Capt Ken --

Amen to fishing the gator ditches on the runouts, especially up in the Yankeetown marsh (Covas, Vassey,
etc.). Biggest one I've seen in there so far is only about ten feet, but she's coal black and has the temper
of a pit viper who just quit smoking. And, yeah, they'll happily cruise along in the bay, too.

Most of them just want to be left alone, UNTIL some idiot starts feeding them. Biggest one I've ever seen
was a fourteen-footer, laying inside the "safety net" at Dunnellon's City Beach at 4AM. (Puts all the missing
dog posters in that neighborhood into perspective, hein?) I've never seen anybody else out on that stretch
of the Withlacoochee that early, and the gators all make themselves scarce by first light, so the townies
don't have a clue.

As for you folks who inordinately fret over the possible presence of gators where you fish, I'd remind you
that (a) for every one of them that you see during daylight hours, there are a WHOLE lot more of them
around you ALL the time than you will probably ever be aware of, and (b) you are a million times more
likely to be killed by drunks/tweakers/idiots/scumbags.

Apology???? Ignorance is bliss.....SHH Don't tell any one.

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Heritage Redfish 12

Might also add,when you're in gator territory leave the dog at home. To a hungry gator your fluffly peek-a-poo looks like a juicy possum or raccoon

NO!

Beating Tarpon is never a good idea! You should practice catch and release as Tarpon have very little food value and are great fun to catch. It does not matter whether they are on the floor, or the gunwale, or the transom, you should not beat them with any kind of mallet or any other kind of duck!

And where do you get off having a personal Tarpon? Tarpon should be free to roam up and down the coast so that we all can catch them (or at least to attempt to catch them) for our entertainment.

You should consider freeing your Tarpon so it can roam wild and free! (and get a Hobie)

Also, you might want to consider NOT petting the alligators. They are not real keen on that.

.

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"For when sleeping I dream of big fish and strong fights."

I'm probably preaching to the choir here, but gators definitely learn that the pickin's are easy from local fishermen.

During my college days at UF, I used to rent a paddleboat and fish Lake Wauburg. One of my trips, every time I'd catch something a (not exaggerating) 12-foot monster would come close to investigate. I highly suspect that some fishermen were actually feeding the gators discarded catch, because this big boy was definitely expecting something and knew exactly what I was doing and what it could mean for him. Alligators aren't the sharpest tools in the animal kingdom shed, so some pretty blatant feeding must've been regularly occurring for this gator to be exhibiting this behavior.

Given this beast was about 3 feet longer than my paddleboat, I quickly called it a day. Being a lowly college student at the time, I asked if they could pro-rate my rental fee and refund me some Burrito Bros money back. When the staff heard my story, they called animal control, had me point out the particular offending alligator, they caught it, and removed it (which was an experience worth sticking around for in and of itself). But they took my report VERY seriously and were very concerned at how friendly that gator had become to people.

So be careful of these fearless gators. I'd like to think that our fellow fishermen aren't doing something stupid like tossing an undersized fish to them from time to time, but there's a lot of stupid people in the world, and I'm sure some of them own small boats.

There are definitely times that I'm glad I'm a lazy "paddler" -- my trolling motor seems to keep them away, and speed 5 on a 54lb-thrust motor can definitely get me away from the bolder ones faster than my wood paddle can.

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Chris
Perception Sport Destiny 12
Coleman Scanoe

I've seen several references here to thumping on the bottom of your kayak. This is NEVER a good idea.
The bottom of your kayak is underwater, and whether you simply extend an arm over the gunwale to reach
it, OR dive completely underneath the boat to really give it a GOOD thump, the GATOR is in the water, and
may be tempted to eat you. Even if you are in shallow enough water to get out, stand and FLIP the kayak to
reach the bottom more easily, you are still in danger. Thumping on the UPPER surface of your DOUBLE HULL
(generally referred to as "the deck") is almost always a wiser choice. Drier, too.