Fl Guys - How Do You Avoid Being Gators Lunch?

[68camaro]

Actually this is serious question.

 

I live in VA but was visiting a resort in central FL over weekend, they had a few ponds with manicured banks, but also had a couple secluded ponds with tall and matted grass around them. At the secluded pods I was afraid to get too close to waters edge because of alligator risk, so I cast from about 15' from water. I was with 12 yo daughter also who I had stay near jeep.

 

Because of concerns I didn't stay long at all. When shore fishing ponds in Florida, how do you avoid 'gators?  

 

If you can stop laughing long enough tho answer I'd appreciate it:)

[Choporoz]

You have to learn to dance like Capt Shane.

[davecon]

Lived in Florida my entire life, almost 65 years.

Only 2 times a gator will mess with you:

1 - those that have been fed by people.

2 - mamas that have babies. They will warn you though.

Have NEVER had a problem.

It is exciting in the early summer during the mating season. Nothing quite like a 13 footer growling at the height of the season, but even then I have never been scared or frightened. They are just big lizards !

[davecon]

Oh, and by the way, don't ever take a dog with you on or near the water. Dogs are to gators like ice cream is to fat women, just can't resist.

[A-Jay]

 

 

 

A-Jay

[chitura]

 Don't feed the wildlife!!!!  Feeding an alligator is no different than feeding a bear, or any other apex predator.  When an animal associates humans and food, problems happen. 

[BassinLou]

Lived in Florida my entire life, almost 65 years.

Only 2 times a gator will mess with you:

1 - those that have been fed by people.

2 - mamas that have babies. They will warn you though.

Have NEVER had a problem.

It is exciting in the early summer during the mating season. Nothing quite like a 13 footer growling at the height of the season, but even then I have never been scared or frightened. They are just big lizards !

 

^^^ This ^^^ 

 

The gator attacks that I have heard about, happened to people who actually swimming in the water. I have never heard of someone being attacked from shore.  I have fished in South FL all my life and fortunately I have had 0 serious incidents with Gators. I respect their space and they tell me when to move on.... Lol!! 

[davecon]

When I was a kid we would swim at them, at least ones under 7 feet or so.

In my twenties a close friend would catch them, again up to about 7 feet, by jumping out of a little john boat right on top of em like a cowboy wrestling a steer. Just had to wrap your legs around their middle and grab the snout, which you can hold closed with one hand. Somehow somebody above was looking out for us and we never even got a scratch.

Point is, they are more afraid of you than you are of them.

[Weld's Largemouth]

I don't think there is anyone here that can answer how they avoided being eaten by a gator. 

[68camaro]

Thanks all.  I guess I worry about them stalking and charging. Fact is gator attacks, albeit rare, do happen and people have been attacked and killed close to or in shallow water per Wikipedia List of fatal gator attacks in US.  Just like sharks in Atlantic, they are their and do attack but very rare. 

 

If I go back I'll just be uber cautious.

 

 

Point is, they are more afraid of you than you are of them.

 

Doubtful, very doubtful:)

[davecon]

Interesting that you ask for input from Florida guys but seem to ignore it and go with Wikipedia.

We, myself and several other guys that live here that responded to your question, have been around them for decades but obviously we don't have a clue as to what we are talking about.

I'm sure that learning it out of a book beats living it !

Stay afraid, stay very afraid.

[Bluebasser86]

Not that I have a lot of experience with them, but the few times I've ever fished in Florida, the only ones that I was nervous around were the ones that people had been feeding. Those one's were not afraid at all and would actively try to follow anywhere I went. They never acted aggressively towards me, but I certainly had their attention. All the rest were kind of a "you mind your business, I'll mind mine", relationship. 

[68camaro]

Interesting that you ask for input from Florida guys but seem to ignore it and go with Wikipedia.

We, myself and several other guys that live here that responded to your question, have been around them for decades but obviously we don't have a clue as to what we are talking about.

I'm sure that learning it out of a book beats living it !

Stay afraid, stay very afraid.

