If everyone had airboats and rifles were legal...we'd have a chance at getting them all. But as it is, I think they have the upper hand.

 

If everyone had airboats and rifles were legal...we'd have a chance at getting them all. But as it is, I think they have the upper hand.

I'd have to agree. Even with the addition of all of the public waterways, there's still alot of places for gators to hide.

 

Yes there are still are places to hide but if we clean them out of everywhere accessable then nobody will have a chance at those big gators like we have had this year. I say drop the bag limit to 1 gator per person. It seems like everyone feels entitled to catch the runt gator just to catch them to say they tagged out. If you dropped to one per tag holder that would save 1/2 that would have been killed. Something along the lines of not shooting your 1.2-3.5 year old deer to have that chance at a bull. Just my $0.02

 

They are not going to kill all the old gators with a limited draw hunt with the restrictions they have on capture. Open up a deer season to primitive archery equipment only for the whole year and see how many big bucks get by. Same principal with the gators. Very few are being killed vs. the overall population of gators.

 

Yes there are still are places to hide but if we clean them out of everywhere accessable then nobody will have a chance at those big gators like we have had this year. I say drop the bag limit to 1 gator per person. It seems like everyone feels entitled to catch the runt gator just to catch them to say they tagged out. If you dropped to one per tag holder that would save 1/2 that would have been killed. Something along the lines of not shooting your 1.2-3.5 year old deer to have that chance at a bull. Just my $0.02

The whole point of the runt gator is to help with the population control. Alligator hunting in Mississippi isn't about catching 13 foot gators every year, it's population management.

 

It's all about conditions too. It may well be 20 years before conditions are as good for gator hunting as they were last week.

 

The whole point of the runt gator is to help with the population control. Alligator hunting in Mississippi isn't about catching 13 foot gators every year, it's population management.

Exactly...they want runts taken.

 

I think they should go back to runt first.

 

I think they should go back to runt first.

You apparently have never been burned by that system. We have 3 times and it sucks.

 

But it's a 10 day season

 

Comparing the harvesting of bucks to harvesting of gators is apples to oranges. These older gators have taken what 40 or 50 years to grow that large? So say a three year season you hit the "mature ones" hard. It's not like if you have a couple bad years they will just replenish, it's takes several years for the gator to grow from say 8 or 9 foot to 12 or 13. Unfortunately, at the pace we are going, we will not see many of these 12 and 13 footers in the near future.

 

They don't seem to have caught them all in Louisiana yet and how long have they been hunting/trapping? I'd be willing to bet the state biologist are keeping tabs on the gators and won't allow things to get out of hand.

 

On the Rez gator hunting has been going on since 05. There have been quite a few 12's and two 13's taken from there and there are still a bunch left. Only difference is now they are educated. You can see them sunning in spring but come hunting season, they are buried in the pads. Would not like to see the runt rule back. Killed us on the goula.

 

On the Rez gator hunting has been going on since 05. There have been quite a few 12's and two 13's taken from there and there are still a bunch left. Only difference is now they are educated. You can see them sunning in spring but come hunting season, they are buried in the pads. Would not like to see the runt rule back. Killed us on the goula.

 

I don't know, I mean do the hunters in the NW zone believe that there is sufficient gator numbers to even have a hunt there for example? I drew there last year and we rode and rode an didn't see anything compared to west central. So I guess my thinking is if the department of wildlife thinks that the nw zone can stand to have 300 gators removed and still be worth going to every year I think maybe they might be over estimating the population. As for the Louisiana season I think they have way more water than us Mississippians have. Not arguing just throwing around a couple thoughts I have been tossing around.

 

Just cause ya dont see them dont mean they aren't there in the NW ..i am blown away at the places a huge gator can be hiding i know for sure we have prob passed up some good ones because of where they were and thinking they were small...As for the WC&SW these zones are strong because of the habitat conditions,food and location along the river and LA ( several caught last yr were tagged in LA )..usually when a big bull is taken another will move in an take over the area...we prob have not seen the biggest gator yet I am sure there are some monsters off the beaten path of the areas that we can access publicly..these lizards arent dumb they get educated quick...I can assure you one thing though you thought we had alot of folks putting in for the draw this yr you wait till next season..with all the national exposure we will see alot more entries...the processors in LA say they can not get nuff gator meat the explosion in sales since Swamp People has them booming...also the LA hunters are having hard time getting tags because of OS coming to LA to be Gator Hunters..I am sure that Ricky and the Dept know what they are doing to keep the program going

 

We got a ten footer and was transporting him thru out deer camp and in a small hole of water just outside of banks of the canal where everyone was hunting was a legit 12 footer. He just watched us ride by. Stayed there the whole weekend. Not that he knew about all the people on the canal but it does tell you that they are not always in the open water waiting to be taken.