big sticks of bamboo if you can't find any.

[150class]

Im no expert but managed to fill both tags we drew last year. I took some advice from here and it worked well. @T-roy66 was a big help

We were limited to 12-14" (state hunt) on bait height but if I was targeting a larger lizard it would be much higher. We soured chicken quarters in pantyhose for roughly 3 days. I added some old deer blood I had. We set ours near slides into the canal we hunted

I will reach out to him and thanks for the info sir!

First get the biologist to issue as many tags as possible so if you do end up with that 6fter you are still in the game. The fall season does not have a limit per person. Only the number of tags issued.

Next hang the bait high for big gators. Believe it or not a 7 ft gator can grab a bait several feet high. I don't like to hang them more than 3 ft high as some big gators are lazy.

Next is bait size. I like big baits for big gators. The heart and lungs from a wild hog are fantastic. Takes a strong cloths pin to hold it up though.

Use big hooks and line. Stainless shark hooks at least 14 o for big gators and mule tape for line. Soak the last 3 ft in your bait bucket.

Be glad to help further if you have questions.

Appreciate the info and there should be multiple tags as I am hoping to get a couple. So seems like 24"-36" might be the sweet spot for hanging bait?

I will be reaching out once the season is closer. Hoping to have some better photos of some gators of interest for your opinion.

Obviously if you're seeing big gators already that is a plus. As stated, the right bait is crucial. I usually buy the bag of frozen chicken quarters, two containers of chicken livers and go buy a bucket with a lid from home depot. Put it all in there and let it sit in the sun for a minimum of a day and a half. With that being said, you don't want it to sit too long because it'll break down so much it basically turns to liquid and is hard to keep it on the hook.

I would go out to the area you have seen the big gators in and try to locate a slide, or a large spot on the bank where they are sunning. Try to place your line there. I always try and use large bamboo to hang the line from, but have used PVC before. I like to think the bamboo is more natural to them. If I don't have a tree to tie the line off to, I hammer a t post into the ground and used to tie it off straight to the tpost but lost a large gator to it rubbing the line so much at the post that it frayed and came off. Now I buy a large solid carabiner or steel ring and put the t post through it and tie off to the carabiner or ring.

I don't know the type of area you are hunting, but I hunt, bayou's, canals, and large reservoirs (240-640 acres), I rarely actually see most of the big gators that I kill before I actually have them caught on the line. I usually find their sign and thats how I set. I see plenty of 8-9 foot gators during the daylight, but the 10+ don't get that big by being seen all the time. If I were you I'd go out at night with a spotlight a few weeks before and try to locate some at night that you probably aren't seeing.

When it gets closer to season, give me a shout and if you want to meet me in Winnie or Beaumont I should be able to get you some big sticks of bamboo if you can't find any.

Cruised around yesterday and out of the 7 I saw the averaged seemed to be in that 9' range with two being noticeably larger then the rest. I am also new to all of this so I am sure I could be off.

Appreciate the rest of the info and will be reaching out once the season is closer since you are not to far!

[Dugie]

length between back of the nose and middle of the eyes is a good indicator of length....roughly 1" per foot.

it is a good guide if you can only see the head.

[trophy8]

Didn’t the guy that killed that giant on here awhile back just shoot it? Is that not allowed?

[150class]

Didn’t the guy that killed that giant on here awhile back just shoot it? Is that not allowed?

In NON-Core counties the method of take allows for different options. In CORE counties you are restricted to hook and line set ups.

If this was a non core situation LDP's would have already been posted

[trophy8]

In NON-Core counties the method of take allows for different options. In CORE counties you are restricted to hook and line set ups.

If this was a non core situation LDP's would have already been posted

Hmm.

I’d like to shoot one someday lol

[GarGuy]

In NON-Core counties the method of take allows for different options. In CORE counties you are restricted to hook and line set ups.

If this was a non core situation LDP's would have already been posted

There is another option in core counties if the gators aren't too spooky.. That's a snag hook. Big treble hook on at least 300 lb test line is legal.. A spool of 360 lb dacron on a deep sea rig works great. Throw it over him after you see the one you want and snag. Once he is hooked you can dispatch him with a rifle.

[150class]

There is another option in core counties if the gators aren't too spooky.. That's a snag hook. Big treble hook on at least 300 lb test line is legal.. A spool of 360 lb dacron on a deep sea rig works great. Throw it over him after you see the one you want and snag. Once he is hooked you can dispatch him with a rifle.

I was curious if rod and reel followed by a rifle was in the cards. It checked the all the boxes.

Not sure if I could be able to get close enough but Ill be out again this weekend with some lights so I will see how close I can get at night.