Dave, I apologize if I offended you. You and others were helpful and I planned to take your advice. I did a search on gator attacks only because I found the topic eerily fascinating, not because I doubted people who live there.

[mplspug]

Stay out of the water and be aware.  Quite frankly I would be more concerned with snakes who might be harder to detect and even seeing them is rare. 

[bigbassin']

I feel like Florida alligators are over-hyped outside of the state. I can count the number I've seen living in ponds on one hand, and none were bigger than 4 feet. Just about every gator I've seen while fishing has come from rivers with some size to them like the St. John's, and non-private lakes. The real issue when shore fishing is snakes, as someone else already mentioned, or gators at really popular swimming holes that don't get spooked anymore.

[geo g]

Over a 40 year period of hunting and fishing in south Florida nothing would surprise me. I have seen large snakes, large lizards, otters, lemurs out 41 at the Indian Property, big gators, a big coyote just west of Weston and 75, deer, a bear, wild turkey, and heard a large cat calling less then 100 yards away on a spoil bank island in the everglades. Wild gators will normally not bother you. They usually give you warning signs during the breeding season, when they become territorial. Stay out of the water especially from dusk to dawn and you will have no problem. With idiots releasing wildlife, anything is possible. They even found three Nile Crocks at the Spice Park in the Redlands, in South Florida. The gators are the least of your problems.

[Evan K]

Isn't it crocodiles that do the stalking and attacking the shore? Do alligators do it as much?

[BassinLou]

Isn't it crocodiles that do the stalking and attacking the shore? Do alligators do it as much?

Both species stalk. I have seen and heard gators attacking the bank after prey while fishing in the glades. However when it comes to man, on boats or the bank they don't approach often. However, all bets are off  when people's unattended pets or little children approach the bank. 

[Borderline11]

I'm a NJ / PA Guy, but have been down to fish Florida several times. Typically I head down for a few days with a guide, but I always bring a travel setup with me so that I can pond hop around Orlando before my flight out on the last day. I was shocked by how many ponds in industrial areas had gators in them. Almost all wanted nothing to do with me and would try to distance themselves. Echoing what others had already said, snakes were my greater concern which is why I picked up a pair of bite guards to wear over my boots. I actually was chased out of a grassy area by what looked like a sizeable one. Knowing what I do about snakes I doubt he was actually trying to attack me, but he was moving in my direction in a hurry, so I high tailed it out of there. I did have a large gator surface no more than 30 or 40 feet from me and start gurgling when I was in a 14ft john boat that made me a little uncomfortable. I kindly tipped my hat to the big fella and continued on my way.

[soflabasser]

Been fishing Florida for decades and never had a problem with a Alligator except one time and that was 100% my fault.I was fishing less than 3 feet from a nest and the mama gator came out charging at me.I ran for safety while she just laid out on the dry land looking at me.Since then I don't fish near nest anymore.I have swam in canals before and can tell you from experience the small alligators are afraid of people.I always got out of the water when I saw them over 6 feet to be safe.Stay away from nest,don't feed them,and have common sense when fishing at night time.Its better to deal with these alligators than having to deal with the cold,oppressive winters you Northern guys have.

[68camaro]

I am back in Orlando this weekend and I hired a guide for tomorrow afternoon on Lake Toho. i plan to buy a small travel setup tomorrow and hit some small ponds in morning. I'll be more comfortable fishing with info given here.

Sunday I may do a guided trip on lake Okeechobee if I can get back to Orlando in time.

[BassinLou]

I am back in Orlando this weekend and I hired a guide for tomorrow afternoon on Lake Toho. i plan to buy a small travel setup tomorrow and hit some small ponds in morning. I'll be more comfortable fishing with info given here.

Sunday I may do a guided trip on lake Okeechobee if I can get back to Orlando in time.

 

Good luck!!

[SFL BassHunter]

Actually this is serious question.

