Author: Gator Hunter

How to Skin an Alligator

First, if you have a gator to skin, congratulations on a successful alligator hunt. If you plan on heading out for a gator, then good luck. Now, like a cat, there is more than one way to skin an alligator. The first method is a belly skin. This save the belly to make alligator products. The scutes or osteoderms are the bony plates embedded in the back skin of an alligator. They give the alligator the bumpy appearance and protect the alligator. This first skinning method leaves the belly skin of the alligator intact and is the preferred method if the hide is to be sold or tanned and made into leather goods.

This method consists of making an incision on each side of the alligator (leaving one to two rows of osteoderms or scutes along the belly side) and on the top of each leg and then removing the hide with the belly skin intact. The underside of the skull also should be skinned with the rest of the belly. The back skin of the alligator with the osteoderms or scutes in it can then be removed and discarded or kept according to your wishes. Because of the difficulty of tanning the osteoderms, the back skin is not considered very useful and most often is discarded. Continue reading How to Skin an Alligator

Alligator Hunting Tips for South Carolina

Hunting is rarely easy. If it was easy to find what you’re looking for then why would they bother to call it hunting at all? However, like any type of hunt, there are some things that you can do to increase your chances of being success on your next alligator hunt. First, purchase your gator hunting equipment and become familiar with it before you take to the field.

Obtain maps of the zone where you were plan on hunting and familiarize yourself with the area. You are entering the alligator’s natural habitat, so learn how gators think and where they will be. Determine who will accompany you on the hunt (i.e. select a guide if desired) and ensure that everyone that plans on going with you has appropriate hunting licenses and/or tags. Continue reading Alligator Hunting Tips for South Carolina

Alligator Hunting at Murphree WMA

One of the coolest places to go alligator hunting in Texas is at the J.D. Murphree Wildlife Management Area (WMA). This state-owned area is located near the town of Port Arthur, about 20 minutes southeast of Beaumont or 1 1/2 hours east of Houston. The WMA is big with over 30,000 acres of wetland habitat. It holds lot of ducks during the winter and lots of alligators all year long. It also has more than it’s fair share of mosquitos and deer flies.

The only way to get yourself on a gator hunting trip is through the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s (TPWD) special draw lottery. It seems that there are usually around 100 alligator permits available each year, though it seems to fluctuate a little. Interested hunters need to submit their hunt application and the necessary fees of $3 per hunter to TPWD before August 1 each year. Selected hunters will then be notified by mail with the dates of the hunt and must submit an additional fee, which in recent years has been $80. Then your hunting permit is mailed to you.

This all happens fairly quickly since the alligator hunt applications are due in early August and the Texas gator season is September 10-30 annually. If you are lucky enough to get selected, then it’s time to get all necessary equipment together for the 24-hour hunt. Hunts typically start at noon on day 1 and end at noon on day 2. The only legal methods to harvest an alligator are by hook and line, bow and arrow or by harpoon. Most hunters go with the hook and line method, which involves suspending a bait above the water using a large can pole.

The Murphree WMA has all the cane poles you will ever need and loan them out readily, so you will not need to bring one. However, you will need a boat and the remainder of the necessary alligator hunting equipment, which is not really all that much. All you will need is a rope, hook and bait. Oh, and a strong stomach.

That’s because the best alligator bait is something really, really gross. I’m talking rotten chicken, week-old-in-a-cooler-sitting-in-the-sun NASTY!

 

Georgia Alligator Hunting Zones

Starting early each September, good alligator hunting can be found in the state of Georgia. These hunts help control the gator population and provide recreational hunting opportunities for those seeking to hunt this big, prehistoric reptile. If you are heading out gator hunting in Georgia, make sure you are in one of the open hunting zones. For purpose of managing, hunting and dispersing alligator harvest, Georgia is divided into 9 alligator hunting zones as follows:

Alligator Zone 01 – Calhoun, Chattahoochee, Clay, Early, Marion, Muscogee, Quitman, Randolph, Stewart, Terrell and Webster Counties. (Q=65)

Alligator Zone 02 – Baker, Decatur, Grady, Miller, Mitchell and Seminole Counties. (Q=140)

Alligator Zone 03 – Crawford, Crisp, Dooly, Dougherty, Houston, Lee, Macon, Peach, Schley, Sumter, Taylor and Worth Counties (Q=60)

Alligator Zone 04 – Berrien, Brooks, Colquitt, Cook, Irwin, Lanier, Lowndes, Thomas, Tift and Turner Counties (Q=85) Continue reading Georgia Alligator Hunting Zones