A good friend of mine told me he heard there were gators in Lake Hawkins. (I think he said the west side) Has anyone else heard this? Are they still there? I hope this is not true, because I planned to do some wading out there....

I grew up in Mineola and had friends tell me about gators in the creek below the spillway. Which by the way is good fishing if you've never tried it before.

Yes there is defiantly at least one verified alligator in Lake Hawkins. Wade at your own risk.

Never caught any there, but that is supposed to be one of the better Pickeral lakes in Texas. Those little buggers are fun to catch.

Oh great. Thanks for the info. (I think...lol)

Yes I have caught a few for the first time there. Most were small. My son caught the larger ones on a jig I made. I made a few more for next year. I think they will probably be on their way out of the shallows soon. Some are great fighters, some aren't. You can catch them on regular bass stuff, we did. I have heard about how fun they were. I have 3 in my freezer now, we let the rest go. I plan to fry them up before long. (I heard small pieces because of the bones)

Gators are native to Texas, especially east Texas, so we have them in just about all our lakes out that way.

Well I have never seen a gator in Lake O The Pines. I knew Caddo had them, but I thought that was it.....at least for the north east region. I stand corrected. I thought my friend was pulling my leg.....but he was serious. I thought snakes were the worst thing out there in our lakes. Sigh. I have been swimming in Tyler State Park, Lake O The Pines, and Lake Hawkins when I was a kid, and a few other area lakes.

Yes, seen them my self. I still will tube Hawkins, they wont hurt ya!

What part did you see them in?

Yep gators in the Trinity I can remember from many moons back living in SE Texas.
Bedias Creek,oh and Lake Livingston too according to some.
Even heard of one or two over at Lake Conroe!


I wouldnt be too concerned till you started getting reports of crocs...that would likey only happen if you were in a a movie done by Sci-Fi channel.

Yes there are lots of gators in lake hawkins...i think they are more scared of you then anything...my buddy lives right on the lake past the 2869 bridge...we were spotlighitng them one night and came across one that was about 6 feet...The guy next door said they tend to be a little more aggressive during the spring and even said there is a 12 footer around the cove that tried to get his dog!

Well thank you for that info. I am mortified. I would rather be safe than sorry. I need a jon boat......badly. :whistle:

Or a "buster boat". Check out Craigslist.
I saw a few earlier this week for sale.
Just do a search in the "boats" section with a price range of $100-$1000 and you will find all the jon boats/buster boats.

yeah we have a jon boat with a swamp buddy on the back and a minn kota on the front...perfect stump dodger...pm for a number i need a fishing partner down there my buddy isnt paitent enough to bass fish!