Tips for kayaking around gators?

[Biglittle8]

On 2/17/2021 at 7:50 PM, TnRiver46 said:

In all seriousness: I fish one week a year around monster alligators in south Alabama. They killed the world record where we camp, ive posted the pic many times but you can google World record alligator and see it. Normally I would say kayak away and don’t worry about them, the big ones are always just laying there. I’ve got lots of pics of 12+ foot ones right next to the boat. BUT THEN THERE WAS THIS ONE TIME...........

 

I saw one monster gator have some kind of dispute with an egret and started that rumbling sound that splashes water off its back. The egret starts squawking and flapping, they are pretty much face to face.  we freaked out and forgot to film anything but sheeeeesh that sound scared the heck out of me, the hairs on the back of my neck were standing up and I don’t even have hairs on the back of my neck. I might still kayak down there but that sure made me have second thoughts. 
 

I’d be worried about the gator and end up paddling into a hornets nest, it’s always something down there!

 

what you really need to watch out for is “Florida man” 

I saw something similar. A very large gator in shallow water arching his snout and tail making a bellowing sound the water was vibrating all around him. There was a dog in a fenced yard about 15 yards away...a bite sized dog! 

 

[Biglittle8]

I had a gator playing games with me last October. He would park off shore and swim in in when I caught a fish. Az time went on, he started parking about 20 yards off shore and now every hook up he would steam in fast and I would walk down the bank trying to expedite the removal of said fish. (See pic) the pond I recently caught my P.B. in has a 10 footer in it. I have seen it in temps as low as 50 degrees.

[JDHoss]

I'm looking at getting an aftermarket stabilizer (outrigger) for our kayaks, which should minimize our chances for a rollover. I think it'd be good to have, even if we were out on the lagoon. The last time we were out there, the wind got up and the water was a little rough. I was fine, but my wife made me a little nervous. We have good life jackets, but I'd rather one or both of us not have a rollover. Speaking of gator attacks, there was a guy in Port St Lucie last year who was attacked by a 10 footer while he and his dog were walking along a canal behind his house. He saw the gator heading towards them and had his wife call for the dog to come to her, and when he looked back, it was on him and got him by the leg, trying to drag him in the water. He punched it in the eye several times before it let go. He had to have something like 100 or so stitches in his lag and hand. 

[soflabasser]

Good subject. I have dived in waters with sharks, crocodiles, alligators, and other dangerous animals and I would not recommend kayaking in places with alligators, especially during alligator mating season. 

[Biglittle8]

On 2/21/2021 at 6:07 PM, soflabasser said:

Good subject. I have dived in waters with sharks, crocodiles, alligators, and other dangerous animals and I would not recommend kayaking in places with alligators, especially during alligator mating season. 

+1. I think sometimes we get complacent around dangerous things. if we fish around gators and snakes and have no incidents, we start to drop our guard a little. Mating season is when males of all species are the most aggressive. A small racked buck can kill you during the rut just as fast as a gator.

[Don51]

And it appears they are entering mating season. I was out kayak fishing the other day and heard the bellowing out in the cattails. 

[Alex from GA]

I was in a small lake in FL throwing a frog and a 4' gator kept coming to my kayak even after I splashed it.  I finally had to nudge it with the paddle to get it to leave.  A couple of years ago I was throwing a buzzbait along the banks of a river and a gator, I didn't see, grabbed my lure.  It let go after me pulling it several feet.  About a 7'er.  I kept the blade with a big dent in it for a souvenir.

[Skunkmaster-k]

This sounds like a fun time. 

[Alpster]

Back in the 80s, I worked for more than a year surveying the Joyce WMA just south of Pontchatoula Louisiana. Every day we slogged through that swamp in knee deep mud and chest deep water. We saw a dozen or so gators a day. Never saw one come towards us. They avoided us like the plague. Now living in central Florida, it seems they are much more domesticated and acclimated to humans. Not so skiddish as before.

[roadwarrior]

Do you name your "pet" gators?  I have only seen one in the wild. That was fishing

at Lake Fork.  The animal had no interest in us. 

[soflabasser]

On 2/23/2021 at 2:50 AM, Biglittle8 said:

+1. I think sometimes we get complacent around dangerous things. if we fish around gators and snakes and have no incidents, we start to drop our guard a little. Mating season is when males of all species are the most aggressive. A small racked buck can kill you during the rut just as fast as a gator.

