To Kayak Fishermen....

I've noticed a lot of posts lately on the Alabama board from Kayak fishermen...and it's great to see them. I live in Northwest Florida (1 hour from Lake Talquin) and fish the lower end of the Apalachicola River (Tate's Hell Swamp) on a regular basis. My only concern kayaking would be large gators. We have some huge ones down here, some over 14 feet, and they can be pretty agressive at times. I fish out of a 17ft, wide beam aluminum boat and have had a mama gator at least 14ft long come right up to the boat. I had to hit her in the head with an oar to get her to move away and she still stayed within 30 ft of the boat for nearly an hour. That's a scary situation when you are by yourself. Also saw a large gator come at least 3 to 4 feet out of the water to take a crane out of the air that had been walking around on some floating vegetation. I know gators submerge and go the other way, normally avoiding any contact with humans. However, it seems the lone fisherman in a kayak (especially the sit on top style) would be extremely vulnerable to a large gator attack. Could some of you kayakers let us know if you have had any experiences with gators. Just curious.

SpeckChaser,

Welcome! I start fishing from a kayak several years ago on the coast of Georgia near Savannah and Hinesville. I fished mostly the Canoochee, Ogeechee and Savannah river systems. These are slow, lowland rivers with extensive backwater areas, swamps and old rice fields. There were gators everywhere! I had two close calls over an 8 year period in that area and both were my fault. 

The first incident I was paddling through a very shallow area that was a foot deep and covered in moss and duckweed. This was a shallow area that connected two deeper areas in a backwater off the main river. A great place to look for Crappie, but also a great nursery for baby gators. I was paddling too fast and not paying attention when I went crashing through two dozen baby gators that went nuts screaming for mama. Mama was not impressed, she grabbed my kayak in her mouth, made a single huge splash with her tail (I think she was trying to roll me over, but the angle was wrong), let go and she was gone. She left deep gashes in my kayak where my legs go, I fish in a sit in side. I nearly had a heart attack and needed new underwear. The bad thing is, it was all my fault. She was just protecting her babies. I’ve had other times when I paddled slowly and easily though babies and they didn’t care and neither did mama.

The second incident wasn’t a big deal, it was just unexpected. I got between a male and female gator during breeding season. I think the male thought I was cutting in. She was cute, but not that cute! Anyway, he eased up next to my kayak and shoved me to one side, then back off again. I took the hint and paddled a 100 yards or so off and he didn’t follow.

Here’s my lessons learned from fishing around gators in a kayak. 
1) If your keeping fish use a cooler, don’t drag fish on a stringer .
2) Expect gators to get curious when they hear fish splashing and come over.
3) When in shallow, protected water expect baby gators. (Mama gator will not like you, will not be impressed by anything you do and will try and eat you if her babies are threatened. She decides if you are being threatening to her babies not you!)
4) Gators that are 7 foot (7 or 8 years old) and shorter are still youngsters When they get too close a slap of the paddle to the head and they’re gone. Gators at around 7 feet slow down in their growth, a 9 foot gator might be 25 years old and they are adults. Gators that are in the 12 foot range are 800 to 900pounds and are over 50 years old. They are solitary kings of the swamp and will kill any other male gator that comes into their territory. They will general leave you alone, but if they show interest in you or what your doing leave them alone. I’ve had a 14 foot gator start following me in the Canoochee river one afternoon, I didn’t even think about it. I paddled back to my truck, loaded up and went to a different hole to fish. A gator isn’t going to chase you down, they’ll ambush prey so watch out at waters edge or they will lunge and bite you so don’t let them get that close. You don’t have to worry about a gator that’s 10 feet away. He can’t lunge that far and isn’t likely to expend the energy to start a chase from that distance. The question is what are you going to do to increase that distance. 
5) Big one, stay off the water at night. Gators are most active at night and are attracted to any and all activity at night. You can’t see them and they are all moving your way.
6) The biggest problems are always gators that have been feed by people. A gator will learn to come to people looking for food. They will also bite at anything around people think it’s a hand out. If you find your self in an area where the gators have been feed, just leave. It’s to big of a pain in a small boat.Short version, be observant and don’t worry about it too much. Hundreds, maybe thousands of people kayak the Okefenokee Swamp every year many staying overnight. I’ve heard amazing stories about gator encounters but I’ve never heard of someone not making it back.

Hope this helps!!

ditch, you may already know this but gators are not native to this area. the state had a brilliant idea 25 or 30 years ago to bring some in for beaver control. it has been a lose, lose project.

Maybe there is a reason you never heard of anyone not making it back. HMMMM:dono

moboys,

LOL, thanks for the early morning gut busting laugh! Rofl

I look at gators much like snakes. 99% are harmless, you just have to watch out for the other 1%. I've heard so many stories over the years about snakes also. If you get past the fear and unknown you just have to watch out for them and realize where they hang out and where your at higher risk. A few people will get bite each year, but it doesn't compare to all the stories you hear.

One more comment about snakes. You can tell when someone was being stupied by where they got bit. If they were bit on the foot or leg then they stepped on the snake (I would bite you too if you stepped on me) or scared the snake. Have you ever noticed though, so many people are bitten on their hands or arms. Why do you want to try and pick up the snake?:dono