 

I live in VA but was visiting a resort in central FL over weekend, they had a few ponds with manicured banks, but also had a couple secluded ponds with tall and matted grass around them. At the secluded pods I was afraid to get too close to waters edge because of alligator risk, so I cast from about 15' from water. I was with 12 yo daughter also who I had stay near jeep.

 

Because of concerns I didn't stay long at all. When shore fishing ponds in Florida, how do you avoid 'gators?  

 

If you can stop laughing long enough tho answer I'd appreciate it:)

 

I am sure with 2 pages of responses you have gotten your answer lol. But I figured I would chime in since the majority of my fishing comes from the banks in the glades.

 

Snakes are more of a threat in tall grass than gators in my opinion. But the truth is both can be a threat. When I first started bass fishing out there I would grab a few rocks and put them in my pocket (thanks to a few of Captain Shane's fishing videos which seem to be more of Gator Defense videos lol). One of the first times going out there I was completely afraid. I had a gator jump into the water out of the high grass into the retention pond which is really deep and very dark. So here I thought this gator was going to ambush me at any given moment. It didn't, it probably just swam away. 

 

I also encountered a few others that were half on land and half in the water. One being a big ol 10 footer at least. I came pretty close to it without noticing, that gator didn't move an inch. Didn't growl, didn't run and didn't attack. I just backed up and walked around it, kept fishing with no problem. 

 

I have only needed to toss rocks at one gator which was extremely curious after a boy about 13 years old with his mother were bass fishing and he pulled a near 4 lb bass out on some light tackle which took a while to get out of the water. So the gator saw food and figured it would make a move. I used the Captain Shane self defense course to keep the gator from getting closer. The gator wasn't big enough to ignore me. Eventually it backed off and the kid continued to fish as I continued along the bank. 

 

On boat I have seen them chase top water baits, or fish that are caught. You just troll away from them. 

 

Like I said those retention ponds are scary because it is nearly an instant drop off into darkness. One thing you could do is carry a weapon with you for some sense of security and just keep your eyes open at all times. I never turn my back to the water. If I am changing baits or changing a rig I grab my gear and keep myself at a distance from the water so that I can see anything that decides to come out and attack. Also I try to do that stuff in low grass. For example one of the canals i fish has tall grass mostly sparse but it does have a rocky area at a safe distance from the water that has little to no grass or vegetation. This is where I put my gear then I walk up to the bank with just my rod. I don't want to have clutter all around me in case I do need to make a sudden movement, run for it or whatever. Tripping up on your gear would be bad.

 

There are snakes out in that area too. I wear high steel toed boots, tall thick socks and pants. The shoes may be the only thing that could help but either way...they also sell snake guards. Kind of like shin guards for snakes. Probably worth getting. lol

I was fishing that same canal and standing in one place for a good 2 or 3 minutes when all of the sudden right in front of me a snake slithers and slides into the canal. There was maybe a foot between me and the drop off so god knows how long it was in front of my feet. Lucky for me it didn't attack me and I am certain it was a corn snake.

 

 

BUT I have come across a couple of rattle snakes curled up on that rocky path. Gotta keep your eyes open at all times. A long stick might be a good idea to have with you, maybe some rocks in your pocket, a decent sized knife or machete. 

[SFL BassHunter]

Isn't it crocodiles that do the stalking and attacking the shore? Do alligators do it as much?

 

They will both stalk. I find shallow water to be safer than deep ponds. It is a mental thing. If I can see my surroundings then I am fine. It's when that water is dark and you are looking down into an abyss that freaks me out with the gators. 

I still haven't gotten over the fear of putting my hand in the water to pull a bass out when on a boat. I do what I can to swing them into the boat lol. With a bass that is big enough though swinging is not a good idea. 

[68camaro]

SFLBasshunter, great ideas thanks. Last week I was armed, this weekend I flew so no carry gun. I really like rocks in pocket and long stick idea, plus uber viligence of surroundings.

Being from VA I am comfortable around snakes as I have had to be careful around them for long time. It's just those d**n gators I wasn't used to

I have guide later today and looks like I have one in morning so I am really excited about the fishing. I wish I had my gear with me but oh well.