By Brooke Benham Wright of Extreme Instinct
The American Alligator is an incredible display of evolution with fossil documentation dating them to have survived in North America for more than 8 million years. With an average life span of 35 to 50 years, they grow big reaching more than 15 feet long and weighing as much as 1,000 pounds. And with each year, they also grow smarter, making them an incredibly tough predator to hunt.
When hunting a predator of this stature, you need to know your potential dangers. With alligators having 78 to 80 teeth and one of the strongest bite forces on the planet, if not treated with respect and the utmost attention to detail, you can lose your life or, at the very least, your ability to give two thumbs up. Let’s not forget the “alligator twitch” where a reptilian nerve response can cause a bite down or tail slap even hours after death.
Between the large size and incredible fight alligators can exhibit, plus handling a boat through swampy territory and often using numerous tools to bring them in, alligator hunting really is a team effort. If you’re completely new to alligator hunting and interested in trying it, I recommend finding an outfitter so you are with people who know what they are doing so you can be safe while you learn and have a major head start with finding success.
Location
With the appropriate licenses and tags, alligators can be legally hunted in the southeastern United State in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, South Carolina and Texas. North Carolina is the only state in the alligator’s range that prohibits hunting. Alligator hunting seasons vary by state, but often start around August leading into September and sometimes even October. These public land seasons are usually by application only. However, private land hunting can often be over-the-counter and year-round.
Understanding the hunting location is often your best tool for success. Gators can be found in any body of water in these areas, but some gators prefer specific environments. For example, females tend to prefer the thick backwoods and swamps, while the larger males prefer open water with steep drops in depth. Knowing where and how to land a big gator takes time. Before every hunt, we scout potential areas in our unit for signs of gators. They will leave slides in the grass or mud indicating the relative size and frequency. Through the years, we have found they are very territorial and will occupy a large territory.
Methods
There is no single method of alligator hunting. Depending on the circumstances, hunters commonly use a combination of hook and line, bow and arrow, gig and snare, or firearm. The use of a hook and line is the most common method, which involves securing a sturdy hook and line to a tree or pole in the ground. The hook is commonly baited with fish or chicken. After the bait is taken, the hunter returns to draw in and dispatch the gator. Allowed methods of hunting often have restrictions varying by state, so make sure to look into all regulations.
We hunt public land in Florida, which can be tricky. For safety, you are not allowed to use any type of firearm to hunt them like you can on private ground or as a commercial trapper. The only firearm allowed to use on Florida’s public grounds to take a gator is a bang stick, and it can only be used when an alligator is attached to a restraining line. This why you have to be very stealthy to get close enough, but these gators are often very spooky.
Our gear consists of simple, yet effective, equipment for the hunt typically consisting of a snatch hook on a strong non-stretch rope, a long harpoon spear with detachable tip and a 1-ounce snagging hook tied to the line of a fishing pole. Most importantly, I use my trusty bow equipped with a spool of line attached to a special arrow and large detachable float for the anticipation of landing a big gator. And we have a bang stick – the legal equipment method of take used to finish off a gator. It is a live 357 magnum round attached on a fixed impact released firing pin.
While we hunt for alligators at night, they can be hunted at any time of the day. However, you again want to check all regulations in the area you’re planning to hunt as there can be time restrictions, such as in Louisiana, alligators can only be harvested between official sunrise and sunset – no nighttime harvest is allowed.
My Hunt
With our gator tags in hand and areas scouted, we get ready for the season to begin. I am like a kid on Christmas day waiting for the gator hunt to start. I spend months practicing with various gear for the hunt as well as often bowfishing common carp to further perfect my shot placement.
Once season has started and it’s time to head out on the hunt, our boat is prepared for long nights down to every detail. As darkness falls, we head out with headlamps and spotlights into the endless waterways. When the night’s sky is a colorless shade of black, this becomes the best time to hunt these nocturnal predators. Just like any hunt, it starts off with an eager excitement, followed by the hours of work that constantly try to wear down that anticipation. I stay diligent, scanning the shoreline and open water for the unmistakable red eye of a gator.
As the night wears on, I have to focus on every detail. Often a gator hidden in the reeds will only have an eye shine back for half a second before you lose sight. That second can make or break the hunt.
Watching smaller gators by the dozen, the larger ones have gone into hiding. Over the years, older gators have adapted well to avoid capture. I would often see a large eye in the distance only to have it slip into the water and submerge. They are capable of holding their breath for well over an hour. Let’s just say patience becomes more than a virtue!
