I would worry much more about cottonmouth snakes than gators. It is very rare to see a gator in the metroplex.
I would agree.
I grew up in Cameron, La., which has a large population of gators. We used to canoe through the canals all the time and their curious nature never led them to follow us or bother us.
When we came upon them while walking on the levees we would simply throw dirt clods at them until they went back into the water, and we would proceed on.
The scariest part was when we used to go frog gigging at night. We would cross the small channels with our head lights. You would look to your right and see several sets of eyes and look to your left and see several set of eyes. But they never chased us or paid much attention to us.
By the way, snake eyes look like frog eyes in the reflection of a head lamp. I learned it was much safer to use a gig than catch them with your hands
My advice would be to pay close attention to your surroundings. If you can spot a snake you won't have much of an issue spotting an alligator or alligator nest. And if you catch a fish and it is attracting an alligator then just cut the line and paddle away quickly