ffparamedic
WKR
I have been anxiously waiting to earn enough points to put in for my gator tag here in Georgia. This year I had four points available and decided to wager three of those plus this years application. I was fortunate enough to draw a tag in the zone that I live in. I grew up in this are and have lived here since. I fished the river here with my grandad from the time I was six until about sixteen when he wasn't able to go as often. I knew that there were a lot of gators down on the river and knew that it would be difficult to be able to get one due to the current and the amount of potential entanglements there but decided it would be worth it. This zone is not known for big gators but, I did not want to get too large of an animal for my first time and I also knew that I would have more opportunities to hunt right in my backyard! Here in Ga the gator has to be snared by some method prior to dispatching it. This includes with archery, snatch hook, or harpoon. It is illegal to "fish" them on a line.
The tag came in the mail on August 4th and season started the 5th. Due to time constraints and getting ready for our elk hunt I was not able to hunt or even prepare at all. I came back from our elk hunt on Sept 5th (empty handed of elk) I then realized I had not ordered a bow fishing reel which was my chosen method of harvest. I quickly placed an order for an AMS bowfishing reel ( I will review this if there is enough interest, please comment of you'd like a review) The reel ended up being backordered and so I went with a snatch hook the first couple times.
Trip #1 was mainly a scouting trip. I was alone and only had the snatch hook, I quickly realized this was not going to work in the river with all of the debris present. I saw six gators in less than a quarter of a mile.
Trip #2 & 3 were repeats of #1 with many gators spotted but no success.
Trip #4 I took a fellow firefighter with me and we got on a decent gator, he would not give us a shot and eventually went under. We left him alone and came back about 45 minutes later. He gave me a shot at 7 yards and I hit him solid just behind his front leg. He went under and we let things calm down, after about five minutes I began to pull him in and he put up a good fight but I was making good progress, until he snapped the line! I was deflated! I could not believe it had managed to snap the line. After examining the line it appears he had frayed it against a limb and that's what led to the failure. We called it a night and went in.
Trip #5 started like all the other nights, we put in and immediately starting seeing lizards. We headed up river and passed a couple that got under willows and gave us no shots. After a short trip one of the guys spotted eyes under a willow. I decided to not even stop as we could not get them under the willows, as we passed I saw he was on the outside of the willow so I shot off and trolled in closer. I was able to get the bow ready while trolling and Dustin was holding the light for me. I got off a great shot and he immediately headed for the main channel of the river which was a huge benefit! I did not want to lose another gator. Troy took the line from me and held him tight so he could not continue to move away. I got the bow stowed away and put on some gloves and took the line. Troy prepared to shoot him as I pulled him in. As soon as I got him close to the boat he did a dramatic death roll! I have never seen that and seeing it at 3 feet was incredible!! I got him pulled in close enough and the 22 misfired, I quickly got my 300 AR pistol and was able to shoot him in the head for a quick kill. We pulled him in and tied him off and took him to the ramp. He was longer than I originally thought 7'1", although he still wasn't a very large gator. But he was my first gator and it was a blast!! I learned a lot and hopefully will be able to go again next year.
Here in Georgia you can apply for the tags and only have to be present, not actually do the snaring or dispatching. So, I have been putting all my family in! I think the next time I put in I will select a zone with bigger gators so I can go for size.
The tag came in the mail on August 4th and season started the 5th. Due to time constraints and getting ready for our elk hunt I was not able to hunt or even prepare at all. I came back from our elk hunt on Sept 5th (empty handed of elk) I then realized I had not ordered a bow fishing reel which was my chosen method of harvest. I quickly placed an order for an AMS bowfishing reel ( I will review this if there is enough interest, please comment of you'd like a review) The reel ended up being backordered and so I went with a snatch hook the first couple times.
Trip #1 was mainly a scouting trip. I was alone and only had the snatch hook, I quickly realized this was not going to work in the river with all of the debris present. I saw six gators in less than a quarter of a mile.
Trip #2 & 3 were repeats of #1 with many gators spotted but no success.
Trip #4 I took a fellow firefighter with me and we got on a decent gator, he would not give us a shot and eventually went under. We left him alone and came back about 45 minutes later. He gave me a shot at 7 yards and I hit him solid just behind his front leg. He went under and we let things calm down, after about five minutes I began to pull him in and he put up a good fight but I was making good progress, until he snapped the line! I was deflated! I could not believe it had managed to snap the line. After examining the line it appears he had frayed it against a limb and that's what led to the failure. We called it a night and went in.
Trip #5 started like all the other nights, we put in and immediately starting seeing lizards. We headed up river and passed a couple that got under willows and gave us no shots. After a short trip one of the guys spotted eyes under a willow. I decided to not even stop as we could not get them under the willows, as we passed I saw he was on the outside of the willow so I shot off and trolled in closer. I was able to get the bow ready while trolling and Dustin was holding the light for me. I got off a great shot and he immediately headed for the main channel of the river which was a huge benefit! I did not want to lose another gator. Troy took the line from me and held him tight so he could not continue to move away. I got the bow stowed away and put on some gloves and took the line. Troy prepared to shoot him as I pulled him in. As soon as I got him close to the boat he did a dramatic death roll! I have never seen that and seeing it at 3 feet was incredible!! I got him pulled in close enough and the 22 misfired, I quickly got my 300 AR pistol and was able to shoot him in the head for a quick kill. We pulled him in and tied him off and took him to the ramp. He was longer than I originally thought 7'1", although he still wasn't a very large gator. But he was my first gator and it was a blast!! I learned a lot and hopefully will be able to go again next year.
Here in Georgia you can apply for the tags and only have to be present, not actually do the snaring or dispatching. So, I have been putting all my family in! I think the next time I put in I will select a zone with bigger gators so I can go for size.
