Some pictures and videos from 2020 season. I caught 65 alligators in six days of running. Ran four days by myself and two days with a buddy of mine.

We almost lost the big alligator in the picture, it was 11'-5" long but was massive. When we pulled up to the line it was stretched tight and as I began to pull the line in I could tell it was a big alligator. The real big ones do not fight as long as you pull them in in gently, they are just deadweight. I told Marc it was big and to be ready with the rifle, he thought I was joking, so I made him understand I was serious. When its head cleared the water it was enormous. Marc made a perfect shot with the 22 magnum. I gave it a little slack as it twisted and all of a sudden the hook came out and the alligator sank in about six feet of water with a decent current. My heart sank with it. We started searching immediately with a pole I carry, could not find it. I called my nephew and another friend to come help with a fish finder and a drag. We kept looking and I finally found it. I got it to the surface and tied a line to it, the other two guys showed up right after. A little excitement to end the season.





11'-5" big gator.



My shoe is size 14 for scale



Some more nice ones




A few smaller ones to start the day



Old time hunting, my Dad in the aerly 80's, he passed away a few years later. I am at least the fifth generation in my family to have hunted and trapped for a living.



You have to put the head in first and the rest will follow.

Mike - Thanks for posting the photos and video. It looks like you had a great season!

Great show Mike!
Good way to wreck your back.

Ok, fill in the blanks: what's
next with 'em? eats, hides, sell 'em whole?
OR what?

Let's see more, much more,
thank you for sharing with us.

George

I greatly enjoy your photos Mike, thankyou for sharing!

quote:

Originally posted by georgeld:
Great show Mike!
Good way to wreck your back.

Ok, fill in the blanks: what's
next with 'em? eats, hides, sell 'em whole?
OR what?

Let's see more, much more,
thank you for sharing with us.

George

When the state reopened alligator season in 1979 we received about 125 tags. Back then we skinned everything we caught. My Dad worked shift work for one of the pipeline companies and my brother and I were in school. Dad would run lines during the day and start skinning until he had to go to work or to sleep. When my brother and I would get home from school we would finish skinning, flesh the skins, and salt everything down. Most of the meat was wasted the first year or two. We sold some and then they started cracking down on the health codes. Dad died in 1985 and we gave up about half the tags. Sometime in the late 80s the buyers wanted the whole alligators. Since then we bring the whole carcass to a market where they are processed. At the peak we were getting $60.00 per foot. Now we are receiving around $5.00 per foot. The hides have lost most of the value, there is still some value left in the meat.

I have considered selling hunts but just have not brought myself to do it yet. I donated a hunt a couple of years ago to Dallas Ecological Society (tied in to DSC) for a contest in the Dallas area high schools. We had a great time hosting the young man and his Father. We stayed on my houseboat, hunted alligators, went frogging at night, brought him riding in the airboat, mudboat, and bateaux. He had a real Cajun experience.

Wow, those are all nice gators!

Thanks Mike:

Spent three weeks at East Point Fla.
Where they were seen everyday.
OF course I never saw a one! Typical
of my luck. Walkway over the gator
trails even.

Wow, $60 a foot!? Hell I'd almost move
down there for that. I can see why
it wouldn't feel so good for $5.

Glad you're getting out and having fun
and taking others at times.

Thanks for sharing with us.

George

quote:

The hides have lost most of the value, there is still some value left in the meat.

Along with the value of almost fur bears.

I Know a Canadian who would love to do one of those hunts for a few days. A good looking fellow, brave and strong ... cheerful with more than enough Canadian pesos to off set the lousy price the market is bringing these days.

And if he can not come - I can!

A way of life totally foreign to my West Coast experience. Thanks for posting, Mike!

Damn, Mike!....they bit your hair off!!! :-)

quote:

Originally posted by Biebs:
Damn, Mike!....they bit your hair off!!! :-)

C'mon man! Don't be dogging the man like that!

quote:

Originally posted by Biebs:
Damn, Mike!....they bit your hair off!!! :-)

Funny. The guy helping me pull in the alligator is 28 years old and going bald. When he drove up in his boat I asked him how fast it is, he answered close to 60 mph. I told him to slow down a little it was blowing his hair out.

The closer boat is mine, 20’ bateaux with a tiller handled 90. His boat is slightly bigger than mine with a tiller handle 150 hp outboard. 60 mph in a flat bottom boat is cruising.

The guy watching is a good friend. He hunts with me every year but had shoulder surgery about 8 weeks ago, he is not lazy.

Mike---Do you know the Landry's of TV fame?

quote:

Originally posted by carpetman1:
Mike---Do you know the Landry's of TV fame?

We hunt about 20 miles from each other, however I have never met them.

You need to move 20 miles so you can be on TV, I think they make more TV money than alligator money.

Any suggestions for a guy out west that wants to go gator hunting? Outfitters etc?

Thanks

Time to dust off the gumbo pot.
14’ alligator!

https://www.the-sun.com/news/1...d-hunters-boat-lake/

Big gator that

Bunch of good eats there....Gotta BBQ one whole for me.