After navigating through what feels like endless river bends for more than six hours, my heart skips a beat and my body becomes surged with adrenaline. It’s a very large eye in the distance! We turn off the motor and begin to assess the stalk. To move in stealthily, we pull up the engine and begin to use a push-pole. Silently, we approach closer. To our surprise, we began to lift up and, in just a moment, we are now stuck in shallow water too skinny for a boat.
The gator still lays just 100 yards away, but this is as far as we can get in the boat. Now, if I want to continue the hunt, I have to step away from the protection of our vessel into the ‘danger zone.’ My husband, Matt, stepped off the boat asking if I would follow. Matt is a three-time expert survivalist on the TV show ‘Naked and Afraid’ and was coined the “Savage and Jungle Warrior” for his ability to conquer what has never been done. Taking his lead to jump in the water is not for the faint of heart.
The drive for the hunt has now overpowered my fear of the unknown. I stepped into the 6-inch tannic water with caution. Equipped with a headlight and 8-foot harpoon in my right hand, I head out into the darkness. I made it about 50 yards and find the water deepens. It is now thigh-deep. It’s too shallow for the boat, but deep enough to become very dangerous. As if black water in the dark isn’t enough, the gator looks at me and sinks beneath the surface. I would love to tell you I held my ground like a Spartan warrior waiting for my moment, but the truth is the risk versus the reward got the best of me. I made a hasty retreat to the boat and found Matt right alongside me!
I looked back and noticed the gator resurface in the same place it went down. I felt defeated, but my determination was not yet broken. Matt made way through the water to see if the shallow bar had a deeper channel. I knew I could not get close enough with a spear or have a shot with the bow.
With alligator hunting, you can never have just one way to hunt, you must improvise and adapt. So I pulled out the heavy-duty spinning rod setup for a gator. It has a 150-pound test braided line affixed to an almost unbreakable rod. The 1-ounce weighted treble hook should give me enough distance to cast and snag my opponent.
I head back out with confidence and quietly make my way through the water with stealth. Any splashing could trigger an unwanted predatory response of attack. I casted the razor-sharp weighted treble hook from 40 yards away. The splash of the treble hook 10 feet behind and little to the left of him caused the gator to sink beneath the surface. Figuring the gator will pop up further away, I began to reel in quickly to get ready for the next cast when BAM! I felt a snag followed by a tug on the line.
I set the hook hard as if hooking into a tarpon, and that’s when I woke the beast! The water erupted with a huge splash as the gator fought back. I was in for a rodeo – then suddenly, my line went slack. The gator switched directions, and I realized the prehistoric predator was coming straight at me!
I am still about 40 yards from the boat when I glanced back at a toothy torpedo. At this point, I retreated so fast I just about walked on water. No matter how fast I went, the line still felt weightless. This could only mean that he was still coming and coming fast. Yelling at Matt to get out of the water, we both jumped into the boat like a penguin on an iceberg!
That’s when I finally looked back again. The water had slowed me down and it felt like a dream until I looked back again at just 20 feet behind me the gator surfaced. With the weighted treble hook still stuck in his leathery hide, he just stopped and starred at the boat. With no delay, I handed the rod to Matt and reached for my bow. In a moment, I pulled back and let my arrow fly. It found its mark perfectly in the neck of the beast.
Instantly, it started thrashing, and Matt threw the harpoon to secure it with another line. With two lines attached, we began to secure the gator. As it approached the boat, I grabbed the finisher bang stick. With the gator just a few inches under the water, the bang stick delivered an immediate end to the fight with one swift thrust to its head.
I immediately took a moment to catch my breath and try to control the pounding in my chest.
Using tape to secure the gator’s mouth, we pulled him into the boat. As this 9-foot gator came in, I kneeled down to pay thanks and gaze at the amazement of this incredible animal. It touches at your heart being part of special moment with a remarkable animal. It triggers a primal gratitude.
As dawn approached and pure exhaustion set in, the hard work of many hours to process the animal began once home again. From harvesting every ounce of meat to scraping and tanning the hide, and preserving the head as a lasting memory, it’s always worth the long swampy nights and wildly unpredictable encounters of the unknown.
Words do not fully express the monumental moments and memories that accompany gator hunting. These moments will last the rest of your life and mold the path for your next adventure.
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See Brooke Benham Wright of Extreme Instinct’s bio on page 8.
