Has anyone had any encounters with gators, they are in some of these lakes. What is the best thing to do if you encounter one while in the water.

bring you a .22 mag revolver.

nah man. I'm just joking..
that's a good question.

most guys will probably just tell you bring a stick or something. or use your rod.

maybe look into a pocket pistol if you feel so inclined.

I lost all five of my legs to a huge gator while I was in my float tube on a small creek near Dallas last year. But gators usually won't bother you, it's those HUGE catfish you need to worry about!!!

on river with canoe, ease on bye scream like a sissy

thanks for all the support but I don't think I want to get close enough to use any of these suggestions, don't want to mess with a gator.

saw one at choke, it submerged and went under the boat - saw it on the hummingbird - kinda kool, but I'm sure glad it was a big boat. The game wardens are even scarier...careful! been tubing for a long time, don't think I'll tube choke.

I never fish in the dark or have fish stringers in the water when gators are around. If they don't run away, my back up plan is to go for the eyes with a rod tip, paddle or whatever I have. If they come toward me, that would be trouble.

Porta

Yes, I have as a young man (many years ago)...The majority of times, gators will leave you alone. Gators under 6ft are usually intimidated by an adult person. Problem is, gators are to be taken seriously, even if you happen to be a gator wrangler. Seems they are most aggressive during mating and nesting season. During mating season, the large bull gators will protect their territory from all encroachers (anybody, anything) Problem is, only the bull gator knows where his territory is. During mating season the females will protect their nest and young without provocation.

Normally, if a big gator wants you to leave, they will rise up beside the boat (sizing you up.) If you do nothing, they will swim off a ways, then turn and come directly at the boat. Usually, they will submerge and bump the bottom of the boat. If that doesn't pitch you in the water or cause you to leave, they will do it again harder. If you don't take the hint by now, they will torpedo the boat (ram the boat.) At this point, if you are lucky, all you will get is a dented boat and a hurt ego (been there, done that)...Otherwise, it is about to get bad.

I have numerous hair raising encounters with gators. I have been in a boat that was torpedoed (rammed) by a large bull gator. The best thing to do is lay down flat in the boat so you don't get knocked overboard. I have gotten too close to a nest and had the female slap my boat around (a couple of times). Again hit the deck, then as soon as she backs off (growling and hissing instead of slapping/hitting the boat), GTF out of there, staying as low as possible. I had a gator try to come over the boat...get on the deck and try to kick the gator under the jaw (to knock them back in the water)...failing that, try to stick a paddle or something in its mouth (get its jaws clamped on something you can let loose of) then push it back in the water.

If a gator gets ahold of you...go for the eyes...anything hard or your thumbs (worst case) and try your best to poke its eye out...it will usually let go of you...then get out of the water...Personally, I am not a fan of float tubes, for many reasons.

The best advice I can give you...If you see gators in an area...fish somewhere else. I used to go to gator areas to fish intentionally, and I can tell you, it is just not worth the additional fish you will catch. Hope this information helps.

Good luck and good fishing.

Thanks, crapicat. It's hard to avoid gators around fresh water in places like Florida. Do you think a taser would repel an attacking bull? Assuming you could keep from getting zapped yourself...

Porta

On Float Tubes and Alligators (and Other Critters That Live Where You Fish)

I have shared the water fairly often with alligators over the years, especially when bass fishing lakes. It never bothered me much. They were mostly shy, sinking from sight as our boat approached or sliding off the bank if out sunning themselves. I've never had an untoward gator incident.

I would not, however, do the same fishing in a float tube.

When tube-fishing I just feel too vulnerable, sort of sitting there, legs dangling down, like a frog or a bass bug. Not that anything would happen, but it could. I feel the same way when tubing northern warm-water lakes, having seen too many very large snapping turtles surface for air or out sunning on a log.

None of these feelings have been helped by the yarns some Florida guides and fish-camp owners loved to tell me as an inexperienced northerner. Like the three guys who got fairly soused one evening and decided to go night-fishing for bass. All that was found in that Florida lake a few days later was their overturned skiff along with most of one guy�s leg.

I suppose it might have happened once, but it�s unlikely. Anyway, my vivid imagination filled in the blanks, and made me shiver.

I would be made more nervous if encountering other things--cottonmouths , rattlesnakes , and any one of several highly toxic spiders just about anywhere. Spiders I might encounter just by putting a hand in the wrong place, but that hasn't happened. I've never had a close cottonmouth encounter, and although I've rarely seen rattlers along some northern trout rivers where they exist, I've never felt threatened and try to remain aware.

Farther afield, I've already had a lifetime�s worth of brown-bear encounters while fishing Alaskan rivers. I don�t much care to ever see another one.

I suppose everybody has one critter or another they might find potentially bothersome while fishing.

Someone told me ... it's not the one's you see that you need to worry about. Uh! Chances are pretty slim to encounter one in a bad way, just be alert.

My feeling is that gators are bolder to attack when they together in numbers compared to isolated individually due to your likely trespass and possible pack feed competition. Also it might be harder for me to keep aware of where each one is at all times. I always feel more comfortable when I can get to open waters quickly if gators are around. Having fast currents and favorable winds can get you away quickly in a float tube, if there's trouble. I've never been approached by a gator in 30+ years on a float tube on the few occasions when they're in the water, for Florida and Texas.

Porta

Hmmm, I don't have any idea...but in a float tube with a taser...you might want to consult someone with knowledge of taser use in and around water...where legal...a .22 mag pistol might work (so will a larger caliber, for that matter) better than a taser...better check local game laws first, though.

A few years back, I was fishing in a city park lake outside of Palestine. GREAT little lakes, even had a Share-a-Lunker caught out of one. I cast over a log I saw floating out in the middle of the lake. When my spinnerbait hit the "log", it erupted violently. I'd fished from a tube in Fork and other bodies of water known to have some gators, but this was the first actual encounter on the water. A bit wary, I stayed and fished. It didn't appear too big, and it resurfaced farther away, which was reassuring. A bit later, as I worked my way into a cove, I heard the unmistakable squeak of baby gators. I did have enough sense to leave that cove--pretty sure there were fish in other parts of the lake, anyway.

Saw one on Fork one time but it stayed away and didn't bother me. Maybe watching Swamp People will give you some ideas. At first I thought they were all crazy, but I've grown to really like watching the show and getting to know the people.