Filled my second Florida alligator super hunt tag right before the season ended.

[okizilta]

Second time we were out on the water since we filled the first tag in August. The first attempt to fill the second tag was at the Kissimmee River. We passed over quite a few gators because while they were big, they weren't super hunt tag big. We then went out to Lake Okeechobee after Christmas. After 12 hours and a hilarious incident involving a stuck airboat and us having to get into knee deep water to push down the vegetation and get the airboat out, we finally spotted this one right before midnight. He ended up measuring 9.5 feet but had at least 12-18 inches of tail missing. His head was bigger than the 11 footer from August but he was a bit skinnier, leading me to believe he was struggling after whatever fight he got into that resulted in his tail getting clipped. It was a memorable day to say the least!

 

[chief1421]

Damn! Nice gator!

 

[Pete Correale]

View attachment 960

Second time we were out on the water since we filled the first tag in August. The first attempt to fill the second tag was at the Kissimmee River. We passed over quite a few gators because while they were big, they weren't super hunt tag big. We then went out to Lake Okeechobee after Christmas. After 12 hours and a hilarious incident involving a stuck airboat and us having to get into knee deep water to push down the vegetation and get the airboat out, we finally spotted this one right before midnight. He ended up measuring 9.5 feet but had at least 12-18 inches of tail missing. His head was bigger than the 11 footer from August but he was a bit skinnier, leading me to believe he was struggling after whatever fight he got into that resulted in his tail getting clipped. It was a memorable day to say the least!

Atta Boy! Thats a toad

 

[gelhaargerald]

Wow that’s huge.

 

[Tony Caggiano]

Congrats...Kissimmee River gets some big lizards.
Haven't pulled a tag in a couple of years, hoping for a couple this again this year.

 

[okizilta]

Congrats...Kissimmee River gets some big lizards.
Haven't pulled a tag in a couple of years, hoping for a couple this again this year.

Thank you! There were some beasts in Kissimmee the first time we went. My first tag was filled at Kissimmee and he was an 10.9 footer with the body of a WWE wrestler. We had a few monsters that got away too. During our second try at Kissimmee we just didn’t seem to get lucky so we switched to Okeechobee for the third run at it. We were actually on our way in to go back to Kissimmee when we spotted this one. I hope you get your tags this year!

 

[Wade Burns]

Awesome! One of these days I want to go on the fe hunt they offer.

 

[Andrew Wilson]

View attachment 960

Second time we were out on the water since we filled the first tag in August. The first attempt to fill the second tag was at the Kissimmee River. We passed over quite a few gators because while they were big, they weren't super hunt tag big. We then went out to Lake Okeechobee after Christmas. After 12 hours and a hilarious incident involving a stuck airboat and us having to get into knee deep water to push down the vegetation and get the airboat out, we finally spotted this one right before midnight. He ended up measuring 9.5 feet but had at least 12-18 inches of tail missing. His head was bigger than the 11 footer from August but he was a bit skinnier, leading me to believe he was struggling after whatever fight he got into that resulted in his tail getting clipped. It was a memorable day to say the least!

This is a badass hunt that I would like to try someday. It's awesome how the USA has a little bit of everything, from gators to grizzly bears.

 

[spalind]

Method? Line and bang stick?

 

[okizilta]

Method? Line and bang stick?

Yes sir. That is the way. You really don’t appreciate how powerful these guys are until you’re reeling one in and it’s dragging the airboat with it.

 

[spalind]

Always wondered why that is the preferred method? To make sure it doesn’t slip into the water and be unrecoverable as the gators are more water bound than say the crocs in Africa that are more commonly taken by rifle?

 

[okizilta]

Always wondered why that is the preferred method? To make sure it doesn’t slip into the water and be unrecoverable as the gators are more water bound than say the crocs in Africa that are more commonly taken by rifle?

Yes sir that is exactly it. Not sure why it’s allowed with crocodiles and not gators though. It’s also an FWC regulation from what I understand, so there’s that.

 

[spalind]

Yes sir that is exactly it. Not sure why it’s allowed with crocodiles and not gators though. It’s also an FWC regulation from what I understand, so there’s that.

That last note on the FWC intrigues me as I “believe” in the postings for one of the Outrider FL trips it notes that while the bangstuck method is employed, that opportunities for rifle if you want, also exist

 

[okizilta]

That last note on the FWC intrigues me as I “believe” in the postings for one of the Outrider FL trips it notes that while the bangstuck method is employed, that opportunities for rifle if you want, also exist

From what I understand you can use rifles when hunting on private land.

 

[spalind]

From what I understand you can use rifles when hunting on private land.

Ahhhh!!! That makes sense! TY!!

 

[Dave Eder]

View attachment 960

Second time we were out on the water since we filled the first tag in August. The first attempt to fill the second tag was at the Kissimmee River. We passed over quite a few gators because while they were big, they weren't super hunt tag big. We then went out to Lake Okeechobee after Christmas. After 12 hours and a hilarious incident involving a stuck airboat and us having to get into knee deep water to push down the vegetation and get the airboat out, we finally spotted this one right before midnight. He ended up measuring 9.5 feet but had at least 12-18 inches of tail missing. His head was bigger than the 11 footer from August but he was a bit skinnier, leading me to believe he was struggling after whatever fight he got into that resulted in his tail getting clipped. It was a memorable day to say the least!

that's awesome!

 

[olsensoutdoors]

View attachment 960

Second time we were out on the water since we filled the first tag in August. The first attempt to fill the second tag was at the Kissimmee River. We passed over quite a few gators because while they were big, they weren't super hunt tag big. We then went out to Lake Okeechobee after Christmas. After 12 hours and a hilarious incident involving a stuck airboat and us having to get into knee deep water to push down the vegetation and get the airboat out, we finally spotted this one right before midnight. He ended up measuring 9.5 feet but had at least 12-18 inches of tail missing. His head was bigger than the 11 footer from August but he was a bit skinnier, leading me to believe he was struggling after whatever fight he got into that resulted in his tail getting clipped. It was a memorable day to say the least!

Helluva gator! I’m chasing that 11’ mark myself.

 

[okizilta]

Helluva gator! I’m chasing that 11’ mark myself.

Good luck this year. I hope you bag your Dino!

 

[Tony Caggiano]

From what I understand you can use rifles when hunting on private land.

Yes, private land gator hunting can be done with rifle.
I have done both, and prefer rod & reel followed up with bangstick.

The fight alone is worth twice the price of admission.

 

[okizilta]

Yes, private land gator hunting can be done with rifle.
I have done both, and prefer rod & reel followed up with bangstick.

The fight alone is worth twice the price of admission.

Agreed. Nothing beats reeling one in. You really end up appreciating how strong they are when you have to fight one like that.