It is best to never underestimate alligators and always be careful around them. Alligator mating season is the worst time to be in a kayak yet people still kayak during this time. Kayaks are not very stable either compared to a boat so a big alligator can flip a kayak if it wants to. That is why I prefer fishing in a boat or on land than being on a kayak.

[JDHoss]

I'm not going out during mating season, but I'm currently looking at adding stabilizers (outriggers) to our kayaks. We've been sticking to the Indian River lagoon so far, but I do want to be able to get out on the smaller lakes and river systems in the fall. If you take a spill in the lagoon, you get wet and it's a PITA to get where you can get back in. If you take a spill in a small lake, river system or canals, you could be in serious trouble.

[BBuck]

I'm in Tampa and we have gators everywhere around here as well. It is rare that I haven't seen a gator while kayak fishing. They usually never bother you and will leave you alone if you don't threaten them. I have had one or two come after a hooked fish as I'm reeling it in, but I'm not going to negotiate that with Mr. Gator. I usually try to stay away from them.

[GRiver]

Never been kayaking during mating season, but been in small Jon boats.... seen some aggressive behavior, but heed that as your warning. Never attacked the boat or anything, if you are going to go out during the season. Stay in the middle of channel or as far as you can fish, casting towards the bank. So you don’t end up between a mom and her mound. I try not to get too close, give them a wide berth, you don’t want a bull to think your going to challenge him.
It’s pretty unnerving seeing one swim under your boat and it’s longer than the Jon boat your in, or have one come up about 10ft away and make the water dance on his back and bellow.

 

The trolling motor didn’t have enough speeds on it..

[Biglittle8]

Also, stay away from this fellow! ?

[wanderlust_wa]

I know this is an older thread, but I figured this video may help future people make their decision.

 

 

[A-Jay]

11 minutes ago, wanderlust_wa said:

I know this is an older thread, but I figured this video may help future people make their decision.

 

 

Ah ~ Hard Pass.

A-Jay

[MN Fisher]

Just now, A-Jay said:

Ah ~ Hard Pass.

A-Jay

I'm with Andy - I'll stay up north here where we don't have to deal with gators.

[cyclops2]

You trespassing in his hunting and living  area.

You can not run on water fast enough.    

Most major cities has a gator release program for unwanted  bigger pet gators. throw it away somewhere else.

[N Florida Mike]

 

I wade fished for years in the river with em  all around.  Sometimes my whole family would go. People had done it around there for many years, and I never heard of anyone getting attacked. I got stuck one evening for awhile around 100 feet  between 2 that looked to be 9 footers, but they weren’t hunting for me. They had  just came out for their evening cruise. 

Something about fishing in a kayak around them would  make me more nervous than wading with them . 

 

[hawgenvy]

I live and fish in Florida and see alligators all the time. They tend to be peaceful and seem to ignore me and my boat. Unless I have a fish on the line. Then it's a race to get the fish in the boat or on shore before they get it. I have had two gators at once converge rapidly on bass I was fighting. Now if the gator got to a  bass (including the hook) before I did, and I was in a canoe or kayak, and if I was fishing #40 or #60 braid, I'd be worried and would have to think pretty fast to loosen the drag and snip the line, or else I'd be going for an unpredictable little ride. It's okay to fish in a kayak. Just mentally prepare ahead of time how to deal with that eventuality, and maybe don't fish near those reptiles if you see them around.

[Don51]

I try to get a fish to the kayak as fast as possible. The longer you play a fish the more likely it is to attract a gator. My biggest concern is reaching into the water to grab a fish. They have incredible speed and power and can very easily tip a kayak over. If you end up in the water all bets are off!

[the reel ess]

I fished with a guide in FL who said he's had a gator just get too cozy around the boat and eventually tried to get in the boat with a client. He said he went back the next day armed and it did the same and he shot it. But he's been guiding for years in places where there are plenty of them.

[TnRiver46]

On 1/31/2022 at 7:55 PM, wanderlust_wa said:

I know this is an older thread, but I figured this video may help future people make their decision.

 

 

Oh dear. 

[Tennessee Boy]

When I'm fishing I prefer to be the predator not the prey so I stay well north of the gators.